| SG Systems’ innovative and ground breaking ‘Vantage’ factory floor software suite is unlocking the real power of ERP and adding value to MRP. Already tried and tested in dozens of applications, this critical piece in the manufacturing jigsaw offers a remarkably fast return on investment and a number of important tangible benefits to the user. |
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| More and more of today's manufacturing companies are becoming reliant on ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems to coordinate and control their operational activities. On the face of it there are very attractive reasons for going down the ERP route. Benefits include a single system to support rather than several small and different systems; a single applications architecture with limited interfaces; and access to management information unavailable across a mix of applications. In principle more integration should mean lower costs. |
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The investment to implement such systems in terms of direct cost and personnel time is significant, often running into hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. The real costs and impacts are understandably not played up by the Vendors and implementation effort is always greater than expected. It is unheard of for an organisation to have implemented ahead of schedule and under budget. |
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| Once operational, most companies appear to be reasonably content with their ERP- on the surface. However bubbling under is the concern over what has become known as 'unaccountable losses'. Mention this taboo phrase to any corporate finance director and it sends a shiver down their spine. These losses usually arise from the inability of the system to access and use essential factory floor data in real-time. |
| The food industry is a classic example where lack of accurate real-time data is a serious problem. In such fast moving ever-changing environments keeping the finger on the pulse is critical. Consider a company manufacturing their products from pre-defined recipes. ERP systems normally work on preset targets for the batches and all their calculations assume that during the process these targets are met - precisely. Under normal circumstances they have no real-time data to contradict otherwise. For instance, if a recipe make-up calls for a target weight of say 100 lb for a particular ingredient, the system assumes that 100 lb is used; the stock is downgraded by this amount and costings calculated accordingly. However, what happens if the amount used is outside the target as is typically the case? If the process relies on manual ingredient addition, more products rather than less is usually added. |
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