The manufacturing sector strengthens the global economy, which requires the best ERP for manufacturing business. Large businesses and organizations require sophisticated solutions to handle the numerous elements and segments of their operations. Medium-sized and smaller manufacturers need efficient and straightforward ERP for small business manufacturing that scales back in complexity and functionality yet still provides usability and improves overall manufacturing processes.
Features like inventory management, shop floor control, price calculation, weight analysis, and more are just as essential for smaller businesses. If your firm wants to improve its ERP system, here are the six best ERP systems for manufacturing currently available on the market. Let’s first understand what ERP is for small business manufacturing.
What is ERP for Manufacturing?
A manufacturing ERP software includes unified databases that handle commercial processes such as accounting and finance, purchasing, supply chain management (MRP), bill of materials, and master planning. The best ERP software for manufacturing tracks raw materials, work-in-process, and completes product inventory by item.
A manufacturing ERP system may be entirely dedicated to manufacturers (and distributors) or include MRP modules and inventory management in an all-industry solution.
The future of manufacturing ERP is cloud-based, with business intelligence and smart shop floor IoT sensors that monitor manufacturing processes and give notifications.
List of best ERP Software for Manufacturing Business
The top 6 ERP systems for manufacturers and enterprises including
Sage ERP
Sage is a leading provider of business process management software that helps organizations manage all aspects of their operations. Sage is one of the best ERPs for manufacturing, which can help you address your company’s specific challenges in running the manufacturing process more efficiently. Sage has helped various manufacturing firms develop their operations with comprehensive ERP solutions over the past 30 years. Sage’s ERP Manufacturing solutions include finance and accounting, supply chain warehouse and inventory, processes, and customer service, to name a few. The 100 and 300 products are ideal and cost-effective for small- to medium-sized firms.
Syspro ERP
The integration, coordination, and synchronization of all manufacturing process elements can be achieved with SYSPRO enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. It is suitable for short and long production runs in various manufacturing environments. The most important feature is the lot traceability system, which follows raw materials from receipt to manufacture and assembly to inspection, stocking, and distribution.
Syspro is a program that has been developed to provide better scheduling options for ERP users. It includes both single-constraint and multi-constraint scheduling capabilities. This feature allows the system to record actual vs. estimated labor and handle materials and scrap for work-in-process. This is a helpful tool for small manufacturers since material expenses may significantly impact profit.
The platform’s user interface has been enhanced, and it now includes several visual tools to link master data throughout an organization. Another important consideration for smaller manufacturers looking to optimize and track their manufacturing processes is a single system for mixed-mode production.
Acumatica ERP
Acumatica is a cloud ERP that delivers the best of both worlds: it’s affordable like on-premise ERP and offers the flexibility and scalability of cloud software. Acumatica has resource planning, manufacturing execution, quality control, shop floor data collection, CRM, and financials.
Small to midsize manufacturers can benefit from Acumatica’s best-in-class manufacturing ERP capabilities, including shop floor data collection and business intelligence.
The Acumatica Order Management module, part of the Inventory Management suite, includes requisitions, purchase orders, and sales orders that interact with Inventory Management. Work order management is a distinct feature of the manufacturing sector. Furthermore, firms may utilize the Field Service module to manage their manufacturing processes.
See Also: What is Acumatica Software Cost?
IFS ERP
IFS is specially designed for small business manufacturing companies. It’s particularly beneficial to businesses that require considerable project management. The main features are FSM (Field service management), ERP support, and EAM (Enterprise asset management). The program is designed for midsize to large-scale businesses. The critical capabilities report shows median results for all use cases. The application’s influence and customer base in Europe make it particularly useful for enterprises with a greater EMEA presence. It appears that the application is well-suited to managing worldwide operations with multinational corporations, according to the client survey. The software is ideal for firms requiring asset management abilities.
Epicor ERP
Businesses of all sizes can benefit from Epicor ERP, an enterprise resource planning (ERP) software application. It has what it takes to lower expenses, enhance customer response time, establish business procedures, and achieve success and profitability. It is one of the best ERPs for manufacturing businesses and is particularly suitable for mid to large-sized companies. The ERP solution is available directly or indirectly through partners. It was created and intended for both private and public clouds.
Epicor is a more established manufacturing system that offers both on-premises and SaaS cloud solutions. However, the ERP software vendor upgrades its platform, using cutting-edge technologies like the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) smart shop floor with real-time data notifications in its Advanced MES (manufacturing execution system) program.
Related: What is Epicor ERP Cost and Pricing?
Microsoft Dynamics 365
This program has many benefits, both inside and outside the manufacturing industry. They continue to develop and improve as they incorporate manufacturer capabilities because you can do so many things with them. Due to its flexibility across various activities beyond simply manufacturing, Microsoft Dynamics 365 is frequently a good fit for large, more diversified businesses.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 cloud-based accounting software is an on-premises and Azure cloud ERP system used by small and medium businesses in various sectors. An IoT Intelligence add-on that uses sensors to identify production delays, equipment downtime, and product quality concerns in manufacturing operations via real-time data acquisition and AI-driven business intelligence is a featured manufacturer will like.
Related: Microsoft Dynamics 365 ERP Modules List
Features of Manufacturing ERP system
Large manufacturing companies need effective business management software to help them keep track of their operations, processes, inventory levels, and other key information about their company’s health. Overall, the best ERP system for manufacturing should have features covering all of these needs. Here are some key features you’ll want to look for when considering an ERP system:
1. Robust Inventory Tracking
Large manufacturing companies are known for their extensive inventories of raw materials, parts, or finished goods. The best ERP system’s inventory management feature should track the quantity levels at each warehouse location and alert you when these levels get too low. It is also essential that the best ERP system handle multiple warehouses in different areas so that your company can have the best possible inventory control.
2. Production Process Management
A good ERP system for manufacturing should handle your company’s complex production processes. This includes managing the sequence of operations, tracking work in progress, and linking assemblies and finished products to their parts. Best ERP systems can also help you optimize your production processes to get the most out of your resources.
3. Order Management
The best ERP system should also manage your company’s orders from start to finish. This includes tracking customer orders, creating production orders, and shipping completed orders. Best ERP systems can also help you forecast future demand and plan your production schedule accordingly.
4. Project Lifecycle Management
Every manufactured good has its life cycle, from a smartphone to an automobile. This includes a series of stages that the product goes through during its development, manufacture, and distribution. An ERP solution with well-defined project lifecycle management capabilities allows an organization to keep track of and manage all these phases, resulting in increased product quality, lower costs, faster detection of potential sales opportunities, quality improvement, and resource savings.
Advantages of ERP for Manufacturing Business
ERP software for manufacturers unifies all parts of a company (resources, operations, monitoring, reporting, sales, accounting, and finance) to enable businesses to run smoothly by keeping a single database.
In case you’re still unsure whether to implement an ERP system, consider the following six advantages:
- Improved Overall Efficiency: When all aspects of a business are managed by one system, it becomes easier and faster to find the information you need. This leads to improved overall efficiency across all areas of the company.
- Increased Visibility into Operations: With an ERP system in place, managers have real-time visibility into all operations, from production to sales. This allows them to identify and address issues quickly before they have a chance to cause any damage.
- Better Decision Making: With accurate and up-to-date information at their fingertips, managers can make better decisions based on data rather than intuition. This leads to increased profits and reduced costs.
- Enhanced Customer Service: A good ERP system will help you provide superior customer service by giving you the information you need to quickly and accurately answer customer questions.
- More Effective Planning: Accurate forecasting is essential for a successful business. An ERP system gives companies the ability to generate accurate forecasts based on past data and current trends.
- Improved Compliance: Best ERP system should be compliant with all relevant legislation, which means you can keep up with changes to commercial law and streamline your compliance processes.
Find the right ERP Software for Manufacturing business
After considering all of these factors, we hope that you’ll be closer to selecting which ERP is best for your manufacturing business. Financial, accounting, warehousing and inventory management processes are just a few examples of the many areas where manufacturing ERP software is beneficial. Choose an appropriate manufacturing ERP software and enhance your earnings while lowering expenses.
