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The Future of Manufacturing ERP

PostedOn: 2018-05-09 11:12:10

It’s not breaking news that manufacturing ERP systems help organizations solve their operational challenges. Implementing ERP into any manufacturing operation is a potentially powerful strategy to reduce production costs, streamline processes and in the long term, impact a company’s growth.

With the vast majority of businesses now focusing on going digital and the rise of digital transformation within the organization, ERP for manufacturing must be primed and ready to leverage the latest technologies, such as IoT and AI. Here are five trends and tangible examples that best illustrate ERP in action and help shed some light on the future of ERP in the world of manufacturing.

 Powered by AI

This same AI-based technology can also be used to boost efficiency in manufacturing. A built-in, voice-activated AI-powered personal assistant can provide manufacturers with convenient and easy-to-use tools to make more informed decisions based on more in-depth data analysis. Integrated AI tools can help streamline production processes by automatically analyzing shop floor data and pinpointing operational anomalies. Not having to manually analyze vast amounts of data to optimize manufacturing processes can save valuable time and costly resources.

 ERP agility

In the hybrid, hyper-connected world, fast and efficient production and equally fast turnaround time are top priorities for manufacturers. The pace of change is so quick that often companies cannot be sure what their business model will be or how their business processes will look in the next two to three years. ERP systems deployed for manufacturing must, therefore, support business agility in a constantly changing configuration of products, customers, partners, and suppliers.

Support for citizen developers 

As defined by Gartner, A citizen developer is a user who creates new business applications for consumption by others using development and runtime environments sanctioned by corporate IT. Ideally, internal IT teams, admins, and even business users should be able to handle their own software applications, minimizing the dependency on third-party vendors and ultimately, shortening the time required to implement system changes. The ERP system of the future needs to provide the tools that allow users to customize the system without the need for programming skills.

Mobile ERP 

Today’s mobile ERP is already powered by a range of dedicated apps for Mobile Sales Force, Proof of Delivery, Warehouse and Mobile Service. ERP systems shouldn’t only enable users to access data on the go, they should also enable them to develop their own custom mobile apps quickly and easily.

Mobile apps are becoming the must-have tools to respond to real-time production changes. Immediate mobile access on the shop floor, for example, allows users to handle production line problems as they occur, reducing downtime and wasted materials. Using mobile apps, line managers can ensure operators are adhering to production schedules and issue maintenance orders, on-the-job instructions and even track material movement in real-time even when they are off-site. Supervisors can easily access shared data while they’re walking the shop floor and receive alerts and notifications on change work orders and the latest information about product availability, averting problems before they occur.