Disruptions in global supply chains manifest themselves in many ways, from natural disasters to medical crises. Regardless of the situation, UK manufacturers must be able manage any tremors felt in their supply chain - and software tools are the missing link for creating a robust supply chain.
- Topic:
- Supply Chain
What is Shop Floor Data Capture?
Shop floor data capture, often abbreviated to SFDC, is a process where shop floor operatives book on and off works orders in real time on the production floor. Many manufacturers are not using SFDC as a tool to help them run production more efficiently and are missing out on a huge amount of data (and therefore insight) that SFDC brings with it. Some benefits include:
- Real-time job progress – identify bottlenecks
- Accurate and complete product costing
- Productivity analysis by employee or work centre
- Planning accuracy improvements
- Topic:
- Supply Chain
Inefficiencies in the factory office seem to be tolerated far more than on the shop floor. Maybe this is because excessive admin is often seen as a given in office environments. However, there is such a thing as too much admin, and this leads to time and money lost every week.
- Topic:
- Supply Chain
As a 3PL, you can already provide flexibility for your customers, but as more venture into e-Commerce, how can you make sure that your warehouse still gains the competitive edge?
E-Commerce is a 24/7 market, and you need to make sure the systems you have in place can handle customer order demands.
- Topic:
- Supply Chain
In the UK, 15% of adults smoke cigarettes and 6% use e-cigarettes. One in four employees in manufacturing is a smoker. Type ‘smokers more breaks’ into Google and you would be barraged with angry employees complaining about their smoking colleagues.
- Topic:
- Supply Chain
In short, both MRP and ERP systems are pieces of software that help you to run your business better based on historical information, forecasting algorithms and your chosen business priorities. The key difference is the scope; MRP has a much narrower, manufacturing-centric focus than ERP, which provides business-wide benefits as well as supply chain management. To give you a better understanding of the components of each, and to help you to decide which one might be right for your company, we’ve set out some of the detail below.
Find out more about MRP and ERP, through a series of articles looking at the differences between these tools and which system is right for you and your business.
- Topic:
- Supply Chain
If your business operates in manufacturing or production, you are likely to have heard of ERP or MRP. Similar in both name and concept, the range of options available can make it difficult to work through the differences and understand which one might work best for you.
In short, both MRP and ERP systems are pieces of software that help you to run your business better based on historical information, forecasting algorithms and your chosen business priorities. The key difference is the scope; MRP has a much narrower, manufacturing-centric focus than ERP, which provides business-wide benefits as well as supply chain management. To give you a better understanding of the components of each, and to help you to decide which one might be right for your company, we’ve set out some of the detail below.
- Topic:
- Supply Chain
All you need to know about ERP and MRP before you make a critical business decision. Find out what is ERP and MRP and what they do, as well as what the key differences are between the two and which is right for your business.
When looking to invest in software it is important to ensure that the software can do what you need it to do today whilst taking into consideration that it will need to do what you require tomorrow. Future proof your business with the right tool for the job.
- Topic:
- Supply Chain
In the second of our ‘Lean manufacturing in the digital age’ series, we explore how increased flexibility, market agility and responsiveness can only be achieved through robust, accurate production planning.
Given the hype surrounding the ‘digitalisation’ of manufacturing, it’s all too easy to forget that manufacturers have been implementing and using IT systems for decades.
This has provided the sector with a wealth of knowledge and familiarity; it’s also provided the opportunity to build up years of technical debt.
Many industrial businesses would describe their digital architecture as a complex jumble of disparate systems – ERP, MES, MRP, S&OP, the list goes on. The information continued in these systems is frequently manually-generated, siloed and inconsistent, making it a challenge to work with and swiftly obsolete.
Many of these systems are bespoke creations cobbled together long ago with modifications and extra modules bolted on as and when needed. Though custom-built may have been the right choice at the time, the decision can quickly lead to something resembling the digital equivalent of Frankenstein’s monster.
That may sound glib, but the risks are all too real.
- Topic:
- Supply Chain
