Sponsored content: 3 Real-Life Manufacturing Challenges Resolved with MRP Software

Manufacturing is hard work. And managing it is even harder. This is especially true for small manufacturers that need to wear multiple hats every single day, making sure that production schedules are accurate and adhered to, that materials reach the shop floor at the right time, that orders are put in and processed in due time, that product quality is up to standard, that costs are kept in check, and so forth.

It’s tough. And it’s made tougher by increasingly heavy regulations, constant supply chain disruptions, and labour capacity fluctuations endemic to our age. But when the going gets tough, the tough get smarter.

A growing number of small manufacturers are turning to software to alleviate their various day-to-day pains. Here are three real-life manufacturing challenges that genuine companies from various industries have overcome with the help of MRP software, plus a bonus one for good measure.

1.   Stockouts and overstocking

One of the biggest issues that MRP software tackles is material planning. The need to find a balance between too little and too much stock is very acute in small manufacturing companies as each unit represents tied-up cash that could be put to good use elsewhere. MRP software such as MRPeasy is made to accurately determine material requirements, ensure timely stock replenishments, and facilitate demand planning, allowing companies to optimise their inventory.

Paul Long, Website Manager at health and beauty product manufacturer Myddfai Trading Company says: “MRPeasy tells us what our requirements are, and when we create the manufacturing orders, we don’t have to go and tell the manufacturing staff anything, they can simply pull the information from MRPeasy. At the same time, we’re getting flags for stock statuses and can replenish purchases.”

2.   Data getting lost

Data is key to making good business decisions. But managing business information in spreadsheets (or even worse, physical archives) is unsustainable in the long run as finding the correct piece of data becomes increasingly difficult as the company grows. Within an MRP system, however, your data is organised in a way that enables easy navigation and quick search.

“We now have all the information in one place – we can see the part, when it’s due, what the costs are, everything. All you need to find is just one click away, which saves us a huge amount of time, and we have eliminated the horrendous paper trail we previously had,” details Lee Brien, Director of Operations at UK precision engineering company A Wrate Engineering.

3.   Traceability regulations

Being able to track the flow of goods throughout the value chain brings substantial benefits to any company, but especially to those working in heavily regulated industries. Achieving regulatory compliance is a daunting challenge that MRP software effortlessly resolves.

“I had a target to install MRPeasy and become ISO 9001 approved within 6 months. After 6 months of using the system, SGS (an industry-leading certification company) came in to undertake the certification audit and we passed without a single non-conformance. On the report, SGS also commented on how good MRPeasy was with traceability,” states Paul Watson, founder of MPW Precision.

Bonus challenge: scaling up

While growth is generally a positive thing, scaling up operations can be very tough for managers. While spreadsheets cannot accommodate a growing business for too long, even some MRP systems can become an impediment if their functionality is not up to par with what serious manufacturers need. That is why considering your future requirements is as important as considering current ones when choosing software.

Javed Bashir, Production Director at international textile manufacturing company B&A Quilting, knows this: “We are about eight times the size we were in 2017 but have barely doubled the administrative side of things. MRPeasy really has helped us immensely.”

For more information and a free trial, visit https://www.mrpeasy.com/