What is manufacturing industry ERP software?

What is a manufacturing ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) System?

When it comes to managing production processes, manufacturers often face a number of challenges. There’s procurement, finance, project management, manufacturing operations, and sales—all of which are often managed in their own separate systems. Getting a sense of the bigger picture and how your company is performing can be challenging when needing to compare data from multiple sources.

A manufacturing enterprise resource planning (ERP) system brings all of those discrete business functions together under one umbrella. With a single manufacturing ERP dashboard, leaders can see at a glance how the company is performing—and in turn, become more responsive and efficient. It provides a single source of information that coordinates activities and processes across business functions, allowing you to improve business productivity and agility, increase efficiency, and enhance customer satisfaction. 

5 signs your manufacturing business needs an ERP

Making the transition to manufacturing ERP software can feel daunting at first. Here are a few ways to tell your manufacturing business needs an ERP:

1. If you’re still using outdated software and/or paper-based processes: the likelihood of redundancies and errors are significantly increased and your employees are spending more time on mundane tasks.
2. If your existing business systems and processes are prone to bottlenecks: you’re spending too much time focused on the tactical and not enough time on the strategic.
3. If your departments are operating in silos: it’s too easy for there to be a breakdown in collaboration and communication, along with a slowdown in the ability to gather information at a glance to make informed decisions.
4. If you find it hard to answer critical business questions quickly, such as revenue per product line or how much raw material you have: it’s harder to make important decisions on the fly and you’re more likely to make the wrong decision.
5. If you can’t easily identify or act on new opportunities or answer critical business questions quickly: you’re losing out on potential sources of revenue that will enhance your profitability.

Moving to a manufacturing ERP allows you to see real-time metrics for your KPIs, streamline accuracy and efficiency, enhance workplace functions, and increase your overall profits and productivity—often with a smaller IT footprint than before. Read this blog to learn more about the five common manufacturing goals that Infor’s industry ERP solutions can help organizations achieve. 

Manufacturing ERP implementation types

If you’re ready to implement a modern manufacturing ERP system, there are three types of implementation to consider: cloud, hybrid, and on-premise. 

An on-premise ERP system is exactly what it sounds like—a system that lives on-site as part of your facility’s data center. With an upfront investment, you gain full ownership of the system and it belongs solely to your company. However, you are also now responsible for software and database licensing, application updates, security, and IT staff costs—plus ongoing hardware and system maintenance costs. While the initial investment may be clear, the ongoing maintenance may be less so, not to mention it’s prone to wear and tear over time—all of which adds up to unexpected expenses.

A cloud-based ERP system is more commonly delivered as a software-as-a-service (SaaS) and is entirely web-based. Because it’s managed by an ERP provider, it likely will include continual support, security, disaster recovery, maintenance, performance updates, training, and customization for a monthly subscription fee. This makes it easy for you to account for the expenses in your monthly budget. It also takes the burden off your organization for managing and maintaining the system because that is being managed elsewhere, allowing you to focus your employee retention efforts on other areas that will support the company’s operations.

A hybrid system is exactly what it sounds like—a mix of both cloud and on-premise. Some applications may live in the cloud, while others may live on-premise. A hybrid ERP system can offer a different level of flexibility than available with either a cloud-based or on-premise system. Keep in mind with a hybrid system, it will be key to know exactly what you want to achieve and how you want to achieve it since this requires a greater understanding of services and functions.