Manufacturing Insights

An ERP blog from MAX

Rick Elder

Recent Posts

Posted on Apr 26, 2018 3:27:40 PM by Rick Elder

Understanding Manufacturing Environments: Exploring the Environments

Topics: ERP, Shop Floor & Production, Processes, APICS, APICS Principles

In our first post, we introduced the concept of manufacturing environments. In this post, we'll go into detail to define the different environments.
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Posted on Apr 18, 2018 8:30:00 AM by Rick Elder

Understanding Manufacturing Environments: Introducing the Different Environments

Topics: ERP, Shop Floor & Production, Processes, APICS, APICS Principles

Those of you who have heard me teach this topic know that I strongly believe that the discussion of manufacturing environments is one of the most significant parts of the APICS Body of Knowledge.[1] From strategy to implementation, it is one of the most powerful discussions you can have about your...
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Posted on Mar 16, 2018 11:41:37 AM by Rick Elder

Solving Department Issues Using The Triad: Cost, Quality, and Accuracy

Topics: ERP, Manufacturing Control System, APICS, APICS Principles

This is the final post in a series related to Solving Department Issues Using the Triad. You can start with the beginning of the series here. This series introduces the concept of the triad, a model used to represent the fundamental objectives of the manufacturing control system. In this post,...
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Posted on Jan 26, 2018 3:05:47 PM by Rick Elder

Solving Department Issues Using The Triad: Inventory and Productivity

Topics: ERP, Manufacturing Control System, APICS, APICS Principles, Productivity, Inventory

In our last post, we discussed the concept of the triad, a model used to show us the basic objectives of the manufacturing control system and its relationship to Customer Service. In this second post, we'll dive into the next components: Inventory and Productivity.
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Posted on Jan 11, 2018 11:09:07 AM by Rick Elder

Customer Service and the Triad Model

Topics: ERP, Manufacturing Control System, APICS, APICS Principles

Back in the late 1990’s, I was teaching an Introduction to Supply Chain Management course at the Malvern, PA manufacturing facility of the Invisible Fence Company. Throughout the course, we kept coming back to fundamental objectives found throughout the material. Those objectives, and the...
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Posted on Dec 4, 2017 4:22:24 PM by Rick Elder

Insider's Guide to Manufacturing Control Systems: Part 2 - Execution

Topics: Manufacturing, Manufacturing Control System, Enterprise Resource Planning, Manufacturing Resource Planning, MCS Execution, Shop Floor Execution

In our last post on MCS, we reviewed the Planning side of the Manufacturing Control System (MCS) model, which is the foundation for properly implementing modern Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) packages. We will revisit the MCS model, which is divided into the planning side and execution side. We...
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Posted on Nov 27, 2017 3:17:02 PM by Rick Elder

Insider's Guide to Manufacturing Control Systems: Part 1 - Planning

Topics: Manufacturing, Resource Management, Manufacturing Control System, Operations Management, Enterprise Resource Planning

The Manufacturing Control System (MCS) model provides the structural foundation for the implementation of today's Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software packages. This fundamental model can be used with almost any commercially available ERP system on the market today, and should be easily...
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Posted on Aug 4, 2017 10:57:16 AM by Rick Elder

Solving Department Issues with the Triad: Introduction

Topics: Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Resource Management, Manufacturing Control System, Operations Management, Enterprise Resource Planning, Cost-Savings

Different philosophies of business, different parts of a business, different personalities running the different parts of a business, etc. all have naturally conflicting objectives. To be an effective manager, you must understand and accept those conflicts in order to have compassion for your...
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Posted on Oct 16, 2016 11:00:00 AM by Rick Elder

ERP Use Concepts to Manage Your Supply Chain

Topics: Keys to ERP

Three Philosophies You Need to Know While there are many different philosophies in operations management today, the most significant stem from one of three predominant schools of thought. Those three schools are: Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Lean Manufacturing (LM) Theory of Constraints (TOC)...
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Posted on Aug 25, 2016 7:30:00 AM by Rick Elder

Know Your Manufacturing Environment

Topics: Keys to ERP

How to Define Success in Your Manufacturing Environment Declaring the manufacturing environment for each product family sets the strategy for that family. It also identifies the proper set of tactics that must be paid attention to if you are to succeed. There are four primary manufacturing...
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Insights, opinions and news relating to the world of manufacturing and ERP software. Read the full introduction here.

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