Moving from the old school pen and paper way to manage inventory and performance to technology-based options is still a big leap for many production companies. This may be a combination of traditional options for managing production as well as the sheer number of software packages on the market to choose from.
Even for companies that are semi-automated and are using spreadsheets or other types of programs to track data, using full production management software offers a much more complete picture. The data collected can not only provide a visual of how the production facility operates but also to measure the time of production, bottlenecks in the production process and then later managing pick and pull lists for shippers or even route optimization options for drivers and fleet management.
If not understanding what is needed is holding you back from implementing production management software, consider the following features and how they apply to your facility.
Ability to Track
What specifically do you need the software to be able to track, analyze and process? Think about the entire operation and how inventory, scheduling, purchasing, sales, shipping, ordering, and billing are constantly monitored. Is this meeting your needs or would it be more advantageous to have one software program doing it all?
Sales Analysis
All production facilities will need to have accurate information on sales. By choosing production management software with a robust and advanced ability to provide the data you need to make sales decisions, it can also streamline production, the ordering of raw materials and allow you to track everything back in cost to see where efficiency or inefficiency may exist in your system.
Look for a software provider that specializes in working with management software. Most of these companies will provide industry-specific programs plus they may also provide a demo to let you see how the system works through an actual working example.
