Efficient job shop scheduling is no mean feat. In fact, it's complicated enough to have inspired a term in the computer science world, "the job shop problem." We might say that, at its basis, the job shop problem is an issue of balancing sequences of actions with a limited number of resources to finish work in the most time-conscious way possible. Sound familiar? Unlike larger manufacturing facilities that produce a standardized set of high-volume consumer or industrial goods, job shops are required to be nimble and produce quality, short-run custom parts for their customers. Shifting nee ..read more

In recent years, 3D printing has become much more popular, both as a desktop tool for home users and for practical applications on the shop floor. In the manufacturing world, 3D printing is sometimes known as additive manufacturing. The growing consensus is that additive manufacturing will have a central role in many manufacturing processes in the future. In fact, a study commissioned by Essentium found that 58% of respondents believed 3D printing would be used for full-scale production of parts in the future, as reported in Industry Week. How should forward-thinking machine shops approach thi ..read more

With inventory management, no news is good news. That kind of calm and quiet is what inventory management professionals work so hard to achieve. The importance of inventory management is difficult to overstate because it produces innumerable effects downstream for the supply chain, which have a huge cumulative effect on the manufacturer's reputation, rate of efficiency and financial performance. Here are three downstream effects that help us realize just how how important inventory management is. Inventory management is critical to several downstream factors for the supply chain. 1. Cus ..read more

Deciding which ERP solution to purchase can be a time-consuming process, but it's important to get it right. Here are the people you'll want on your team. First, appoint a project manager to oversee the whole process. They'll keep things on track. Next, find an executive stakeholder to involve in the discussions. They'll make sure participants have the resources they need. You'll also want representatives of the end-users to participate. They'll share critical insights and generate buy-in. IT should have a prominent voice, too. They'll share technical knowledge and anticipate integration needs ..read more

According to a recent report from the Institute of Supply Management, manufacturers have mixed opinions about where profit margins are headed. Between the end of 2019 and May 2020, 67% of survey respondents predicted they'd see lower profit margins or no change. For some manufacturers, job costing pitfalls may make a significant difference in their profit margins, despite great sales and high productivity and throughput. A failure to accurately forecast how much a job will cost, and to price it accordingly, can undercut your profits. So where do manufacturers go wrong when it comes to job cost ..read more

One of the best ways to leverage your ERP is to centralize it for greater overall transparency. Ideally, this will lead to better-informed decision-making and stronger institutional performance. In order to drive that centralization, integrating CRMs and other crucial applications with your ERP is important. How about your payment processing software? Integration could be beneficial, but it's bound to bring some strain, too. Is it worth the effort? Is your payment processing system integrated with your ERP? Should it be? Problem: Payment processing systems are targets for hackers Payment proce ..read more

A study from Experian found that 30% of organizations believe data duplication is one of their top three data quality errors. Here's why you need to watch out for duplicate data. First, there's the cost. Storing redundant data can add up quickly for your company. Secondly, there's all the wasted time! Every moment you spend on unnecessary data entry is another moment that could have been spent on something better. Duplicates also open up new opportunities for human error, and inaccurate data means you run the biggest risk of all: making poor business decisions because of bad information ..read more

At the end of the 2010s, cloud computing was certainly on the uptick. In fact, Gartner predicted recently that spending on worldwide public cloud services would grow 17.5% over the previous year. If trends continue, the coming decade will see an influx of companies moving their on-prem solutions to the public cloud. Is now the right time for an ERP migration that moves your legacy system to the sky? Is 2020 the right year to start planning your ERP migration to the cloud? Benefits of the cloud More than just keeping up with the Joneses, an ERP migration to the cloud can provide your organizati ..read more

Gartner first coined the term "postmodern ERP" in 2014 as an effort to describe how the ERP landscape had evolved up to that moment. Previously, the ERP existed as a single central software application housing a whole host of functions. As time passed, however, the technology grew and changed to become an overarching suite to which applications from outside parties connected and fed information. Postmodern ERP: Integrating Administrative and Operational Components Gartner categorizes ERP functions according to two strategies, which the postmodern ERP integrates: administrative and operati ..read more

The modern business world is complicated, and competition is fierce, so proactive organizational leaders can't afford to rely on ad hoc systems to manage their operations. ERP and CRM systems are pivotal in today's operational environments. Both these solutions help enterprises share data smoothly among departments, facilitating greater collaboration and driving efficiency. ERPs and CRMs might seem like they're similar at first glance. How do their functions overlap and diverge? How do they relate to each other, if at all? Is it better to combine these solutions under one house or use the ..read more