Make your ERP even better at what it does with a powerful production scheduler.
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are a core component of modern, data-driven business. These far-reaching platforms consolidate data from across your organization and enable you to find insights that would otherwise stay hidden in information silos. Like many solutions that try to do a lot of things well, however, some of the more niche functions can prove underdeveloped when it comes to the needs of a specialized company. And because the system is so interconnected, it’s not just the one function that suffers—the quality of the output as a whole takes a hit.
ERPs often bill themselves as a comprehensive, one-size-fits-all solution. But manufacturing companies in particular have complex production scheduling needs, and optimizing them can make or break your competitive advantage in a tight industry. For these businesses, an ERP’s higher-level production planning capabilities don’t quite cut it. Instead, a separate production scheduling module—like JobPack—can make a world of difference, and unlock unprecedented levels of transparency, efficiency, and control.
What’s more, JobPack’s improved scheduling and detailed production data feed into your ERP’s other functions, boosting its overall benefits for your manufacturing business as a whole. Here’s how.
See your workflows more clearly so you can fine-tune them.
A manufacturing shop is a busy place, and not just on the shop floor itself. Your business faces all the challenges that any business does: HR, marketing, logistics, procurement, finance… the list goes on. But with each department focused on its own priorities, information silos can start to form, and it becomes possible to miss critical details.
ERPs exist to cut down on these occurrences and create a more unified structure for your business data. Connecting as many data sources as possible means you can see more of your business in action at the same time, and helps you find those valuable synergies that can increase efficiency and reduce costs.
Integrating a production scheduler like JobPack adds detailed production data into the mix. With JobPack, your ERP has access to real-time status information from the shop floor for even more visibility into your operations. View shop floor capacity alongside sales data and prepare for an upcoming spike, for example, or see how a procurement delay could impact your production plan. Real-time information lets you adapt in the moment while setbacks are still minor.
Increased visibility also offers more ways to identify bottlenecks and streamline your operations. If you know that orders often sit for a while before being shipped out, JobPack and your ERP together can help you determine whether the wait is happening on the shop floor or in the shipping department, and whether you need another worker on the logistics team to move items.
Build better analyses with better data.
By consolidating your business data, ERPs also serve as a valuable source of reporting and analysis. And if your outputs are only as good as your inputs, then it’s no surprise that improved shop floor data produces more detailed reports and more accurate predictions.
Essential business functions like pricing analysis and budget forecasting rely on good historical data, and the more detailed your data, the more precise you can be. A production scheduling module provides deeper breakdowns of labor and materials costs, job timelines, and more on a per-product basis, so you can make the best possible decisions as a result.
Navigate the supply chain with detailed production knowledge.
When supply chains face disruption, production schedulers like JobPack shine. Streamlined, flexible scheduling tools help you rearrange work to accommodate delays, while also keeping track of all the downstream changes caused by each edit. JobPack also tracks the details of each job, so it knows what supplies you need, where you need them, and how far in advance.
This level of precision spills over into your ERP’s entire supply chain management system. For instance, you can use detailed supply levels and lead times to organize just-in-time procurement, which will save space and streamline logistics in the warehouse. Or take advantage of better production transparency to identify rising demand for a particular consumable, and start sourcing new suppliers before you reach a bottleneck. With better information, you stay prepared, and can build resilience in your supply chain workflows.
Stay compliant with paperless manufacturing.
If your goal is to expand your business into defense, medical, or other tightly regulated sectors, your production process needs to meet certain requirements. While the specifics can vary, there’s one aspect that remains almost universally consistent: documentation. In order to prove compliance, regulators will need the ability to audit your processes and your historical data. But with paperless manufacturing, tracking and collecting the information you need becomes dramatically easier.
JobPack enables you to manage production without packs of paper, centralizing your work history and operating procedures into a single source of truth. When integrated into your ERP, you have access to unique identifiers, job timelines, and other production details right alongside sales information and customer data. Automated data collection and sharing avoids the need to enter the same information twice, and minimizes the opportunities for human error. Your business data is more complete, more accurate, and all in one place for regulators to review.
JobPack is the production scheduler that adapts to your shop.
Wherever you are in your digital transformation journey, JobPack slots right into your technology environment and starts delivering benefits fast. Our lightweight, intuitive production scheduler integrates smoothly with leading ERPs, providing a boost to transparency and efficiency that spreads from your shop to the rest of your business.
If your ERP is falling short on the production scheduling side, learn how JobPack could be exactly the piece you need to bring it all together. Request a demonstration today.
