A buzzword that’s important for business
If you are like me when you first heard the term Industry 4.0, you probably said “I didn’t know we had an Industry 1, 2, and 3.0!” The technology world loves its buzzwords, but I don’t mean to be dismissive of it because Industry 4.0 is something that we at Visual South are involved in every day. Let’s start by explaining Industry 4.0 and then talk about what it means to a manufacturing company.
What is Infor SyteLine ERP software?
Infor SyteLine ERP software (also known as Infor CloudSuite Industrial or CSI when deployed in the Amazon cloud) is Infor’s ERP offering for small and medium-sized manufacturers and distributors. For more than 30 years, SyteLine has been used by manufacturing-centric companies for managing their business activities. SyteLine scales from as small as a 15-user single site up to hundreds of users across multiple sites, divisions, and multiple companies.
At Visual South, we have decades of experience implementing ERP software. I personally have been with Visual South for 20 years, and spend a lot of time working with manufacturing companies. Some of our customers are looking to get the most out of their Infor ERP, while others don’t have a solution and need help evaluating which ERP platform is the best fit for their company. Regardless of where they’re at in their ERP journey, I have found that just about all of these companies are working to have better manufacturing process control. How they do that is highly dependent on the tools they use to manage their business.
Not all ERP systems are designed with the capabilities to address the somewhat unique requirements for manufacturing organizations that specialize in engineer-to-order products. There are significant differences in the business requirements of engineer-to-order manufacturers, compared to those of repetitive, make-to-stock, mixed mode, and even make-to-order manufacturers. The key difference is that engineer-to-order companies may build a specific design and configuration only once. That’s it. You need engineer-to-order manufacturing software to be able to accommodate the unique requirements of creating singular products.
I like a sense of order. If a picture is crooked, I straighten it. If there is a mess in the kitchen, I clean it up. I’m not obsessive about it, but it is part of my nature.
I also like data. Not data for data’s sake. Rather, data that brings clarity to a problem or situation, which brings me right back to my desire for a sense of order. Data helps me understand if a problem is fixed, or situation is under control. The data feeds my need for a sense of order.
An ERP implementation is a big undertaking for any size of company. Visual South has been implementing ERP in manufacturing companies for close to 30 years, so we know how much of an effort it requires. Over that period of time, we have learned a lot of lessons, and developed a methodical process that puts our customers in position to succeed with their implementations. We have an exhaustive list of blogs on the topic of implementing ERP, but I have summarized our top 25 tips for success (in no particular order) below:
For any project to be successful, it requires a leader, and an ERP implementation is no different. Projects involve people who take on roles, responsibilities, tasks, and decisions. They are a true team, and everyone’s actions (or inactions) affect the team and project. The ERP Project Manager (or ERP Implementation Manager) is the leader of this team, and is ultimately responsible for the success or failure of the implementation.
CloudSuite Industrial (SyteLine) is a sophisticated, robust ERP solution with a full complement of functionality that provides solutions to enterprises of all sizes. ERP software depends on processes, and tools to support those processes, along with people who understand how to do their jobs. Think of the software as an airplane—even the newest, best model still needs a pilot, so training is key. A plane is no good if the person commanding it does not know how to fly it.
Measure what you want to improve. Six simple words, but put together they convey a powerful concept that can transform manufacturing companies. (Point of reference: Visual South works with small to medium-sized manufactures that use work orders.) It’s a basic concept that’s hard to argue with: Collect data, see where the data leads you, and make changes that have a positive impact on the data. Repeat often.
In my years of working with companies looking for Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, there is usually a lot of emphasis placed on buying the right system along with declarations on how the new system is going to help run the business better. Other companies have achieved this, your company can also.
