Open-Source ERP Software

There are some ERP software systems out there that are “configurable”. You’ll pay a lot of money for some of these systems, and then spend months learning how to configure them properly and get them configured to the point where they can do what you want them to do. It’s considerably more difficult than it would appear at first glance. Even some of your home-grown “I can do that with Access” IT people will have a difficult time with these systems, and it will take just as long as their Access project.

Real open-source ERP software gets you right into the middle of things, “into the weeds” if you will. Custom-tailored software, built on an open-source framework managed by the team performing the custom tailoring, won’t take as long to develop and the finished project will work even better because it was designed specifically for what you’re doing.

It’s also possible to take classes on frameworks such as this so your IT people can help with the management of the software. They’ll be able to track down minor bugs and glitches, and make changes as necessary, with the support of the framework’s development team when the need arises. This kind of support is unavailable with one of those expensive “configurable” ERP systems.

ERP software should assist you in managing your enterprise without that same software bogging you down in the details of its configuration in the first place. Getting a custom-tailored system up-and-running inside of a couple months, with support for another year, with your own people involved in its development and management … this will allow you to focus more on the business of running your business.

That’s really where your focus needs to be.

Artificial Intelligence in Production Scheduling Software

Let’s say you have a few production lines making individual items as part of an overall finished product. Your schedule ends up being all over the place. There are multiple processes, multiple people and multiple machine lines all feeding into the same areas where the finished product is assembled, tested and shipped. Looking at the schedule you’ve set up, either as part of a spreadsheet, a ‘manual’ system of pencil and paper (and lots of eraser marks) or even sticky notes on a painted piece of plywood, you really wonder how any kind of scheduling software could make any sense of what you do.

Production scheduling software can be smarter than you think.

Building artificial intelligence into a production scheduling system is a rather intelligent thing to do. It doesn’t matter how many production lines you have or how many other lines they feed into. The artificial intelligence already takes that into consideration. The intelligence looks at the current schedule and anything that needs to be added to it or deleted from it. It then starts mutating the schedule using a genetic algorithm, looking for the best possible solution for the current batch of jobs for the given lines. Once it finds the optimal solution, the artificial intelligence hands it back to you.

The production schedule it comes up with will likely be a bit different than what you might have done, so you may not recognize it. But the fact is, the schedule is there and, more importantly, it works.

Manual production scheduling systems are all well and good, and are certainly not something to be ignored. But if you want it done right, you’d better call in some artificial intelligence.

Manufacturing ERP Software: What Is It?

“Manufacturing ERP Software”. If you’ve been around manufacturing for any length of time, particularly if you’re a manager or if you’re in an IT department, you’ve probably heard this phrase mentioned somewhere. It seems quite a mouthful and is in fact rather catchy.

What does it really mean?

ERP stands for “Enterprise Resource Planning”. If you look at this web site you’ll find ERP includes management tools for a number of areas, including Financials, Customer Relation Management, Scheduling/Advanced Planning, Quality Assurance/Management, Supply Chain Management, Plant Level Performance Reporting, Business Intelligence, and Inventory, Warehouse and Distribution Management.

Manufacturing ERP looks at the entire organization as a whole, giving access to tools across the board for better managing the entire enterprise, not just one aspect of it. There’s nothing piece-meal about it. While it covers a number of different areas, that these areas interact isn’t something that can safely be ignored.

The problem with a lot of ERP software systems is that they’re either “canned” and users have to change how they do things to fit processes and such into the software’s box, or the software needs to be “configured” for the enterprise, which can take six months or more.

A custom-tailored ERP software system built from a well-constructed framework can take a lot less time to develop, be much less expensive, and can be designed to fit the organization’s needs, not the other way round.

This is what organizations really need anyway.

Location Identification in Warehouse Management Software

In developing a custom C# GPS application for deployment on Windows Mobile 6.x my mind tends to wander. It wanders and wonders about what else can be accomplished with this same technology that would be useful in other areas.

Logistics as it relates to Warehouse Managment Software is quite a large industry. Barcodes and RFID tags are used within a warehouse to track individual packages within the facility. As these are now largely wireless systems they’re exceedingly portable, unlike older wired systems which had to be used in-place as the packages went by. For the moment these systems will remain outside possble GPS use for reasons of accuracy (50-yard variables) and low satelite signal strength inside buildings. GPS tracking transponders are installed on trucks and trailers so the owners and operators can verify where shipments and drivers are at all times.

Only recently have managers realized these operations work best when custom-tailored software is developed to tie all these operations together for complete tracking. Parts, materials and finished products can now be tracked from the beginning of their use in a facility until they get to their final destination at a customer’s facility. And all this is accomplished within one software application designed for how the facility operates instead of attempting to change operations and workflows to match how the software operates.

It’s important to know where things are, particularly when you’re running a business. It’s even more important when you own that business. Custom-tailored Warehouse Management Software can certainly assist in this.

GPS and Scheduling Your Shipping

The majority of cell phones available today have built-in GPS functionality. While many phones that are manufacturer-specific and those that are much simpler only have GPS available for e911 functionality, phones which run the Windows Mobile operating system are apt to have GPS functions available for the user. Along with the applications which came with the phone and those available for retail, it’s also possible to develop programs for these phones via Microsoft’s development tools.

Custom-tailored production scheduling software can also involve using custom cell phone applications to ensure shipping occurs correctly. When a shipment is delivered the driver would turn on the cell phone and start a specially-built program. This program uses GPS to find the driver’s position, connect to the internet and, back at the factory, automatically record where the driver is and what time he or she is there.

There are many other possible aspects to this kind of software. The cell phone could also be used as a tracking device. If the driver is given "waypoints" such as specific rest and break liocations, these could also be logged back at the factory as check-in locations. This ensures the driver is where he or she is supposed to be.

One point about GPS software, even GPS software that is custom-built, is that it can be … what’s the word … persnicketty. It’s not so much the software as it is the GPS system itself. The satelites are located around the equator. Inside a building the signals from the satelites can be quite weak and the further you get from the equator the weaker those signals become. It takes signals from 3 – 4 satelites for a GPS receiver to calculate correct latitudes and longitudes. Within a wood-framed house at 41 degrees north, this author has found that while 4 satelites are available within the south end of the house, only one satelite can be seen within the north end of the house.

When working with GPS it’s important to acknowledge the system’s limitations. The system is good, it works, and it can obviously be made to work with production scheduling software. It just requires a lot of patience.