ERP solutions can help manufacturers embrace energy efficiency

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The desire to cut energy costs, in both power and heating, can be a major attraction to manufacturers. However, embracing energy-efficient strategies can be difficult for large, or even medium-sized producers. New technologies are offering startling potential for small, medium and large scale operations to enhance their power and heating processes and start reducing both the cost of energy and their overall carbon footprint.

According to Phys.Org, one of the major issues plaguing manufacturers and other industries when it comes to energy efficiency is cost-efficient technologies. High standards and greenhouse gas emissions regulations can put significant strain on a manufacturer's budget, but new solutions such as plasma high-resistivity heating can help firms utilize their standard industrial furnaces to supply heat for production processes.

Manufacturers alone are responsible for about one-third of the planet's energy consumption, and 36 percent of its carbon emissions, making this demand for efficiency more important than ever before.

However, adapting to these new technologies and ensuring proper management and integration with operations creates other concerns for firms on the back end. Adequate administration and management efforts will be critical for meeting new demands on business accounting systems and other processes. Additional assistance will be needed both for managing financial demand, as well as easing transition efforts — finding a sudden influx of funds, rather than handling a continued drain on resources can be a jarring experience in business administration.

By investing in high-quality manufacturing ERP software, firms can optimize their approach to energy efficiency and ease the transitions to new technology that will help them change how they interact with the environment, save money and boost their brand reputation all at once. 

ERP investments helping manufacturers beat the competition

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Manufacturing markets are highly competitive, and firms are looking for every advantage they can to pull ahead. For Canadian firms, manufacturing ERP software has helped provide the edge needed.

According to Canadian Manufacturing, companies in Atlantic Canada have been able to shorten the gap between themselves, customers and their supply chain by investing in inventory management software and other related solutions. Deployment of higher-quality ERP systems has helped diversify manufacturing goals and extend companies' reaches in numerous ways, including going paperless, reducing operational costs and directly improving production rates.

"As Canadian business leaders increasingly compete on a global scale, it should be their duty to investigate and integrate funding, resources and opportunities as they build their businesses and enhance local communities across the country," John Fahey, an industry expert in ERP solutions, told the news source.

Many companies have been able to leverage improved manufacturing software systems for growth, but it is important to invest in solutions that not only deliver gains, but ensure that improvements are sustainable over time. Microsoft Dynamics NAV offers the integration and scalability that firms need to optimize their resources and continue doing so over time. Improved support of small and mid-sized businesses also allows firms to scale their solution to their own, unique needs, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.

Microsoft business software, and ERP solutions in general, are essential in today's manufacturing markets in Canada, the United States and across the globe. As the competition grows, so too must a firm's ability to adapt. Between a push for globalization and a need to keep up with larger firms saturating the market, SMB manufacturers need to take advantage of every potential edge they can gain. ERP software offers a significant way to do so with no financial risk.

Mobile trends offer new opportunities and challenges in manufacturing

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The mobile revolution is proliferating across every industry and manufacturing is no exception. However, these markets offer unique opportunities, as well as challenges, for mobile use that many others do not share. Implementing high-quality business management software solutions might be essential for leveraging smartphones and tablets effectively in manufacturing settings.

The key to opening up mobile trends in the manufacturing sector is in the apps a firm uses. While a smartphone may not have all that much utility on the production floor, in the back office it can offer a key way to boost productivity and communication. The main benefit that mobile devices offer to a business is the ability to connect to data and coworkers from anywhere due to the portability of smartphones and tablets. However, firms need to invest in the right applications.

According to Enterprise Apps today, enterprise mobile apps are improving every day, and an impressive 38 percent of all apps downloaded to mobile devices are private, internally developed solutions.

"Applications customized for specific environments are the ones truly making an impact on the business," noted Jonathan Dale, a spokesperson for Fiberlink, an IBM company.

In order to advance mobile opportunities, however, manufacturers need to enable new tools in their back office, from inventory management software to ERP solutions, which will help streamline the flow of data and general productivity to enable mobile app integration. This allows for increased security, protection of critical resources and access to key data points and accounts that will allow employees to do their jobs more effectively and efficiently. Ultimately, this will enable new potential, transferring these benefits across the firm as a whole.

Midsized manufactures gain new focus on ERP software offerings

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Their unique position in the industry presents opportunities and challenges to midsized manufacturers. These firms are large enough to take advantage of advanced management methods and technologies, but small enough to maintain a consumer-focused operating strategy. However, on the other end of the spectrum, midsized manufacturing companies have traditionally struggled with finding optimized business management software and ERP solutions that meet their needs on both fronts. TEC recently released a report that could help firms overcome this struggle though.

According to the technology advisory firm, manufacturing ERP software has evolved due to advanced in related technology, such as mobility and the cloud. As such, midsized firms have broader opportunities to take advantage of higher-quality software for manufacturing, enabling more of the benefits that larger firms have often received from these tools. In the past, finding ERP solutions that fully met operating needs was difficult for midsized firms, causing companies to invest in ill-fitted or manual software, the firm reported.

ERP solutions are a standard for growth and profitability for manufacturers, and investing in the right back office software will provide significant advantages to firms that didn't have these tools in place before, or had solutions that didn't quite conform to the unique demands of these companies. Now, real-time computing environments, mobile monitoring and management of resources and the Internet of Things allows firms to adapt and optimize production while still retaining their focus on smaller consumer bases, maintaining focus on quality of quantity and the customer-centric philosophy that gives midsized manufacturers an edge.

Midsized firms have to compete with global scale challenges, growing pains and a demand for continuous innovation that can be costly over time. Optimizing ERP software to support these specific needs can boost efficiency, save resources and enable the necessary growth to continue improving.

How consumerization is effecting manufacturing software

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In the business IT landscape, there has been a shift in decision making over the last few years. Traditionally, a handful of technology professionals in the know would be responsible for testing and deciding what new hardware and software should be invested in and deployed. They were the gatekeepers, and it made sense because the rest of the workforce was not well versed in the latest technology trends. Essentially, it was a "we tell you what to use" kind of relationship.

However, the power has shifted and now employees are starting to speak up and say, "this is what we want." The reason for this is a movement known as the consumerization of IT. In a nutshell, this means workers have started to increase their knowledge of the technology landscape in their personal lives and are asking to use systems like mobile devices and applications to accomplish work tasks.

In a recent article from Manufacturing Business Technology, Greg Goodwin of LNS Research, explained that the manufacturing software marketplace is no different. This is being pushed by the rise of "bring-your-own-device" strategies. There is a good chance that your employees are using better hardware in their personal lives than in the office. This makes complete sense as upgrading an entire company's IT strategy is significantly more expensive than having one person buy the new iPad when it comes out.

He cited an IDG Enterprise study which surveyed over 1,100 professionals, 12 percent of which represent the manufacturing sector, it was the second highest industry sector percentage-wise.  It found that corporate IT support for personal mobile devices is expected to increase significantly over the next 12 to 18 months. This will be an increase from 43 to 55 percent for tablets and 52 to 55 percent for smartphones.

The problem with this is that it adds more complexity to what CIOs and CTOs need to manage. With personal devices connecting to company data, it opens up the network and data to any number of security issues. This is causing IT departments to create a more detailed policy when it comes to managing these these devices and the software that is used on them.

The consumer landscape is also effecting how manufacturing software looks. This impacted is called "gamification" and it is how consumer tastes and expectations have evolved to crave a more in-depth user experience that can be found in video games. This includes things like 3D visual displays, avatars and competitive.scoring elements.

"While the full potential of BYOD and gamified solutions is still down the road, it's clear that these trends of consumerized IT applications will continue across both manufacturing and the broader enterprise IT landscape at large as software manufacturers and end-users alike devise newer and more involved ways of incorporating the most practical and popular functionalities of what is happening in today's consumer market," Goodwin concluded.

All of this is added a new layer of things to think about when it comes to selecting new manufacturing software systems. An experienced solution provider can help any organization wade through all options to find the best one for their business.

Manufacturing industry shows strong growth numbers

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Many experts have spoken about how well the manufacturing business is doing, but when you can actually look at the numbers it adds an entirely new level to the discussion. It is much like being able to add a face to a name.

A recent article from Cerasis examined the sector and offered up some hard facts that show how well manufacturing is stacking up not only in the U.S. but around the world.

Every sector wants to focus on long term, sustainable growth, but not all of them are able to put their head down, work hard and actually do it. Manufacturing has done that and more. The report of a resurgence in the U.S. market and the boom of reshoring operations away from China make for great anecdotes, but the numbers presented show the improved industry growth across the industry.

There were several areas of the industry that experienced performance improvement in 2013 compared to 2012. These were all determined through a series of metrics for each category that breaks down mountains of data specific to the part of business in question. The increases include:

  • Financial – 8.6 percent
  • Innovation – 7.8 percent
  • Efficiency – 17 percent
  • Responsiveness – 10 percent
  • Quality – 13.7 percent
  • Inventory – 15 percent
  • Maintenance – 14.7 percent
  • Compliance – 14.7 percent

"As can be discerned from the findings, manufacturers in the U.S. have been working hard to improve their competitiveness on the global stage," the article reads. "Certainly overseas competitors have been making improvements as well, but improvements of this magnitude are not easily obtained, especially when using prior year performance in a mature marketplace such as the US manufacturing sector as a basis for comparison."

The piece goes on to say that sustaining year-over-year improvements in the future in the U.S. manufacturing sector will be key to developing the rebirth of the local market. This is true regardless of "which direction the winds of extraneous good fortune happen to be blowing."

The manufacturing business is still widely considered to be one of the backbones of the U.S. economy. With strong improvements across the board and a push toward long-term growth, there is a bright outlook. This could be the perfect time for organizations to start looking into a way to improve overall operations through the use of improved hardware or manufacturing business software to streamline operations.

Manufacturing company relocated to Indiana

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The state of Indiana has proven itself to be an ideal location for many businesses. As this blog has covered in the past, the state is actively trying to recruit companies from major cities like Chicago and New York. On top of that, some organizations that are already from Indiana are expanding because of the strong business atmosphere.

According to a recent article from Inside Indiana Business, PDQ Tooling, an indexable cutting tool manufacturer for the production machining industry, announced that it plans to open a new Whitley County facility. This will result in pouring more than $7 million into the area to lease, renovate and equip a 17,000 square-foot facility and create up to 45 new jobs by 2019.

"From agriculture to automotive, information technology to biotechnology, Indiana continues to be a state that works for businesses across the industry spectrum," said Eric Doden, president of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation. "Homegrown-Hoosier companies like PDQ experience firsthand the advantages of doing business in Indiana, and we remain committed to building upon our strong workforce, robust infrastructure and low tax policies."

Jerry Busche, the owner of PDQ, told the news source that after examining multiple options, he was proud that Indiana would take part in the latest operations' growth. Because of increased demand, a new space was needed and the "outstanding business climate" of the state made it the best place to help boost the company's operations.

With the help of a manufacturing business software provider, PDQ and any other company locating to the area will be able to run the organization more effectively.

Reshoring manufacturing processes a growing trend

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With the increasing cost of running manufacturing operations overseas, many companies are looking for different ways to handle operations and reshoring back to the states is a great way to do this. The Boston Consulting Group found that that a majority of manufacturers are planning to consider reshoring from China to the United States.

A recent article from Digital Journal examined this trend more closely by interviewing Fabricating.com CEO and co-founder Frank Russo. The piece makes the case that the importance of the U.S. manufacturing industry to the fabric of society cannot be overstated , even arguing that it ranks up there with baseball and apple pie.

Manufacturing is part of the entrepreneurial spirit that has helped empower innovation and has been an important piece of surveying the strength of the local economy.

"Global economics are shifting to support a healthy U.S. manufacturing sector and American-made products," said Russo.

However, he went on to say that success in this venture will require the use of "lean practices and advanced manufacturing capabilities." This will help organizations remain competitive when it comes to total cost, quality and delivery.

One of the biggest draws to offshoring was the ability to save money, while creating products in bulk. However, with that price margin decreasing, so too have the main reasons to go offshore, and in some cases it can be more expensive. Businesses can partner with a local systems provide to design and create business management software solutions that can make reshoring as effective as possible.

Ameritrans expanding operations in Indiana

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Earlier this week, this blog covered the growing push by the Indiana governor to entice businesses from Chicago and New York to relocate to the Hoosier state. This is being done through the use of billboards that promote a website — A State That Works — that highlights the tax breaks and lower cost of living in Indiana that can help businesses operate more effectively.

Companies may want to consider looking into the switch as organizations in the state are finding success and expanding. According to a recent article from Inside Indiana Business, an Elkhart manufacturer is planning on increasing its operations over the next three years and will add 35 jobs. The company is Ameritrans Bus Inc., and it will invest more than $400,000 into upgrading equipment in a new facility and could begin hiring workers in January.

The facility in question will be a 60,000 square-foot space in Elkhart, Indiana. The bus manufacturer will be able to improve its production of small transit-style buses. The company currently employs 78 full-time Indiana associates and will start hiring in January.

"Ameritrans' growth, coupled with the growth of other homegrown companies across the state, keeps Indiana's economy moving forward," Eric Doden, president of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, told the news source. "As a state that works, we are proud that businesses founded in Indiana find the environment they need to expand here, complete with a low-tax climate and talented workforce at the crossroads of America."

Lee Loper, the senior vice president of ABC Companies, said that Indiana provides an excellent skilled workforce along with an ample supply base for the manufacturing of buses. The state is in a central location for the U.S. market.

"We are excited to have Ameritrans expanding their operation in Elkhart. We are proud of the success they have experienced in our community," said Elkhart Mayor Dick Moore. "This is another vote of confidence in our skilled workforce, our network of quality suppliers and our strategic location. It is proof that Elkhart is a prime location for manufacturing."

This statement is backed up by the U.S.Bureau of Labor Statistics that found Elkhart County led the nation in job growth in 2012.

With the help of manufacturing business software, Ameritrans will be able to scale up its business operations smoothly. This means expanding the business to a new facility can be handled with care.

Manufacturing software a growing priority business

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Many industries have been impacted by the growing software solution landscape. As computing devices have matured and gone mobile, more organizations are looking for quality software solutions that can take advantage of this new hardware and improve the effectiveness of the business and its processes.

Recently, LNS Research released the 2013-14 version of its Manufacturing Operations Management survey. IT examined the different approaches that companies have taken when it comes to adopting operation management solutions and improved software systems.

The study polled 325 manufacturing professionals. The goal was to determine the preferences of company decision-makers when it comes to internal resources, system integrators and consultants and software suppliers to support manufacturing improvement initiatives.

The study found that 44 percent of companies purchases software and solution providers at the same time and 43 percent pick software first and then find a compatible integrator that specializes in the service. The remaining 13 percent partner with a solution provider and then take recommendations on what software to purchase.

This shows that having the right manufacturing software solution is the top priority for most organizations, ahead of picking the right solution provider. That does not diminish the importance of partnering with a quality integrator, but rather it shows that software is the primary concern.

The report also examined what qualities companies put as a top priority when they are looking to find the right partner. Topping the list is specific industry experience, cited by 37 percent of respondents. The rest of the top five consists of experience in the chosen software (36 percent), implementation methodology (34 percent), services cost (27 percent) and proven references (26 percent).

What about adopting the cloud?

While it is clear that there are a number of different options on the market when it comes to manufacturing software, perhaps the best option is to invest in something cloud-based. A recent article from Plant Engineering makes the case that the cloud is a "no-brainer" for the manufacturing industry.

"Some people still debate the merits of using cloud computing in manufacturing, but there are specific cases when a cloud solution is the obvious choice," the article reads. "Many controversies about using the cloud come from outdated information about cost. But in the last few years, leading vendors have dramatically dropped the cost of running cloud-based solutions. Those economies add to the savings you gain from not having to build and support data centers and IT staff."

The piece goes on to make the case for several different situations that can be improved with this kind of approach. These include mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, offshoring/nearshoring/reshoring, two-tier company structures, strategic alliances, fast turnaround of special projects, test environment and expanding to new locations.

The cloud is all about speed and accessing real-time information. In the manufacturing industry, speed is incredibly important. Implementing these solutions is increasingly complicated and businesses need to know the best way to manage them. This is why partnering with a quality solution provider that specializes in manufacturing and business management software can become a wise choice for any company looking to improve its operations.