Mixed-Mode Manufacturing ERP System Recommendations

January 21, 2020 | Discrete Manufacturing
Two people in a factory on an iPad

A mixed-mode manufacturing ERP (enterprise resource planning) system modernizes your company’s approach, ensuring you can compete by handling custom and make to stock manufacturing equally well. Mixed-mode manufacturing requires flexibility and agility, a strong focus on customer satisfaction, and smart decision-making. The right mixed-mode manufacturing ERP gives your company advantages in all of those areas and more.

That’s because a mixed-mode manufacturing ERP allows your business to control operations, plan, schedule, and manage each piece of data across every department, every job, and every order. All of the information and processes are synchronized and updated in real-time in a centrally accessed repository. That means nobody is left in the dark, wondering about the details.

If it sounds complicated, it doesn’t have to be. Finding and using the ideal mixed-mode manufacturing ERP is simply a matter of identifying and choosing an ERP with the features you need, customizing it to your company, and training your staff to use it every day.

Mixed-Mode Manufacturing ERP Features

Choosing an ERP that works for your industry, and your company requires you to look for the features that support what you do every day.

Functionalities should include planning and scheduling, inventory management, production management, and quality management. Be sure that each of these functionalities further supports multiple manufacturing modes, and numerous manufacturing sites if that applies to your organization.

Your ERP should offer up-to-date material pricing based on market fluctuations, accurate information about material quality, availability, and forecasting, precise costing formulas, real-time visibility into operations, and the ability to manage mass information like serial numbers and material lots.

You may be amazed to learn about the various features an excellent mixed-mode manufacturing ERP offers. From barcode scanning and labeling to integrated field services, so you can easily schedule and dispatch field engineers, there isn’t much a functional ERP can’t do for your company.

Customize Your Mixed-Mode Manufacturing ERP for the Best Fit

While there are certainly ERPs that are industry-specific to manufacturing, mixed-mode manufacturing is a rapidly changing environment. Being able to customize your ERP to your actual manufacturing needs is vital. The customization gives you the control, data, and processing you need for your company, instead of forcing your company to fit into an existing model that isn’t quite the right fit.

Just as your mixed-mode manufacturing company is diverse, your mixed-mode manufacturing ERP should be diverse, too. With customization, the ability to add modules on or remove as needed, and integration with the systems you already use and enjoy, your ERP will work for you instead of vice-versa.

Mixed-Mode Manufacturing ERP Training

When you are switching over to an ERP, it is an exciting time, but it can be daunting for staff, especially those used to manual operations and data entry. You can make it more manageable and more successful with ERP training. Your vendor should work with your company leaders to train alongside implementation, and offer further education as needed.

For all of your mixed-mode manufacturing ERP needs, we can help you in choosing and implementing the right fit for your company, as well as the training required for a successful transition. Contact our team at Decision Resources Inc. at 412-562-9660 or email info@decision.com.

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