The MRP software you choose is key to knowing exactly where your organization stands when it comes to accurate inventory, incoming orders, precise production scheduling and even floor-level work flow.

Not Yesterday’s MRP Software Technology

MRP technology has come a long way since its early beginnings in the 1960s, and it has become pivotal not only for industries that work with products with a shelf-life, but for several types of manufacturing environments. Today’s MRP software can certainly keep your production cycle fresh by letting you factor in strategic decisions, cutting out paperwork and helping you avoid the pitfalls of miscalculated inventory – like modules within a larger ERP software system.

Master Scheduling Options and Fast Comparisons

Materials planning is a highlight of some MRP software modules, and it can allow you to set up a master production schedule with maximum efficiency, including bundling orders together and setting up timeframes for forecasting. For example, BatchMaster Software, one of several MRP vendors, lets you enter the product finishing date into the system and set up detailed material purchasing and production dates, giving you a sense of greater control over your operation.

Fresh New Scenarios to Explore

You can also set up comparisons between supply and demand that will let you make quick adjustments and last-minute scheduling changes to avoid inventory problems. Want to ponder what would happen if you changed the way key products were produced? BatchMaster can walk you through that as well, leveraging its 50-plus years of manufacturing service—one detail among the list of features that keeps this MRP system option fresh.

Several Microsoft Dynamics resellers are promoting BatchMaster Manufacturing because the software uses Dynamics’ options for financials, inventory, sales and purchasing. Demilec USA, maker of earth-friendly foam spray-on insulation, among other chemical products, purchased BatchMaster to improve lead time and keep up with growing customer requests. The company uses SAP Business One, and now is installing the BatchMaster tools on their SAP platform, citing its strong capacity for improving scheduling, compliance and simple implementation.

From Location to Location: Make it Easier With MRP Software

Inventory management is likely to be a constant concern for your organization, and MRP software can help ease some of that burden. One example is Enterprise 21, from TGI, which includes an ERP suite that maximizes your manufacturing capabilities. The range of features from this option includes order management, barcode management, strategic planning and forecasting and ecommerce options – even across locations or varying measuring units.

Cane Creek Cycling Components, maker of upper-end bike parts, took on a full-blown software study to improve their operations and settled on Enterprise 21. One of their core challenges was trying to be efficient within more old-school methods, like green-screen interfacing on older software tools that didn’t flow smoothly into a central data repository.

Integration Makes a Big Difference

Among other efficiencies, Cane Creek wanted to be able to enter a single financial transaction and have it be updated across every piece of production. The completely integrated inventory and warehousing components of Enterprise 21 were appealing, and they ended up eliminating several manually-based processes across production. Using today’s technology with software that includes MRP processes and overhauling yesterday’s unintegrated models can give your production a fresh feel that your team and your customers will certainly respond to.

MRP Software that Thinks For You

If your organization utilizes short-term production cycles, SYSPRO integrates some MRP software features like backflushing, which will let you automatically remove information for raw materials that you’ve used up and those needed for sub-assembly the moment the item is completed. It will even tell you when you should focus on palletizing, putting away or picking, with sequencing information ready for you.

Whether your inventory has a finite shelf-life and needs to move fast, or if you can strategically plan for months in advance, today’s MRP software is the path toward utilizing the best of scheduling, forecasting and work flow to keep your operations from getting stale.