Vertical manufacturing software or ERP manufacturing software
Your a small manufacturer and although times are tough your company is managing to survive and even thrive by picking up work from those that haven't. You see a need to improve productivity and the flow of information on the floor. So how do you go about it, what will you look for, a solution that deals with the manufacturing side well( a vertical solution) or a solution that integrates the entire business.(ERP manufacturing solution).
If this was 10 years ago I might suggest, becuase of your size and the cost of software, you should look at a package that deals with manufacturing only or a vertical package as they call it. Nowadays its not like that. the cost of software has come down and the scalability of software is much better. Meaning you can focus your efforts on fewer areas to start off and then grow into the parts of the system that you need.
Don't get me wrong you can still buy vertical packages, but they don't make a lot of sense. Why buy something that only does part of what you want. Your people will spend time and energy getting it going and learning the package. Then a time will come when you need more information or functionality or your whole business focus will change. You used to do a lot of custom work but now are moving to process manufacturing, or distribution or a mix of all of these. Vertical packages do not offer you the flexibility you need down the road. They will waste all the time and effort put into them once they are changed.
A better solution is to provide the a solution that is scalable, one that your people can learn and grow with. The longer you use the same solution the more you learn about it and how to use it. It is also important to seek flexibility. Who know what the focus of your business will be in 5 years from now. Turning down business or poorly managing it because your system doesn't handle that process well is not what you want out of your software.
The requirements of manufacturing software solutions is very different from place to place. Process, custom, ETO, batch, mixed mode all have different processes and needs but the one thing that they share in common is that they are managed much better through an ERP program. The reasons are many one thing to think of is manufacturing is supported and must communciate in an effective manner to accounting, sales, purchasing and every other department in the company.
So the question is, if it is inevitable that your company will grow out of a vertical package, why go through all that trouble for nothing.
A complete end-to end solution for small and mid-sized manufacturers and distributors is out there. One that fits your business needs and your budget. Find it and you will have an edge over your competitors in efficiency, customer service and flexibility.
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