How Do You Choose the Right ERP Applications for Your Manufacturing Business?

ERP software is a tool that many manufacturers use to manage important business activities and operations such as their shop floors, customer relationships, financials, and more. ERP can enhance a variety of different areas in your manufacturing business, improve your bottom line, reduce your operational costs, upgrade your processes, increase accuracy and more.

Which Applications Are Right for You Depends on Where You Struggle

Every manufacturing business is unique, but there are common issues that manufacturers struggle with. Do you ask yourself any of these questions as you go through your workday?

• What should I do to keep a more accurate inventory?
• How can I improve my scheduling so I can deliver on time?
• Is there anything I can do to better control my labor and production costs?
• How can I better serve my customers?
• How can I grow my sales and increase my bottom line?
• What can I do to improve my quality?
• How can I move parts through my shop faster?

If you’re asking yourself these questions, know that you are not alone. The good news, there are a bunch of ERP applications that can help you answer these questions above and any you have rattling around your head.

Below, we recommend the top five ERP applications below to consider.

The Top 5 Applications to Consider for an Integrated ERP System

There’s an ERP application for every aspect of your business, check out these top 5 that manufacturers like you have used to simplify their operations:

1. Inventory: Every manufacturer dreams of a perfect physical inventory. With an inventory application in your ERP software, you’ll be able to accurately track all your material needs with real-time data and reporting, reducing cycle counting and days doing physical inventory counts.
2. Planning & Scheduling: Stay on top of every job in real-time with this robust application. This application will enable you to optimize your scheduling so you can deliver a quality part on time every time.
3. Shop Management: Everything begins and ends on the shop floor. A great shop management application will allow you to manage all your jobs with detailed and accurate information and reports.
4. Job Costing Accounting: Get up-to-the-minute visibility into your job profitability during and after products with a job costing application in your ERP software. You’ll always know exactly how much labor and material went into a part or how your cost breaks down to help you improve margins and lower your costs.
5. CRM : With real-time data, you’ll be able to provide a higher level of service for your customers. A CRM application enables your sales team to track leads and opportunities and never miss a beat.

Next Steps

These five applications will give you a good foundation to get started simplifying your manufacturing, but they don’t begin to scratch the surface of ERP applications available to you. We recommend you talk to an ERP expert who can walk you through each application and how it affects your manufacturing.  You can do this during an ERP demo. We encourage you to ask for an ERP demo and see which ERP applications are right for your business.