ERP for Manufacturing

We will define your needs and wants as well as how you would ideally use new automated solutions across your entire Company.

We will guide you through selecting the best fit, and most cost-effective business applications, and implementation partners.

After finalizing your software and services contracts, EAG stays with you to oversee your implementation until you successfully go live.  We will oversee integrations, data migration, change management, budgets, design and configuration, walkthroughs, training, testing, and go-live cutover and will provide executive and project sponsor support throughout the duration of your project.

• Paper-based processes and manual intervention create inefficient, time-consuming, and duplicative work.
• Legacy ERP software is customized to the point where changes, upgrades, and integrations are not possible. 
• Legacy ERP is outdated and unable to adapt to growth within the organization.
• Very few support options exist for their legacy software.
• Tracking and reporting on material movement is manual and time-consuming.

• Heavy dependence on spreadsheets and concerns they will break or get lost.
• Reliance on emails for key communications of engineering designs, revisions, and BOMs versus systematic tracking
• Extra effort and wasted time through the use of multiple spreadsheets to track key data across the organization.
• More time is spent capturing, preparing, and manipulating data than analyzing it for insights or planning better execution.
• Lack of integration between systems.

Our rapidly-growing mid-market clients are already very busy with their day jobs and do not have time to become ERP experts.  Though your key people still have to devote some time to an ERP initiative, hiring an ERP consultant frees them up to focus on the important ERP decisions while keeping the focus on their day job.

The more complex your business, the more likely for difficulty when selecting and implementing software.  ERP Advisors Group will help you uncover your true needs and will only vet the most viable options for your size, requirements, resources, and strategy.

We will create your requirements document and demonstration script with industry-standard best practices in mind while retaining what is unique to your company, leaving out the manual workarounds.

Many clients hire us when they suspect there will be a business case for new software, especially in a manufacturing company on legacy applications.  ERP Advisors Group helps stakeholders buy into what is best for the company by getting their input at multiple stages including the Needs Analysis, Selection, and Implementation.

A frequent complaint we hear from prospects who tried to select software on their own is feeling confused about the software's capabilities.  We have vendors show your requirements during their product demonstrations.  This ensures you feel confident about selecting the best products to meet your needs.

We negotiate tens of millions of dollars of deals every year for our clients.  We provide contract reviews on all terms and conditions, including software, services, and every agreement embedded throughout the contract. Our clients receive price protection for many years to come on their purchases. While we don't guarantee it in writing, we normally save our fees on this step alone. Check out our Guide to Contract Negotiations.

The answer depends on your business’s needs. Each business is unique and is going to look for different things from their ERP.  You could be a discrete manufacturer whose needs are different than those of a batch manufacturer, or you could have regulatory requirements in a highly regulated industry like medical devices or food, which other companies do not need to worry about.

Aside from core functionality requirements, you may offer adjacent services that require you to explore software platforms and the ecosystems that surround them. You may need a field services solution or an e-commerce tool, forcing you to look outside the box of core manufacturing execution-oriented applications.

Or you may have preferences when it comes to user experience or how the system looks and feels. These are all factors that contribute to what the “best” ERP manufacturing means to you.

An implementation can take anywhere from six months for a smaller business with a limited scope of work to well over a year for larger initiatives. For the more complex implementations, the process can take even longer. Additionally, obstacles, such as data readiness or project team turnover (implementor and/or client), can cause further delays. Be sure to talk to the experts and consult with your implementation partner for a clear timeline.

Manufacturers have very specialized functionality requirements that need to be met by their ERP. In the fast-paced world of manufacturing, businesses must be able to meet rigid requirements while also adapting to evolving circumstances.

For instance, Inventory and Supply Chain Management are essential manufacturing needs. Manufacturers need to track their inventory in real-time to manage levels and meet fluctuating demands, without over- or under-stocking. Within inventory, manufacturers must carefully manage their supply chain to prepare for disruptions or confront potential recalls. Additionally, manufacturers need a way to manage quality and meet compliance requirements, regardless of their micro-vertical.

More than ever before, manufacturers need an ERP that can scale. Not just as their orders increase, but as their business expands into different products or services. Many modern businesses expand into adjacent fields, which requires software with even more flexibility than a manufacturing-centric business.

These are only the basic manufacturing requirements every company should demand; however, there are many other capabilities manufacturers may desire. They may need shop floor management, material requirements planning, a manufacturing execution system, production scheduling, or even project management. This is why we encourage everyone to thoroughly understand their needs before selecting software.

The software market is not lacking for manufacturing solutions. Businesses can usually find exactly what they need for their growing businesses, but every model is unique and may require extra configuration if there is no out-of-the-box solution for your particular micro vertical.

Most businesses will enter an ERP selection thinking they need an all-in-one solution, but this may miss the mark for specialized manufacturers. All-in-one solutions can get extremely expensive and provide almost never-ending capabilities. Maybe even too many capabilities. Paying for a bunch of functionalities you don’t need is not ideal for businesses with tight margins looking to reduce costs.

Then, there are best-of-breed models, providing businesses with an array of solutions that come together to operate different facets of the business. While this may help meet unique business needs, it can create data silos that are difficult to condense and analyze.

Finally, businesses can look to develop a hybrid model. This means selecting an ERP to run portions of the business, such as accounting and human resources, while selecting other bolt-on solutions to run more specific operations, such as warehouse or shop floor management. This model is the most conducive to growth and flexibility if it is executed properly. By building the right integrations and selecting the right solutions, manufacturers can realize progressive value with a more cost-effective model.

From an advisory perspective, so long as you have a solid, core accounting solution, you can go ahead and implement just a manufacturing solution. However, we highly recommend having a clear technology strategy to drive all future growth. Implementing a manufacturing solution without a solid ERP means part of the business will still be behind. And, in terms of data, you won’t be able to truly realize the value of a modern solution.

ERP and MES vary in their purpose. ERP helps house, track, and analyze operations across the entire business, in every department, directly impacting the General Ledger with inventory purchasing, COGS, and revenue. Alternatively, MES is more system-focused and pertains to managing machines and operations contained on the factory floor. Each solution has its own purpose and can benefit manufacturers; it is simply a matter of whether your business is at a point where it could benefit from MES, ERP, or both.