Back to Basics: ERP for Production Managers

Why Do Production Managers Need an ERP?

An ERP will give production managers all the tools they need to plan, execute, and complete complex manufacturing jobs. An ERP streamlines manufacturing processes and gives valuable real-time feedback, allowing production managers to optimize productivity, reduce costs, and enhance efficiencies.

Overcome the Complexities of High Variable Manufacturing

High-mix low-volume manufacturing is extremely complicated and involves effectively managing multiple processes at once. An ERP is the right tool to handle these complexities. It empowers production managers to oversee all manufacturing processes from within one system, create a more streamlined and efficient shop, and most importantly, it allows you to deliver unique and customized products to your customers.

One of the biggest benefits an ERP brings to the table is that it connects your entire shop, allowing for better collaboration—meaning you can better facilitate the high level of communication and teamwork that is required in high-variable manufacturing environments.

ERP Benefits for Production Managers

‍Production Managers have a lot they need to balance—resources, labor, machine time, plant flow, and shop capacity, just to name a few—to get a job completed and shipped out the door. An ERP that is built to handle the intricacies of high-variable manufacturing will ensure you deliver jobs on time, every time.

ERPs created for custom manufacturers make it easier for production managers to balance multiple jobs and competing priorities and ensure that your shop is always functioning at maximum capacity. Real-time data provides production managers with the feedback they need to manage project milestones, and a connected and integrated system streamlines manufacturing processes. An ERP will make you more organized and streamline your business operations, which will help you both increase efficiency and lower your costs.

ERPs are the multi-functional tool that production managers need to effectively manage their shop floors.

ERP Modules for Production Managers

Genius Production Planning

Maximize your throughput and deliver on time, every time with Genius Production Planning.

Manage all aspects of each job and balance shifting priorities with a fully integrated and connected system. Use real-time data to track job progress, identify production bottlenecks, and measure system performance, as well as monitor timesheets and work-order completion, and track costs for each job in your shop or on-site.

Genius Production Planning gives you a real-time overview of your production floor, clarifies and structures the instructions for each task and job, and allows you to execute tasks according to an established plan. When you schedule or reschedule jobs, you can quickly alert your production and sales teams, keeping them up-to-date. And with Genius Production Planning, you can more easily react to and implement customer changes—keeping your shop running efficiently and smoothly.

Genius Production Planning lets you organize your shop based on actual capacity by identifying constraints on current and proposed workloads. Increase your throughput by prioritizing workloads based on historical capacities. Align your whole shop and manage the priorities that will drive your business forward.

Genius Project Management

Use real-time visibility to track and manage every single job in your shop with Genius Project Management. We give you all the tools you need to plan and track the progress of every job and project you have on the go. Real-time data and dashboards let you follow the progress of all your projects and always be up-to-date on job status.

Assess overrun risks with tools including budget management, milestone management, payment planning, and revenue recognition. Plan labor capacity based on your actual resources by taking into consideration efficiency, calendar, and overtime. Schedule hours by competencies or department—all without having to complete the routing details in your BOMs.

Get a jump start on production by purchasing long-lead items before completing a BOM with the Preliminary Purchase List tool, allowing you to save time, optimize production efficiency, and complete more jobs on time.

Smart Scheduling

Revolutionize the way you schedule your custom manufacturing shop.

Genius ERP’s Smart Scheduling, the only DBR (Drum-Buffer-Rope) scheduling tool available within an ERP system, will completely change the way you schedule your shop. Reduce lead times, increase throughput, and get everyone in your shop aligned and focused on the same priorities with our Smart Scheduling tool.

DBR scheduling is based on the fundamental Theory of Constraints (ToC) principle that within any custom manufacturing plant, there is a Drum—one, or a limited number of, scarce resources—which control the overall output of the plant. Increasing the capacity of the Drum is the only way to increase the capacity of your manufacturing shop.

Using this theory, Genius ERP’s’ Smart Scheduling tool streamlines shop floor scheduling by identifying the Drum and then automatically prepares a detailed schedule that maximizes the capacity of the Drum. Buffers and Ropes are also put into place—mechanisms that ensure the Drum always operates at maximum efficiency.

Decrease Lead Times

If you are using a traditional manufacturing scheduling system, estimating delivery times is an educated guess at best.

But Smart Scheduling lets you manage your shop more efficiently. Instead of constantly being caught in the weeds, Genius ERP’s Drum-Buffer-Rope software keeps you running at maximum efficiency, meaning you can give your customers more accurate estimated delivery dates. And more importantly, you’ll be able to follow through and deliver on time.

Increase Throughput

Smart Scheduling will increase your shop’s throughput by allowing you to schedule your shop to its actual maximum capacity.

Instead of building a schedule based on guesswork and inaccurate data, a DBR schedule is developed around—and built to support—the true heartbeat of your shop. With Smart Scheduling, your shop will always run at peak efficiency level and maximum throughput.

Expert Priority Management

Smart Scheduling creates a detailed schedule in which each job and task on a project is prioritized and scheduled in turn.

Every role and department in your shop will be better equipped, and miscommunications will become a distant memory. Managers and supervisors will be better able to set and manage priorities, as well as define and follow the throughput of your shop. Smart Scheduling will ensure that everyone in your shop is working on the right task at the right time to get jobs completed and out the door on time.

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Want to see how Genius ERP helped a custom manufacturer gain visibility across their organization, better plan their production schedule, and improve communication across departments? Read our case study of Elemoose, a custom manufacturer of signage, props, and architectural building finishes.