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.

Module-Based Thin Client ERP Software

We’ve already talked about thin-client software and how it can be utilized anywhere within a facility on any computer with an internet browser installed. When developing software for this purpose the need for a module-based system becomes apparent when the actual requirements are discussed. This is due to the need for some functionality at first with the ability to add other functionality later.

Let’s say a facility is looking for a Scheduling system. With a thick-client software system built from the ground up, development of the software could easily take a year or more. The database has to be designed, relationships between tables and views need to be anticipated, and then the development of the scheduling portion itself can be begun. Once this is put into place, debugging needs to occur at a beta level. Test runs are executed and any issues fixed. Only after a lot of debugging has been accomplished can the software actually be installed and used, some months or even years down the road.

At that point, if more functionality is needed the entire process starts all over again. And then there are updates to the operating system, security patches, and constant updates to the software itself.

A module-based framework is much simpler from a development aspect. The framework and its modules are already proven and in some cases might be appropriate on their own for a given situation. Customization of the modules for a given situation, which is quite often more appropriate, can take a matter of weeks to accomplish. And any additional functionality can be added through the addition and customization of another module or two later on down the road.

Companies such as Tuppas Software specialize in these types of custom-tailored module-based software systems. This is the kind of company to seek out for manufacturing software solutions.

History of MRP

Some previous posts have started to lay out what Material Requirements Planning is and what to look for in a MRP system.  Today’s post will deal with the evolution of MRP.

MRP systems for inventory management first came about in the 1940’s, and became increasingly used in the 1950’s.

• The first MRP systems took a bill of materials for a specific finished product and exploded it into a production schedule and purchasing plan for the required components.
  Simple MRP
  • Focus on "order launching"
  • Used within production –not believed outside
• Before long, MRP was expanded to include information feedback loops so that production personnel could change and update the inputs into the system as needed.
  Closed Loop MRP
  • Focus on production scheduling
  • Interacts with the MPS to create feasible plans
• The next generation of MRP, known as manufacturing resources planning or MRP II, came about in the 1980s.  It added other functional areas or departments (such as engineering, accounting, marketing, finance, and human resources) into the planning process.
  MRP II (Manufacturing Resource Planning)
  • Focus on integrated financial planning
  • Treats the MPS as a decision variable
  • Capacity is considered (Capacity Resource Planning)
• A related concept that expands on MRP is enterprise resources planning (ERP), which uses computer technology to link the various functional areas across an entire business enterprise.
  ERP Systems
  • Common, centralized data for all areas
  • Implementation is costly and effort intensive
  • Forces business rules on companies 

Neat Blogs

We’ve been busy creating a few new sites and blogs, so today I’ll give you some links to the blogs; the links to the sites will come in a little bit.

 The first one deals with Key Performance Index (KPI).  We’re starting to get into KPI big-time, so you’ll hear lots more from us about it in the future.

We also have the following blogs:

• Agile Manufacturing Systems
• Total Quality Management (TQM)
• Open Source Manufacturing Execution Systesm (MES)
• Application Services
• Production Scheduling
• and finally, our Company’s Blog

Please take a look at them.  We’ll try to let you know when we’ve posted an article that would be of particular interest to those of you who are looking at this blog about Manufacturing ERP Systems and Manufacturing ERP Software.

What is MRP?

To discuss what MRP is, we’ll jump to the end result of the Material Requirements Planning process.  That end result is the finished product or finished goods.  Now while it may seem a little unusual to start at the end, that’s exactly where MRP starts. 

In systems work, it’s critical to understand where we’re trying to go.  Once we know where we want to go, we can try to figure out the best way to ge there.  But if we don’t know where we’re going, the odds are quite good that even the best plan won’t get us there.

MRP does this by starting at the finished goods and then working backwards from there.

We first look at the final result, the finished goods that are needed.  And then we ask “How do we get there?”.  In very simplified overview, we start to answer that question by looking at the production plan for these finished goods.  That in turn leads us backwards to the requirements for the subassemblies of these finished goods.  And since subassemblies are made up of components, we then look at these.  Then we finally get to the raw materials for those components. 

The purpose of all of this is to find answers to the following three questions:

• What is needed?
• How much is needed?
• When is it needed?

As Manufacturers, we’d like to produce as much income as possible. While there are many factors that contribute to our profitability, three that MRP systems address are:
How much can we produce?
Can we produce it on time?
And can we produce it with the least amount of inventory (both in actual use and left in storage)?

Future topics for this thread will include the inputs to the MRP (the Bill of Materials, the Master Schedule, and the records of the current inventory) and the processing (including the reports).  Other related posts will talk about the benefits of MRP and the history of MRP. 

Until then, here’s a link to an ERP software portal site.

See you then.

Thin Client ERP

What is the definition of Thin Client ERP? Thin client software refers to the relationship of the client (the end users’ computer) to the server where the software is stored and data is processed. A central server relays input information and feedback from and to the client machine. The opposite of thin client, thick client software performs most of the processing on the remote computer, then passes only data to be stored to the server. Many thin client devices run are capable of running from web broswers (referred to as browser-based software), because all significant processing occurs on the server.

 

 

This is beneficial since thin client computers are far less expensive than the computers needed to run thick client ERP software. Since most ERP systems are thick client, it can be difficult to find a thin client ERP system that includes the capabilites needed to optimize your business strategies. one software company that offers agile thin client ERP system is Tuppas Software, http://www.tuppas.com/erp-software/erp-software.htm. Tuppas is a company that specializes in modifiable software which maximizes a proactive team’s continuous improvement efforts.

 

 

In addition to cost savings on hardware, thin client systems provide many other advantages. Browser-based systems can be accessed from multiple locations without limiting the number of concurrent users. Upgrades and software changes occur at one location, so IT departments do not need to travel or spend time upgrading software on individual computers. Storing data in a central location and using the same software at all one’s facilities offers high-level views into business performance.

 

 

Thin client ERP is what all companies will be using in the next 5 to 10 years. Choosing a flexible system not only allows for growth, but also lets one take advantage of business opportunities and continuous improvement projects.

Manufacturing Resource Planning

Organization in manufacturing is essential to remaining competitive. Growing companies often find that their current software systems perform inadequately in an increasingly demanding environment. The competitive business market requires companies to be flexible in order to conform to new challenges and opportunities. 

 

Agile Manufacturing Resource Planning Software that is tailored for specific facilities allows companies to leverage successful business techniques and test new procedures. With flexible software, one can innovate and improve the system over time to ensure continuous improvement will not just be conceptual, but be practiced. 
 

 

JIT Inventory, MRP (Material Requirements Planning), SCM (Supply Chain Management), EDI (Electronic Data Interface) are all tool that can improve manufacturing resource planning. Many software systems offer these components, but only tailored systems provide changeable interfaces to empower a manufacturing team to exploit new procedures plus interactive in an advanced fashion with their suppliers and clients.

What to Look for in a Manufacturing ERP System

There are various types of Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) ERP available today, and each has its own approach in how it looks at the ERP requirements and in how it implements those requirements.  While each company looking into using MES has its own individual, specific requirements, there are some general concepts that should be considered.

The obvious Number 1 requirement is that the MES ERP system does what your company needs it to do.  In most cases, this requirement is the sole overall requirement.  So what software features should you look for to assure that your system meets this requirement?

Modular  You should be able to add just the functionality you want to your system. You shouldn’t have to install an entire MES or ERP solution just to get the portion that you need.

Scalable  The modules should be able to be run on a stand alone PC, on a local network, or across a multi-location organization.  The software should also be able to keep up as your business grows.

Portable  The modules should be able to be run across multiple platforms, both hardware and software.

Extendible  It should be easy to add new functionality to the modules as your needs change.

Customizable Open Source  You should be able to customize the software without having to pay expensive  consultant fees.

Model Driven Architecture (tiered architecture)  Separating the data layer from the presentation layer means that you won’t need to rebuild your system every 7 – 10 years as technology changes.

Thin Client  These browser based systems allow for anywhere internet access to your software with a minimum of hardware. They are less expensive, and are able to be employed in the harsh factory environments where a full PC could not survive. 

 Some other features that you may want, or need, to consider are:

SaaS This method of software delivery virtually eliminates the risks and large expense associated with a system purchase.

Wireless Wireless capabilities give you instant access from multiple databases and locations including Pocket Pcs, PDAs, smart phones and more.

To recap, just remember that the primary purpose of your software system is to provide you with what you need!

Hello world!

This post site is dedicated to providing information about Manufacturing ERP Software, and Thin Client ERP Software in particular.

We will be posting articles about the various aspects of these ERP systems, including what they are, what the benefits are, things to watch out for, how to set up a Thin Client, etc.

Hope to see you back here often.