2010 September Issue- ERP is not Enough

In today’s competitive environment an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system must be capable of reporting company information in real time.  That is the only way actionable information will be available to make decisions.  The old way of providing detailed reports with large amounts of data collected over a week or month is no longer useful.  Executives need dynamic verifiable information in order to understand better the potential implications on the business.  ERP can be a transformative tool for a company only if it has real time production data to support the managers and executives. 

Solving ERP’s shortcomings

The main functionality an ERP system lacks is the ability to show real time production status.  Efforts to provide this capability within the ERP system have been less than effective.  Real time shop floor information can only be provided when a paperless manufacturing system integrates with the ERP system. 

Key value add-ons of a paperless manufacturing system:

Adding a paperless manufacturing system to ERP is less expensive and more effective than trying to add real time capability to an ERP system.  ERP systems are purchased because they are very good at monitoring the business, specifically financials.  ERP systems are not a best-of-breed solution for manufacturing operations.  

Extend your ERP system across the shop floor with a best-of-breed paperless manufacturing solution and get more value for your ERP investment.

ERP with a Paperless Manufacturing Solution is:

• Easier to use
  • The user interface is simple and easy for the shop technician to navigate 
  • It provides all the information needed to do the job and collect the quality data
  • It communicates to ERP – “behind the scenes” with real time information 

• A “Best of Breed” solution
  • Paperless manufacturing eliminates errors and increases productivity

• Easy to integrate across legacy systems
  • ERP, PDM and Quality systems working in unison