ERP Manufacturing Systems

ERP manufacturing systems have been a fixture of the business technology landscape in the high budget manufacturing sector for more than two decades. But recently, ERP manufacturing systems and integrated software applications have undergone a rapid series of product evolutions that are bringing them increasingly into the hands of smaller and mid-sized businesses. If you own or manage a small process or product manufacturing firm in the pharmaceutical, food and beverage, or apparel industry, there's never been a better time to begin investigating ERP manufacturing systems to find out how they can help you move your business forward.

Product and process modules, as well as back office software for accounting, human resource management, customer relationship management and payroll have never been more affordable and reliable. These products are also rapidly expanding in capability as they become more cost-effective. There are several factors that can help explain this recent shift in the market landscape, and may help to understand the capabilities of modern ERP software systems in a broader context. Before you begin your investigation, which may include research of product reviews, white papers, online demonstrations and a thorough needs analysis and diagnostic review of your existing software system, consider the growth of ERP manufacturing systems during the past several years.

The first early ERP manufacturing systems, called MRPs or manufacturing resource planning systems, were implemented in the manufacturing sector in the late 1980s. These systems were developed in response to specific demand from operations managers, who needed to find ways to control complex scheduling, billing, ordering and other activities on shop floors. At that point, most large firms were running their separate departments on individual software platforms that were unable to intersect. This caused productivity slowdowns, especially when task management required the input of more than one department. Once the first ERP manufacturing systems were in place, employees from across the organization could run standardized applications from a shared server infrastructure that was typically owned and maintained by the company.

They could also use the server to house databases that could be accessed by any authorized user and updated in real time. This revolutionized operations, and even though these early systems were cumbersome and expensive, they quickly became very popular among the large firms that could afford them, both within and beyond the manufacturing sector. As the new millennium approached, businesses rushed to replace their legacy software systems with integrated platforms. Implementation demand peaked at this time, even among hospitals, university systems and government offices. Shortly after the year 2000, however, demand at the high budget level began to cool, partly as a result of market saturation.

As the market landscape began to shift, developers and providers turned their attention downstream to find new sources of market share. They began an ongoing effort to shape and customize their product and service offerings to appeal to smaller clients that they had previously been able to ignore. Since about 2005, products for small business markets have been rapidly improving in functionality, reliability, and affordability, and have now become essential tools for small business managers.