Top ERP Features That Drive Efficiency in Process Manufacturing
Manufacturing is a driving force of modern world economies. The world is trying to enter and gain strong foothold in manufacturing domain to achieve financial boost. But, it is a complex domain to venture in. There are a lot of controlling and impacting factors that govern success.
On macro level there are two types of manufacturing – discrete and process. Although both are complex, but the degree of complexity rises abruptly with process manufacturing.
In this blog, we will discuss the features of ERP that can drive efficiency in process manufacturing but, before discussing that, let us brush up basics and get an overview of types of manufacturing and how do they differ.
Types of manufacturing:
As discussed, there are two types of manufacturing:
Discrete manufacturing- Manufacturing which involves creation of products by assembling various independent components is known as Discrete Manufacturing. In such manufacturing, components can be dismantled to gain original units.
To put it through an example, car manufacturing comes under discrete manufacturing. Every part of the car, say- tyre, steering, window, seats, paddle, nut/bolts etc. are single units and are assembled to make a structure known as car. The final product, that is a car, can be dismantled to get original units back in the original form.
Hence, in discrete manufacturing original units do not change their identity in the process of creation of final product.
Process manufacturing- Manufacturing which involves mixing of various raw materials, in specific amount, to produce entirely new product is called process manufacturing. In such manufacturing, individual raw materials cannot be retrieved once the process is initiated and final product is created.
As an example, let us take Biscuit industry. A biscuit is made after mixing various raw materials like salt, sugar, flour, water, ghee/oil etc. Once the materials are mixed, one cannot obtain original raw materials.
Hence, in process manufacturing raw materials change their identity in the process of creation of final product.
After understanding the difference between two types of manufacturing, let us understand why process manufacturing is more complex than discrete manufacturing.?
Why process manufacturing is more complex?
Since original components can be regained in discrete, feasibility of rework in case of wrong assembly or production, makes it convenient and cost effective. Same components can be reused with little or no alteration.
In case of process manufacturing, raw materials lose their identity after mixing and hence, there is no feasibility of rework in case of wrong process of mixing which makes it more complex and costlier.
Moreover, the raw materials used in process manufacturing have pre-defined shelf life/ expiry life and therefore, their usage becomes more calculative.
Since manufacturing plays a pivotal role in churning the world’s economies, industries try hard to increase their efficiency. Whether discrete or process, both manufacturers find ERP software as their best friend to solve their complex issues and ease out intricate tasks.
Since the scope of this blog restricts us to focus on process manufacturing only, let us discuss key ERP features that will help process manufacturing to drive efficiency.
Top process ERP features to drive efficiency:
Formula/Recipe management- Formula is the base of process manufacturing. An ERP software for process manufacturing ensures product standardization by precisely noting every ingredient, its proportion and process steps.? This ensures that every time the production output is uniform.
The software also has versioning facility to ensure that all the recipes/formulas are stored and only the one which is current and approved is in the process. Hence, the software allows to compare, revise older formula/recipe to make better products that suit the market.
The formula or recipe module of process ERP software like BatchMaster ERP stores various documents. This way it ensures that every product complies with legal standards by maintaining accurate records of all ingredients and processes used in production.
The formula /recipe management also helps in substituting alternatives to ingredients and develop new ones by ‘what-if’ analysis. One side, it can be used to innovate, and on the other side it can be useful in reducing cost by finding alternate and cheaper ingredients with similar effect.
Inventory management- An optimized inventory is bedrock of great manufacturing business. With inventory management feature in process manufacturing ERP, manufacturers can ensure that they have updated information about their inventory status.? This visibility is helpful in maintaining adequate inventory levels, avoiding stock outs or overstocking.
The Inventory module can set a reordering point of critical raw material. Any material that is vital for the organization and is used frequently can be set as critical. Hence, by assigning the reordering point to a critical material, system automatically orders when it drops below the threshold level. This ensures constant availability of critical element to carry out production without a halt.?
One of the important aspects of inventory management is cycle count and physical count. It is a process to bridge the gap between physical inventory and that in the system. Process manufacturing ERP software facilitates cycle count and physical count without delaying or restricting the processes of the organization. This keeps the virtual and physical inventory in sync.
Shelf-life determination- In process manufacturing, managing and tracking shelf life or expiry date of materials is a crucial factor. A process manufacturing software helps in this by tracking material based on LIFO, FIFO, FEFO, etc. fashion. Issue of materials based on these methods save wastage to a large extent.
Quality Control- Quality is non-negotiable factor in today’s competitive world.? Especially in process manufacturing industries like food, pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals etc., a poor-quality product not only dents the company’s reputation but also risks lives. Hence, it becomes more important to produce quality products.
A process manufacturing ERP like BatchMaster ERP, facilitates defining QC tests with accepted values, tolerance values, sample and recount values.
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It allows to embed QC tests and special manufacturing instructions within specification, thereby only quality checked and passed materials are allowed to flow in your supply chain.
It can apply quality checks on inventory coming from vendor, and only after the quality checks is passed, the material will enter warehouse.
Likewise, the software facilitates QC at various stages of supply chain including production & shipment, ensuring quality checked and passed products go out for delivery.
This way this feature helps not only to build customer satisfaction but also a brand reputation in the market. ?
Production planning and processing- Production planning is one of the important aspects of manufacturing. Especially in process manufacturing, where inventory materials have specific shelf life and expiry dates, planning becomes more important.
A good process manufacturing software helps you to plan and process specifically according to the demand. The software consolidates all the demands coming from various sources like sales orders, forecasts etc. and identifies the necessary production required to fulfil the demands.
MPS and MRP feature of the software work at tandem to figure out exactly when, where and how much to produce and procure to meet the demands.
Consider a scenario where delivery date is 16th of a month, and you are starting production on 10th. The MPS module of the process manufacturing software will help you by making efficient production schedules, including when & how many batches need to be produced, based on required-raw-materials data and delivery dates, eliminating delays and ensuring delivery deadlines are met.
Moreover, it even suggests you modify starting date, or shift delivery date if process cells are limited.
This cohesive and concurrent actions make smooth production which are just enough to fulfil the requirement and hence, avoid wastage and save costs.
Compliance- Compliance is generally a nightmare for manufacturers. A process manufacturing software like BatchMaster ERP, helps you to make compliant products through its various capabilities.
It helps you to document/record all the processes and procedures to ensure that the products and processes are compliant with the industry specific norms – both local and international.
For example, in food industry various compliance like FDA, FSSAI, cGMP, HACCP, nutritional labelling, allergen management, etc. are at work.
Likewise, in paint industry HAZMAT bill of lading, GHS reports, SDS, VOC, SARA reporting etc., are important.
BatchMaster ERP by-design helps meet these and various other industry regulations that are difficult to comply with manually.
Lot traceability- Process manufacturing ERP like BatchMaster ERP facilitates tracking of inventory by lot, serial or batch. This facility permits tracking of materials flowing through supply chain, in both forward and backward direction. Hence, organization responds quickly in case of recalls, if the situations arise.
This lower response time saves possible dent to the organization – both money-wise and reputation-wise.
Reporting- Reports of a process manufacturing software is like an X-ray. It shows internal positives, negatives, areas of improvement, areas of excellence in its set pattern. By analysing various reports, management of the organization can take informed decisions and strategize for future.
One of the major plus point of an ERP software is its reporting capabilities. An ERP provides reports on all operations, process, transaction, activities, master data and such, helping officials at all levels to make informed decisions.
Integration- For large process manufacturing organization, the software must show ability to integrate with various other solutions and make a cohesive system of solution.
For example, it must be able to integrate with hand-held RFID devices to ease out inventory checking task.? ?
The integration with various financials like Tally, or Sage or any other existing software helps ERP software to unite the whole eco-system and draw faster results.? ??
A big question- Which process manufacturing software is ideal for me?
By considering the above features and looking at how these features drive efficiency in process manufacturing, you might be thinking to get a perfect ERP software for your organization. But an obvious question pops up- which one is the best for you?
BatchMaster ERP can be the perfect choice for your manufacturing organization. Not only because the software has all the above-mentioned features in built, but it has many other features which are less found in other software in the market and can give you a cutting-edge over your competitors. Some of these features are like:
New Product Development- The software offers new product development facility without hampering or affecting daily processes. It allows you to maintain separate inventory for sampling and routine operations, calculate costs of new product and do as many alterations as required without interfering with daily processes.? ?
SuperBatch- It allows you to launch your intermediates and finished good together in a single batch, yet in the required chronological order.
Sales kitting- This feature helps you to club two or more products to form a kit and the software automatically calculates market viable and profitable cost of selling.
Catch-weight- Imperative feature for meat, poultry, and dairy industry, the feature allows to calculate precise price according to weight of the product. Since the pricing of meat products and dairy co-product like Paneer, often depends on weight, BatchMaster ERP software automatically adjusts and calculates prices down to the smallest detail and guarantees accurate billing.?
Multiple currency and language support- The software offers multi-currency and multi-language feature. Hence, now you can easily work across geographies without hassle.
Moreover, it has an experience of over 40 years of serving process manufacturers in industries like Food & Beverages, Pharmaceuticals, Cosmetics & Personal Care, Specialty Chemicals, Paints & Coatings, etc. So, if you are a process manufacturer, in search for a process manufacturing ERP software, look no other than BatchMaster ERP. It brings along expertise in process manufacturing domain with impeccable service & implementation team to churn faster ROI.
To know more about the software visit BatchMaster or mail us on [email protected] .