Many businesses realize they need supply chain automation to compete in their industry. The old ways of managing and sharing data via paper-based or manual electronic processes (like email) are simply too slow. Pressure to keep manufacturing on time, respond to last-minute demand changes, and manage numerous other ‘modern’ tasks of an eCommerce-driven world require certain capabilities.

How bad is the dehumanizing environment in some manufacturing companies? Consider the recent article in The Atlantic, In Praise of Short-Term Thinking, which states, “Machines do replace humans. In fact, replacing humans is often entirely the point.”

In managing your business during this time of sustained economic growth and low unemployment rates, you know the top challenge: retaining good employees.

WiSys Warehouse Management System integrates seamlessly with SAP Business One, so if you need to receive, put away, issue, produce, warehouse, and ship inventory items, this powerful solution is the answer.

Certain manufacturers are under tremendous pressure to manage and track finished products, WIP, and raw materials from original suppliers to end customers. This is called “traceability,” and compliance is largely due to numerous regulatory agencies that enforce laws for public safety. These include the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Federal Drug Administration (FDA), the Department of Transportation (DOT), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976.

It’s Monday, and your warehouse manager is on vacation. Your assistant manager should be in charge but calls in sick. Soon, production has used so much of a single item that inventory level is becoming dangerously low, putting Friday’s commitment to an important customer at risk. Lead time delivery doesn’t support the schedule. There’s expediting, but that will send your margin down the drain.

If you’re in operations, manufacturing, or supply chain, this is garden-variety stress.

Business process automation (BPA) enables manufacturers to remove both simple and complex steps from their processes, which streamlines operations and results in efficiency. BPA shouldn’t be confused with industrial automation (IA), which is also widely found in manufacturing companies, as they are quite different.

In a recent post, we discussed the value of implementing electronic Kanban (E-Kanban) into your modern ERP system. In this post, we’ll discuss some differences between manufacturing replenishment based on Kanban and MRP.

Which of your products should you offer on special? Which should be marked up? How should you bid on that major RFP received by your sales team? If you can’t answer these types of questions in a matter of minutes, you’re falling behind competitors who manage inventory with better ERP systems.

It’s beginning to look a lot like the holidays – which means busy, busy, busy! Now’s the time to start taking small escapes from the hustle and bustle so you don’t get burnt out.

And we’d love to help! We invite you to relax and learn from some of our best resources.