In our previous blog post we discussed three current innovations in enterprise resource planning software. Today we are expanding on the topic to include four more innovations businesses should keep an eye on:

Complex event processing (CEP): Complex event processing is a growing area of advanced analytics, which allows the identification of compounding events and can reveal cause-and-effect patterns, by using financial, geospatial or streaming control data from equipment. Many ERP systems offer rich analytics packages, including CEP. While it was originally used in finance and investment, manufacturers are now adopting the system in their own solutions.

Digital manufacturing: Digital Manufacturing is a process which complements traditional production by enabling manufacturers to produce prototypes, tools and final parts directly from PLM/CAD data, through the use of 3D printing. Digital manufacturing can also be used to design models, and create one-off custom parts. New ERP systems have begun to include design-to-manufacturing modules, PLM/CAD and 3D visualization technology. This innovation can dramatically reduce  delivery time and production costs.

RFID: Radio-frequency identification is moving beyond barcodes to provide a wide variety of business applications. RFID is used for asset tracking, electronic kanban, access control and manufacturing inventory management. It also has a number of security and control applications.

Wearables: The gut reaction is to question the use of wearable technology in traditional manufacturing. However, wearables are extremely useful for hands-free operations, when operational data still needs to be recorded and analyzed. Users can wear tech devices, such as Google Glass, while assembling products. Google Glass can scan to assure the right parts are being used and offer assembly instructions.These technologies can be connected to ERP systems.

For more information, contact Accent Software. We are a leading manufacturing ERP software provider, dedicated to offering our clients the most advanced solutions available.