Content area
Full Text
An integrated software system can help manufacturing management see the big picture.
If there is a key to success in manufacturing today, it's agility-the ability to accurately anticipate and swiftly respond to changing market demands. More and more companies are accomplishing this by pursuing mixed-mode manufacturing, employing different production strategies for different product lines.
However, if a patchwork of legacy software systems hinders access to timely and accurate information, it may create wasteful processes that cancel out any competitive advantages mixed-mode manufacturers hope to gain. That's why the most efficient and cost-effective software for mixed-mode manufacturing is a single, integrated platform that supports multiple production strategies simultaneously, and permits switching from one to another quickly and smoothly without disrupting operations.
As the supply chain becomes more demand-driven, manufacturers are under pressure to bring products to market quickly, at the right price, and to the customer's exact specifications. By mixing manufacturing modes, companies can bring different products to market in different ways. For example, they may have one product line that is made to stock, another that is engineered to order, and yet another that is configured to order. Because today's products change so quickly, many manufacturers find themselves taking on new manufacturing modes as they grow their product lines. Others are mixing lean manufacturing techniques, such as kanbans and cells, with older manufacturing modes.
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems that are not designed for mixed-mode manufacturing lock companies into a single line of business. These systems force companies to work around the software for their other product lines by constructing spreadsheets or databases to compile and finesse data from various sources. When a company's business model changes, it is usually forced to choose a whole new ERP system.
One way around this problem is mixed-mode enterprise software. This software enables companies to switch manufacturing styles, providing flexibility to meet market demands.
"Mixed-mode enterprise software is composed of modules that can stand alone, yet integrate seamlessly across any and all manufacturing styles to facilitate planning, decision-making, execution and measuring," says Greg Romanello, business solutions consultant with IFS (Schaumburg, IL), a supplier of component-based business software for medium and large companies. "It is like a toolbox that enables companies to choose just the right applications for...