On February 6th Global Shop Solutions will be giving our first quarterly webcast. Each quarter, one of these webcasts will be highlighting a business goal and, how Global Shop One-System ERP Solutions™ can help businesses achieve that goal. This week’s topic is “Trust Global Shop for Increased Sales.” (more…)
Purchasing is highly efficient in Global Shop’s ERP Software. GS Automated Purchasing users experience streamlined inventory management and time spent on purchasing is cut in half! Through the use of these three innovative tools companies are fully capable of streamlining their purchasing system (more…)
Is it possible to get a complete, fully integrated enterprise resource planning (ERP) software package where the whole process is ISO and QS-9000 compliant? They’re some ERP systems out there that do this, and through them you can achieve the sort of compliance levels you need to document and exhibit ISO and QS-9000. Or, rather, you should be able to do so.
ISO certification requires documenting what you do and proving that you do what you document. Some ERP software has complete traceability including lot, heat and serial number for getting a real edge on quality audits. You can also catch non-performance before it really starts on designated screens in real-time or on each day’s early morning reports. (more…)
The management of workflow in the manufacturing business is considered one of the most complex, yet most vital, components for achieving optimum productivity. When workflow management is the product of an integrated enterprise resource planning (ERP) system—which is itself embedded in business process management (BPM)—then chances are increased for improvement in production output and bottom-line profitability.
In Part 1 of this two-part blog series, we introduced the concept of integrating ERP and BPM. In Part 1, it was suggested that workflow mapping is an underutilized tool for a continuous improvement approach to manufacturing. Let us now take a look at some specific examples of the BPM concept, and how it is achieved through workflow mapping. (more…)
The goal of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system is to provide an integrated solution to all business areas of a particular enterprise. In the best-case scenario, you have one software system the whole company can access and work with. For example, all the data for finance, sales, accounting, human resources and inventory is managed in one central repository and each business group within the organization accesses only the subset of data that they need. In this two-part blog series, we will examine how ERP works along other aspects of the business for optimizing workflow.
Of course, workflow as a manufacturing business concept is nothing new. Even before the dawn of the computer age, there have always been established procedures for handling operations within a corporate structure. As another example, consider the purchase order: an employee notifies their manager that they require a particular item; the manager then puts in a requisition, which, depending on his level of authority, may need to be bumped further up the management chain until it’s authorized; it is then handed over to the purchasing coordinator and finally purchased. (more…)
When you form solid raw materials to produce things you can easily touch, see, and/or count, you are most likely what is called a discrete manufacturer. Discrete manufacturing is often characterized by the making of individual or separate units, which is typically low in volume and very high in complexity. That is to say, in discrete manufacturing you are often either building single parts or assemblies of several other parts, with such assemblies often themselves even going into the manufacture of ever more complex products or machines.
This concept is distinguished from what is called a process manufacturing model that often involves notions such as formulas and mixing. Such process can be found in the production of items such as pharmaceuticals, fertilizers, foodstuffs, petroleum products, and so forth. (more…)
How do you gauge success in manufacturing? Most would say it’s a factor of profitability, and of course, they would be correct. But, when it gets to the nitty-gritty of making sure profitability is running full-speed ahead, shop performance is going to have a great bearing on just how that profitability is achieved.
Certainly, when it comes to the investment you might make in an enterprise resource planning system (ERP), performance measurement is going to be considered the biggest payback area you can achieve. The stronger an ERP system is in being able to measure performance on a wide variety of cross-operation variables, the better informed you will be about what’s going on within your production area — and where the best improvements will realize the greatest returns in profitability. (more…)
In Part I of our continuing blog article series on getting ERP right the first time you do it, we introduced the concept of ERP as a means to build greater profitability through gains in efficiency. Now, let’s take a look at what is the function of ERP within the manufacturing system, and what benefits can be had through its employment.
In essence, ERP software serves as a central communication point, or hub, for all the activities in a manufacturing business. It consists of different modules that handle everything from estimating and quoting work orders, all the way to final delivery and billing. ERP also handles all the financial aspects of work generation, including purchasing, inventory management, administrative overhead and all the accounting and financial activities. (more…)
Manufacturing in the U.S. is getting tougher all the time and the pressure is unrelenting. To remain competitive, you must continually cut costs, increase productivity and improve quality, while at the same time offering better service, faster delivery and lower prices. Fortunately, there is a tool to help you accomplish all this and more.
You’ve probably heard about enterprise resource planning (ERP,) the manufacturing planning approach that cuts cost and boosts productivity by integrating all your production processes into one cohesive system. You’ve probably heard that it can improve on-time deliveries and inventory control while simultaneously reducing administrative overhead. That it can streamline all of your manufacturing processes by increasing visibility throughout the organization. And that it can turn inefficient companies with high cost structures into lean, mean operations that can compete with anyone in the world. (more…)
Have you ever wondered how much tighter you can make your material costs? If you have, the next question to yourself was no doubt, “How can I do it?” Once a sale is generated, procurement processes get added into whole list of things to do to complete the order on time and on budget. To this end, enterprise resource planning software (ERP) helps manufacturers streamline their purchasing and procurement processes. Such automated purchasing is designed to interface with the efficiencies built into other automation introduced to the shop floor for the past half century.
By streamlining purchasing via automated ERP applications, a company can take advantage of the nuances that occur in the procurement process. For example, how convenient, and profitable, would it be to have your entire supply chain at the fingertips of your purchasing manager? With an automated purchasing system as connected part of your whole production system, real-time information regarding raw materials is tied into a single-point presentation and loaded with automated triggers. (more…)
