Having spent the last decade working as an IT professional who supports ERP and related systems for manufacturers, I've helped hundreds of companies achieve manufacturing success. I’ve noticed the most successful manufacturers are those who have the following three straightforward objectives:
- Cut costs
- Increase revenue
- Offer a competitive and quality product
Sounds simple, but truly executing on all three levels takes skill and fine-tuning. To cut costs, organizations typically look to the production floor, engineers and supply chain. In addition, “continuous improvement” is an oft-heard buzzword that organizations work hard to implement. If your systems aren't completely optimized, chances are it's costing you time and money.
Organizations can grow complacent once they've already negotiated the lowest price for raw materials, reduced scrap and defects to the minimum and cut build time. At this point, I've seen many organizations miss out by failing to take a critical look at their systems.
Find out if your systems are optimized.
Ask yourself and your organization the following questions:
- Do you take advantage of products that interface between systems to accommodate special processes you use?
- Do you leverage all of the aspects of your systems to their fullest?
- Do you have redundant systems and processes?
- Do your people have the training they need to utilize the systems efficiently and effectively?
Systems can be improved or leveraged within processes.
Here is a sampling of common improvements to an organization’s systems:
- Implement and/or automate Kanbans with suppliers;
- Off-line planning spreadsheets, reports or Heijunka documents can be automated and/or interfaced with MRP;
- Notifications for a variety of situations and conditions can be automated;
- Report automation and customization; and
- Inventory control automation.
MAX ERP consultants are experts at helping to identify areas like those above. Be sure to optimize systems when looking to improve your bottom line.
