At the risk of stating the obvious, manufacturing business software systems are critical to the success of a company. Without it, you will be flying blind. But, what happens when you need to make a change to your manufacturing business software? How can you change out the system that monitors the status and health of your business without causing disruptions to your business?

Start by considering your entire system

Your manufacturing business software systems are comprised of all the methods, tools and processes you and your employees use to get information about your business so that you can manage your business. It probably includes yellow pads, sticky notes, clipboards, electronic spreadsheets and many other manual processes, in addition to your electronic accounting system. In our experience, many companies might say, “Oh, you mean my accounting (or my ERP – Enterprise Resource Planning) software.” While that is part of it, your accounting or ERP solution is only part of the equation. You have systems that may or may not include software. We want you to think about every system that you have in your company so that you can make sure that you are considering all the requirements you and your staff have for a manufacturing business system.

Many times we find that while the ERP accounting system records data on the current quantity of inventory items on hand, there are one or more other systems that track where the product is located, how it is stored, what has passed inspection, what lots are in stock, what lots were shipped to each customer, what products to combine into kits and so on. So, we might say it this way, your business management system is the corporate legend (the part where you ask Jim or Mary about something), yellow pads, bound notebooks hanging from a string, clipboards, rolodex, 3×5 cards, paper filing cabinets and the software you use, like spreadsheets, parcel shipping software, warehouse management software, manufacturing and shop floor control software and your accounting or ERP systems.

Then there is the people part of your system. They are the ones who really make things work. And, we haven’t talked about the most difficult to define – your sales system – which includes all of the manual methods plus contact management or CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software.

Next, Call in the Experts

When it comes to choosing a manufacturing software system, you need more than just product information; you also need other kinds of input to make sound accounting and manufacturing decisions.

Find a company that is not only an expert in choosing and implementing manufacturing software solutions, but also choose an expert in the manufacturing industry.