Technology is a constantly moving target, and it can be challenging to know how a system or trend that's popular today will look five to 10 years down the road. Manufacturing operators need to ensure that their tools can last for the long haul and accomplish complex tasks.

Enterprise resource planning systems haven't always been associated with this type of flexibility, but they are significantly improving to bolster business capabilities. There are a few steps that manufacturers can take to create a future-proof ERP system that will support them in the years ahead.

1. Enable plug-ins

Adaptability is going to be important for any program or hardware that needs to weather major tech shifts. In the past, solutions were boxed with set features and then were only expanded or changed when a new version came out. Users now expect their system to incorporate functionality quickly, rather than months or years down the road. In an interview with Forbes, Pentaho's James Dixon suggested making it an open system configured with different components and plug-ins. This would provide a number of tactical advantages for handling one-off customer requests and provisioning as required.

2. Leverage analytics

Gathering and utilizing data for better decision-making has become a priority across businesses. ERP must be able to not only deliver the necessary information for reporting purposes, but also ensure that workers are able to view these metrics on the floor. Many ERP systems come with built-in reporting tools, but it will be essential to ensure that they can handle the bulk of big data needs emerging within the workplace.

As CIO Review contributor Jorge Frausto noted, companies can evaluate ERP and other pillar applications that interface with the system to form a consistent, semantic data layer. This will help measure the success of ERP on all of these systems working together to increase productivity and enable teams to deliver on schedule and on budget.

3. Ensure mobility

The future looks to rely on mobile devices and associated technology, but ERP has largely been designed to stay put. As these systems continue to evolve, it will be important for manufacturers to choose one that enables mobility. TechTarget contributor Linda Rosencrance noted that with mobility, ERP systems help enhance customer relationships, improve worker productivity and empower manufacturers to be more competitive. There will certainly be a number of challenges like security and performance to consider, but mobility can help deliver value to users and boost future-proofing strategies.

"Users expect simple, intuitive, high-performance apps that leverage the native capabilities of the device," industry expert David Rowe told Rosencrance. "What's required for rapid user adoption and high customer satisfaction is a singular, consistent mobile experience, shielding users from the underlying complexities of individual applications."

Organizations want to ensure that their investments are going to be valuable for the foreseeable future and beyond. Future-proofing an ERP system will be integral to helping manufacturers adapt quickly while continuing to deliver quality products to their clients.

Over the past decade, our relationship with and expectations of technology have drastically changed. Millennials now represent the largest subset of the American workforce, and their preferences and views will differ from those of older staff members. The next generation of employees is not only making a mark on manufacturing operations, it's also shaping how ERP solutions evolve and dictating the capabilities that will be required in the future.

Incorporating mobility

When there's an app for virtually everything, why not have an ERP system that directly connects with one? Workers no longer want to carry around multiple devices for their job or be tied down to a desktop with legacy software. Staff expect to use their smartphones to access ERP data and order inventory and have a full view into manufacturing operations. TechTarget contributor Beth Stackpole noted that there's an expectation of immediately having information available. This type of accessibility will be attractive to new talent as older staff start to retire.

It's also important for the ERP system to have an interface that's easy to navigate. Workers can start using the software right out of the box with no training, providing value right away, but this is only possible if the solution is presented in a way that's familiar and simple to use.

"A user interface is like a joke. If you have to explain it, it's not a good one," Jay Flores, STEM ambassador at Rockwell Automation, told Stackpole. "People expect a lot more intuitive interaction with machines because of touchscreens and the iPhone and iPad era. They need to be able to understand quickly what it is they need to do."

Collaboration is key

Millennials increasingly look to ensure that everyone is on the same page, but this isn't possible without the right tools. An ERP system must enable workers to share knowledge and provide critical insight. If workers are forced to go through multiple programs or spreadsheets to find the information they're looking for, that hurts their productivity. ERP systems should enable instantaneous communications and feedback, Manufacturing Business Technology contributor Stevie Hay recommended. This will help alert staff to critical tasks and anything that must be addressed right away. With this type of information, workers can head off issues and collaborate more effectively.

In order to attain optimal efficiency, ERP systems should also track key performance indicators across the board to monitor overall progress. Workers can use ERP solutions to easily search for information, ranking results according to their relevance. Manufacturers can even create and share custom reports with real-time data, ensuring that decision-makers have the most relevant metrics available. This will empower businesses to better predict future behaviors, plan out job costs and schedule projects.

Millennials and future generations have grown up with technology, and their expectations are changing the way ERP solutions look and function. ERP systems in the future must be more mobile and enable collaboration in order to provide the look and features the up-and-coming workforce anticipates.

Small and medium-sized manufacturers have different expectations than their larger counterparts in terms of their delivery and operational capabilities. Similarly, tools like enterprise resource planning were traditionally thought to be out of the realm of possibility for SMBs due to how complex they were and the resources required to actually support them. However, ERP has significantly evolved over the years to become more applicable in a variety of situations, and smaller manufacturers have started taking advantage of these solutions for their own benefits.

Increased production

Growth is a main goal of any business, but for smaller shops, expansion could be a driving factor in future success. The question, then, is how to get there. What strategies and assets can be leveraged to make this objective a reality? One manufacturer used a cloud ERP solution to help infinitely scale and expand as needed without disrupting existing services, CIO stated. The organization was able to increase its production by 60 percent using ERP tools.

Businesses can use these systems for similar benefits, as well as adding inventory and product lines and improving production lead times. The beauty of this option is that companies don't have to be concerned that their size will limit them. They will have the same features and capabilities, putting smaller manufacturers on a more even playing field with larger ones.

Better insights

No matter what size shop you run, it can still be hard to keep track of all of the inventory and related data without the right tools. There may be significant lag time to access, analyze and act on important data, creating problems with inventory control, supply chain, planning and customer expectations, CIO contributor Michael Nadeau noted. ERP solutions have been considerably improved to remove many of the barriers that once existed when implementing these systems.

Integrating ERP onto the shop floor can provide manufacturers with nearly real-time information right when they need it. Industrial digitization has made this capability a main priority to improve development processes and gain ROI. Visibility can help maximize efficiency and detect any deviations that you might not normally be able to see. With data from the ERP solution, manufacturers can make judgments about equipment effectiveness and will enable collaboration across projects.

"The system might identify a machine running at 3 percent lower efficiency over the past three days and send an alert to the service department," Nadeau wrote. "That drop might not have been noticed if the machine were not connected to the internet with a monitoring solution that was integrated with the manufacturer's ERP system. This is important, because even a tiny increase in efficiency in a high-volume manufacturing process can yield significant returns."

There are a lot of moving parts in manufacturing, but with the right tools, teams can manage their processes, no matter what size they are. ERP solutions have evolved to the point that they provide benefits to a number of use cases, and SMBs can leverage these systems as well for better insights and improved production, among other advantages.

Enterprise Resource Planning solutions help synchronize business operations and assist employees in working more efficiently and productivity. These systems are growing in popularity because they're allowing employees to make more accurate, faster high-level business decisions. The ERP market is set to hit nearly $33 billion this year.

Yet, despite this upsurge in ERP usage, some businesses – particularly small, manufacturing ones – are struggling to adopt and integrate the software into their existing business model.

And this is concerning, especially considering how much ERPs can unite different areas of their business, shoring up loose ends and driving revenue growth.

Here are a few things manufacturing companies must consider when trying to mold their systems into their current business model:

1. Employees don't like change
In fact, according to a study, employees hate change. In a report published by Root, a mere 30 percent of 1,000 U.S. employees strongly agreed with the following statement: "If my company was undergoing a major change, I would trust my managers(s) to provide me with all of the information I need to know."

This is a telling statement that indicates that managers are beginning their software integration at a disadvantage. No matter how helpful the ERP solution may be, employees are skeptical. This hesitancy can cause integration to stall, costing the company more money in the form of increased training time and poor job output.

2. Companies struggle to fully implement ERP systems
Do employees have reasons to distrust upper management? Possibly. Panorama Consulting noted that 52 percent of organizations experienced "material operational disruption" as soon as the ERP solution was implemented. Many of these "disruptions" dragged on for 1 to 2 months, or more.

Problems occur for many reasons, but we're confident in saying that many of them are rooted in poor planning and organization. Wowed by the prospect of using a brand new shiny system (that will work), managers forget that ERP solutions are one critical component of their entire business model.

How do we solve this problem? Let's address that in the next segment.

3. Organizations must solve these issues prior to adoption
The best way to solve this problem is just to avoid it completely by developing a transition strategy. While this plan is company-dependent, it should address:

• Employee concerns such as how it'll affect their jobs.
• Future growth and stability at the department and organizational level.
• Past problems that caused management to adopt an ERP solution (or at better one) in the first place.

After creating the strategy, the next step is to introduce it to your workforce weeks – or even better, months – ahead of time. Give them time to prepare for change, adjust to new environments and processes, and ask questions to make them feel more comfortable with the process. Transparency will go a long way toward ensuring trust levels increase, which we noted was a major concern earlier in this article.

Roll out the ERP solution slowly and offer employees training classes and support during the process.

Finally, analyze the results during and after implementation. The worst thing you can do is integrate and forget, assuming your solution (or your original assimilation plan) will work. Again, we're talking about trust, and the more support you provide employees before, during and after installing an ERP, the better.

Where do small businesses stand?
Small manufacturing businesses that don't have the same level of automation as larger businesses can particularly struggle with ERP adoption. Many times they don't have the necessary resources (from a dollar or employee standpoint) in place to offer the level of support needed that we've suggested.

In this case, our best advice is to implement slowly. Do not rush.

Manufacturing ERP solutions will fuse together a whole range of processes ranging from product life cycle management and automated data collection to scheduling and quality management. The benefits are there for small businesses that don't have the financial capabilities to hire more employees to support additional processes. ERP can take the stress off of companies by, as we noted, uniting and streamline procedures.

However, in order for these small businesses to enjoy an ERP's advantages, it must address potential implementation problems including, but not limited to, mistrust and disorganized integration approaches.