Manufacturing White Papers and Demos

The operating style of Project-Oriented Manufacturing is very different than that used by traditional discrete and repetitive manufacturers. Project-Oriented Manufacturing and Engineer-To-Order (ETO) are expressions often used interchangeably. For the majority of companies operating in an ETO environment, every machine sold is similar to, yet different from, anything else previously engineered and built.

Over the last decade, the innovative Software as a Service (SaaS) delivery model has evolved to let manufacturers move beyond traditional enterprise software.It’s a game-changing approach that lets the enterprise avoid costly licenses and complex hardware and software infrastructures.

In the business world, customers are faced with an overabundance of enterprise software choices. The selection of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution is a critical decision that could provide numerous benefits or be less than an optimal selection. As ERP sales professionals, it is our job to offer potential customers the expert guidance needed to ensure that the right ERP solution is determined and selected based on the client’s needs.

In response to the many highly publicized large scale food recalls that have occurred over the last few years and diminishing consumer confidence, both regulators and the industry are responding with stricter guidelines and policies to ensure the safety of the U.S. food supply. As a result of this increasing scrutiny, along with the growing complexity of the food supply chain, many food company executives are re-examining their ability to ensure the safety and quality of their products.

In the years leading to 2000, many manufacturers realized it was necessary to prepare for a potentially disruptive transition in the IT functions when the turn of the century arrived. With thoughts of internal systems not functioning properly - or even stopping the manufacturing processes altogether - action was required.

Service-oriented architecture (SOA) continues to emerge as the dominant technical platform for building next generation business applications. The potential of SOA to transform enterprise software applications has been well documented within leading industry trade publications. This white paper will attempt to cut through the hype surrounding the technology by (1) examining the manufacturing pains that are driving the conversion to service-oriented business applications, (2) breaking down the essence of SOA, (3) focusing on the relevance of SOA as a tool for continuous business process improvement, and (4) comparing and contrasting the Made2Manage SOA product development strategy with that of other ERP vendors.

ERP solutions are data-driven. This is arguably the most beneficial technology feature because it alerts users to the specific inventory needs right down to quantities and timing. The right ERP tool can analyze historic and current data such as customer orders, inventory balances, usage/shipment of each product, seasonal trends, etc. and apply these insights to future inventory predictions. Armed with this knowledge, manufacturers can make more intelligent decisions regarding how much inventory to keep in stock and how best to respond to customer demand, regardless of seemingly unpredictable fluctuations. This help ensure investments are being made in the right place and that operations remain efficient.

Databases are significantly more powerful than spreadsheets in the way they are able to process or 'manipulate' data. Actions that would be extremely difficult or impossible in a spreadsheet are easily achievable in a database.