The cloud is nothing new, but as the market matures for cloud applications, companies in traditional, conservative industries are jumping on board.

In our last blog, we found that more “leaders” (top 35% of manufacturing organizations), were more than three times as likely to utilize cloud ERP for its ability to provide easy updates, increase agility, and enhance visibility for companies using this deployment method. Today, we would like to look at another key factor in the decision-making process, discussing just how much money the cloud is worth to organizations.

It’s well known that ERP is prevalent in the manufacturing community, but according to our last blog, few manufacturers are making the most of it. With the manufacturing environment more competitive than ever, the gap between “leaders” and “followers” is broadening. According to recent Aberdeen research, there is still hope, but the window of opportunity is shrinking.

In recent years, leaders, defined by Aberdeen Research as the top 35% of manufacturers, have become more attentive to customer needs, increased their presence on a global scale, and took control of their supply chains, and have begun to pull away from the competition. Notably, as discussed in our last blog and a recent Aberdeen report, there is one major differentiator: Complete, Modern, End-to-End ERP.

Manufacturers have long used enterprise resource planning to manage their finances, take control of payments, and gain visibility into processes. With nearly every manufacturer using ERP software, the difference between leaders and followers isn’t whether or not they have embraced ERP, it’s how they are leveraging it.

According to the recent Aberdeen Group report on the current state of ERP in manufacturing, leading manufacturers (top 35%) are only slightly more likely to use ERP software than their peers, embracing the software at 97% compared to 88% among followers. This means that the leaders are using the software differently. How so? Read on to find out.

With cloud computing now a mainstream concept, analysts have moved on to a new term that is going to change the way manufacturers do business. The term, Industry 4.0, refers to the next “Industrial Revolution” and refers to new collaboration and data exchange between people, processes, technologies and things. However, without a stable foundation, the push towards Industry 4.0 will fail to get out of the starting gate.

So many options available, so many stakeholders affected, and so little room for error—the selection of enterprise resource planning presents a unique challenge. From the point when you realize that the status quo isn’t cutting it to the decision, implementation, and deployment, you will hear a lot of advice—some good, some bad.

Choosing new manufacturing ERP software that includes great general ledger, accounts payable, cash management, etc., is fairly easy. Decision makers should look for features like easy inter-company transactions perhaps for a complicated process, great reporting and drill-down capabilities. The manufacturer has a much greater challenge. In the last 20 years I have been selling manufacturing solutions and nine times out of ten, the business leaders are not concerned with how the GL or any of the financial modules work. They ask if the software has financial modules and do they work. Often our demonstrations end with financials, or we schedule them for another day, since really what the prospect wants to see is how the software will handle their manufacturing operations.

I came across this whitepaper by Nick Castellina, the VP and Research Group Director at the Aberdeen Group and thought I would share some of the results of a survey focused on manufacturing leaders: What do Manufacturers Look For in an ERP Solution? I have been following Nick's work for a long time. He provides insightful information for the manufacturing and distribution industries.

This article is going to try to sell you something and I do hope that if you are a small to mid-sized company you don't let that turn you off and read the rest of this article.  I have been selling business software to manufacturers and distributors for 20 years.  If I am selling into the small to mid-sized companies, I often find that the reason they need new software is because they can't function on their old legacy system. These systems can range from a custom database for operations, and QuickBooks for accounting, or software that even I have never heard of.  The focus of the business has been developing a customer base and ensuring plant equipment and inventory as the top priority.  They are talking to me because they are in pain due to the lack of the tools needed to do business in today's world.  Why not start with a decent software solution at the before your huge growth cycle?  This really has not been possible until now with the cloud ERP solutions like Acumatica a FULL featured business software that can be used on ANY device.  Please read on...

Lane Gorman Trubitt, LLC (“LGT”) is  partnering with TMAC for an upcoming manufacturing and distribution half-day event. Please join them for 5 complimentary hours of continuing education, not to mention a continental breakfast, lunch, and networking with M&D industry leaders from across the Metroplex.

Satya Kudapa will be presenting on Lean Six Sigma.  He has more than eight years of experience providing professional coaching, mentoring and implementing Quality Management Systems, Lean Six Sigma Principles and Project Management.

If you've ever wondered what a behind-the-scenes view of implementing Lean Six Sigma would look like for your company, or if you are in the process and are looking for expert advice on how to make the implementation as smooth as possible, make sure you don't miss out on a discussion on that topic (and more) led by Will McDade, the CFO of Interstate Batteries.

CPE: 5 hrs
Area of Study: Management
Level: Intermediate-Advanced

[av_textblock size='' font_color='' color='' av-medium-font-size='' av-small-font-size='' av-mini-font-size='' av_uid='av-6m3ud' admin_preview_bg='']

6 Manufacturing Problems ERP Solves

Manufacturers face various challenges every single day. The challenges may vary from one manufacturer to another. However, there are common problems facing all the manufacturers alike. Some of these issues can be addressed using personalized company policies or well-designed SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures)  while others can be addressed by implementing a good integrated ERP system.

An ERP system is designed with numerous business applications which are then integrated within the system, but with each individual tool managing specific operations of the organization. Here are the six manufacturing problems that can be solved using ERPs:

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is a trusted business tool companies use to monitor and facilitate operations and, in turn, increase revenue. Unfortunately, notoriety is often followed by false hearsay. In this 2-part article, we will be talking about 5 common myths about ERP that some organizations believe.