The manufacturing control software has become one of the most reliable automation technologies to several manufacturing companies today. Since Industry 4.0, as the fourth industrial revolution is at the doorstep, the demands for automated systems have drastically increased.
Manufacturing control software is as important as machines and heavy equipment used to produce goods. Not just large-scale manufacturing companies, but large-scale manufacturing companies have also used it.
Challenges Faced by Today’s Manufacturers
Manufacturers do have better access to technological solutions and systems than before today. But, the same technology creates a new onset of challenges.
As per a recent survey, manufacturers were asked to name the two biggest challenges their organizations faced. The results said that-
“Ultimately, the challenges that the manufacturers are facing can be linked to a lack of visibility into essential data required to run their organization. Without easy data access, the organization cannot keep costs low, react to changes in an agile manner, and collaborate internally with the extended enterprise.
Even if they have access to different types of manufacturing software, the lack of timely access to information can be linked to the fact that the technology environment is not effectively connected.”
Thus, the primary challenges manufacturers across industries face stem from a lack of visibility. They are further intensified when the lack of visibility goes across an organization’s operations and departments.
Many manufacturing companies resort to using multiple technological systems (i.e., sales order management, accounting, inventory control, etc.) that do not efficiently communicate with each other.
Read about: A Simple Guide to the Lean Manufacturing System
Features of Manufacturing Control Software
Some important characteristics of manufacturing control systems are as follows:
Manufacturing Plan
The feature lets manufacturers efficiently manage production schedules, determine the products to be developed, and the deadline for completion. It is the initial stage of the production process.
Manufacturing Order
The feature lets manufacturers decide the number of goods to be produced, materials required, production routing, and the person responsible for the process. It contains a summary of the production process.
Work Order
The feature lets manufacturers record various requirements to continue the production process of semi-finished goods, including the materials being used and the time required to convert them into finished goods.
Work Center
The feature lets manufacturers create multiple work centers or organizational units where the manufacturing activities are performed using codes. It allows manufacturers to measure efficiency, production capacity, and the OEE.
Plus, you can also determine the time required for one production and analyze losses caused by downtime.
Bill of Materials
The feature manages all components or raw materials required to produce goods, including the costs and quantity. Producers can also determine the route that the BoM belongs to.
Routing
It’s a place where producers arrange the stages required to produce finished goods. The feature lets manufacturers determine the work center and the duration needed for each stage of production to be carried out.
Reporting
Manufacturing control software should have an advanced reporting tool that lets manufacturers gain real-time insights into the availability of raw materials and finished products, the production process, the product transfers, and the OEE across multiple locations.
Read more: What are the features of Manufacturing Software?
Why Does Your Business Need Manufacturing Control Software?
There are multiple reasons why your business may need manufacturing control software. They are as follows:
Omnichannel Order Management
When you place orders from various channels, it isn’t easy to manage and organize them. Multiple sales channels include:
- Phone
- Web store
- Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)
That is why manufacturing control software with omnichannel management capabilities makes order management faster, simpler, and more efficient.
BergHOFF is a manufacturer of high-quality tableware and kitchenware. As it works with Big Box Retailers, BergHOFF uses EDI to receive sales order information. They can use their manufacturing control software for EDI integration.
Inventory Control
The amount of inventory affects the number of goods that you can manufacture or assemble. So, inventory control is critical to ensure the desired product output.
If manufacturing control software is focused on inventory control, your business can forecast quotas and production outputs. That’s what manufacturing inventory control software is all about.
DataRay Inc. manufactures laser beam analysis software and equipment, and few types of equipment may have several components. As they utilize manufacturing control software, they can accurately forecast how much product can be built based on current inventory levels.
Customer Relationship Management
Based on the concept of sales order management, manufacturers use a disparate system for customer relationship management. It leads to a disconnection between sales orders and customer information, among other important information.
As a steel pig manufacturer, Pigs Unlimited struggled with inventory control and sales order management. But, once they implemented manufacturing control software to help consolidate workflow processes, they could keep all necessary information, like customer information, in one place.
Accounting and Financial Management
Accounting and financial management are closely related to all other operational processes, like purchasing, sales, etc.
When manufacturing control software integrates with accounting services, it enables an organization to have stronger control over cash flow and finances.
Cheese manufacturer, The Lone Grazer Creamery enhanced the ease of tracking and financial management by implementing manufacturing control software integrating with their accounting system.
Purchasing and Vendor Management
With expected quotas and outputs, manufacturing should sufficiently manage vendors and purchase for components.
When manufacturing control software integrates vendor and purchasing management capabilities to features like demand planning and inventory control, you can do purchasing accurately.
Read about: Get a Sneak Peek of DEAR’s Cloud ERP Manufacturing Module
Dear Systems Manufacturing Control Software
DEAR Systems proudly offers you one of the most affordable and advanced versions of manufacturing control software. It allows you to create advanced Bills of Materials, define manufacturing processes for a single finished product or multiple finished products simultaneously, and implement parallel and non-parallel operations in a Production BoM.
Also, it quickly estimates costs by allocating them to all the produced products due to one production process, addresses production issues as replanning the capacity and managing the overallocated resources, reschedule the production runs and operations, production orders, etc.
Our team is always eager to help with any questions or concerns, and once you try the software for yourself, you will know how your warehouse ever survived without it.
Book a call with DEAR Systems to know more about our services.
