One of the main success factors for modern enterprises is having access to real-time financial data. This can only be achieved through streamlining the process of collecting, managing, and sharing data in your organization. That’s why cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems have become vital to modern manufacturers.

An ERP is the backbone of your organization as it provides you with data transparency, makes your operations leaner, cuts operational costs, and connects external stakeholders to your supply chain. 

It does this while creating room for your future expansion plans and improving the experience of your customers. For instance, ERP systems for contract development organizations help to integrate contract management functions to ease critical business processes like developing contract templates.

Still, these benefits can only be realized when you deploy the right ERP system, so what is the best ERP system for manufacturing companies? This article offers you tips on how to choose the right ERP system for your manufacturing business.

Choosing the Best ERP System for Manufacturing Companies

Deploying the right ERP software in your manufacturing business can make all the difference. It helps you manage your financial data and provides valuable insights that you can implement to streamline critical processes in different areas of your organization, including supply chain management and finance.

Whether you need an ERP for a pharmaceutical manufacturer or you’re implementing an ERP for life sciences , there are, however, certain critical considerations you have to make. Here are the essentials of assessing and choosing your manufacturing ERP system:

Inventory Management Capabilities

A good manufacturing ERP system should have inventory management features that will give you a real-time rundown on the availability, location, and current state of essential products and raw materials. With real-time visibility of your inventory, you can easily identify shortages and other supply issues before they become serious setbacks.

A manufacturing ERP system with these inventory management functions automates the entire inventory management process, ensuring that you always have the necessary merchandise to fulfill your orders promptly and within your budget.

Production and Capacity Planning Capabilities

Make sure that your manufacturing ERP system has the necessary features to manage your production and plan your raw material needs. This will give you full visibility of your production platform, allowing you to optimize every process and allocate the necessary resources promptly. The system should be able to analyze your production and assess the required resources to help meet your sales projections and flag any shortage in items, personnel, or skills before it impedes your ability to fulfill orders. 

Automation and Improved Visibility

Choose a manufacturing ERP system that will connect all critical functions across your organization, including manufacturing operations, sales, supply chain, inventory, and finances. It should also provide you with real-time reporting and analytics that will give you full visibility and timely insights into your operations while making critical functions like billing, production planning, shop floor control, work orders, and others more effective.

Customer Service Functions

A good manufacturing ERP software should be able to connect data obtained from your manufacturing operations to customer data using a CRM system. Therefore, it should be able to integrate with the CRM system or accept it as a unit–this way, you’ll get real-time insight into your customers’ activities so that you can identify areas where you need to improve and give your customers the best experience.

Deployment Model

When you’re searching for the best manufacturing ERP system, consider its deployment model. There are two main models of deployment: cloud-based and on-premise. A cloud-based ERP system usually allows for quick deployment and lowers the cost of ownership and maintenance, which is a plus for emerging manufacturers.

In addition, it saves space since the entire infrastructure does not have to be installed on site. Everything, including servers, will be hosted by the service provider. An on-premise deployment model requires you to build the IT infrastructure within your organization and perform routine maintenance yourself. This increases the cost of installation and maintenance. So, it’s important to analyze your manufacturing business needs carefully to determine which deployment model works best for you.

Why Cloud ERP?

Cloud-based ERP systems are vital for any organization, so be sure to take these important considerations into account when choosing a manufacturing ERP system. This way, you’ll be able to properly implement all aspects of the insights, financial data organization, and supply chain management your company needs.