I am working with a Georgia manufacturer that builds process air
filtration and recycling systems - helping them implement a new ERP
system with ERP extensions. After manufacturing, assembly and
quality control tests, the manufacturer disassembles portions of
the system and crates the parts for shipment to customers around
the world. When the system is assembled at the customer site,
missing parts are a very expensive problem.
In order to ensure that all the correct assemblies and
sub-assemblies, and all the manufactured and purchased parts are in
the crates, the shipping department needs to know what was suppose
to be in the crates and compare to what they packed. The
Epicor Vantage ERP system didn't provide a cost-effective method
that matched their unique manufacturing processes, but a custom
manufacturing operations system housing ERP extensions did.
Built on a technology platform that integrates to Vantage at the
database level and through the Service Connect function, the custom
ERP extensions allow the manufacturer to keep their engineering and
shipping processes and not change them to match the off-the-shelf
ERP system.
Engineering drawings files are imported into the custom
manufacturing operations system and bill of materials are created
in the ERP system automatically. This data is accessed by the
custom manufacturine operations system later in the process to
create engineering ship lists that match their current reporting
format. When the shipping department packs the crates, they
scan the parts with their existing bar code scanners. The
manufacturing operations system saves the information, and allows
shipping to override the engineering ship list to match realities
on the shop floor.
When the shipping department is ready to send the crates to the
customer location, the shipping manager uses a comparison feature
in the manufacturing operations system to verify that what is in
the crates matches what is on the ship list created by
engineering. Packing lists and cover sheets are automatically
created in the format they have been using for years - the format
they found worked best for them and their customers.
While the new ERP system meets the demand for the common tasks
found at manufacturing businesses, the ERP extensions provide the
flexibility required on the shop floor. With the custom
manufacturing operations system on the shop floor, the manufacturer
is able to extend the ERP system to meet the unique manufacturing
processes that make them competitive.