Manufacturing IT

Information technology, or IT, helps businesses in many markets properly assess and process critical operating data and may provide many benefits. For example, manufacturing IT may help companies better plan their orders, handle customer needs and provide better products and services. Understanding different manufacturing IT solutions and methods may help you better plan the types your company may use.

What is IT for manufacturing?

IT is a broad term that includes using computers to create, store, discover, exchange and process business-related data in an electronic medium. An IT system may include multiple computers, physical storage devices, cloud based storage options, various hardware and software designs, data-connection cables and online business networks. Manufacturing IT may use this tech when tracking distinct elements, including:

Material management: IT programs can help manufacturing firms track their material use. For example, these systems may help businesses gauge their current material stock and plan future orders.
Production planning: Manufacturing companies may use IT when creating new production processes. This step may include tracking machine designs, sharing production output and gauging its effectiveness.
Delivery logistics: IT may help companies handle various warehouse logistics and delivery steps. For instance, some software may include production transportation route planning to help companies create more efficient delivery paths.

Manufacturing firms may create IT systems based on their needs. For example, some companies may build in-house options using IT professionals who understand a business' operation and requirements. Other manufacturers may buy and install outsourced manufacturing IT to handle these tasks. These systems may play many roles in a manufacturing context, depending on a company's needs and operation.

Role of IT in manufacturing

Improve manufacturing efficiency

Proper IT use may enhance your manufacturing efficiency and boost your overall operation quality. For example, you may use IT tools when tracking your production output and identify better and more efficient processing methods. Some information technology tools may include efficiency-tracking programs that can spot improvement areas and help direct your overall production by eliminating any production line redundancies.

Increase production speed

Better manufacturing information technology may increase your production speed by integrating various production-line improvements that enhance your overall process. For example, you may install new automated manufacturing programs that handle straightforward tasks, like inserting product screws. Adding this new tech throughout your production line may help streamline its operation by improving your employees' manual labor job performance speed.

Enhance product quality

Some IT processes and tools may help improve your company's product quality. For example, enhanced diagnostic tools may spot product flaws more effectively and help your team discover better solutions. Enhanced-reality devices may also help you create simulated product tests that more accurately find material concerns. Other IT solutions may include automatic product scanning tools that quickly and accurately diagnose any potential product flaws.

Boost employee life quality

Manufacturing IT may help improve your employees' work life and enhance their overall experience. For example, decreasing manual labor tasks may let your employees focus more on complex duties, like planning production output. Some information technology, like instant messaging systems, may also help them communicate with managers and other team members more effectively during production. This benefit may help them address production concerns adequately and let them feel more in touch with their team.

Most commonly selected and implemented ERP systems.

Microsoft Dynamics 365

Microsoft D365 is recommended often because so many of our clients are looking for flexibility and they're looking for alternatives to some of the bigger, more rigid, monolithic ERP systems in the marketplace. Many of our clients also like the Microsoft look and feel and the integration to other Microsoft products like Power BI, SharePoint, Outlook, teams Etc. Those are many of the reasons why we recommend the product so often to our client base. Some examples of recent clients that we've recommended Microsoft D365 include an entertainment company, a children's toy manufacturer as well as a few different industrial product manufacturers so it's a pretty diverse client base. The commonality between these organizations is that they're looking for robust and flexible capabilities that other systems can provide so for these reasons that's why Microsoft D365 is the product that we've recommended the most to our clients in recent months.

Oracle Netsuite

Netsuite is a product that we commonly consider and recommend for small and mid-market organizations, in particular organizations that are looking for a common platform and don't have complex business processes that they're trying to change. Additionally, if they're open to standard, off-the-shelf, SAS cloud-based processes. That is where Netsuite tends to fit in the market, so when we look at our small and mid-market clients it's very common that we recommend that product in that space. A few examples of clients that we've recently recommended Oracle Netsuite to include a few different non-profit organizations, a children's toy manufacturer as well as a Professional Services firm. Oracle Netsuite offers us a pretty diverse client mix. The commonality they all have and share is the fact that they're small and mid-market companies that are open to more standardized business processes and they lie like the cloud SAS model that Oracle Netsuite brings to the table so these are some of the reasons why Netsuite is number two on our list of most recommended ERP systems for our clients.

Infor Cloud Suite

Infor has still somewhat fragmented their different solutions underneath the Cloud Suite umbrella but in general if you look at the entire Infor Cloud Suite of products, that's the product that lands at number three on our list. Infor Cloud Suite is a great alternative to the SAP’s and Oracle’s of the world, the large tier-1 systems. Infor Cloud Suite is big enough to scale and can be complex and can be super costly and risky to deploy the platform. Some recent examples of clients where we've recommended Infor Cloud Suite to include an energy company, an aerospace and defense manufacturing organization as well as a laser device manufacturer. These are organizations or clients that could have gone with SAP, Oracle or Microsoft Dynamics but they instead chose Infor Cloud Suite because of the flexibility and some of the breadth of capabilities specific to manufacturing and distribution.

SAP S/4HANA

SAP is a product that we continue to recommend to larger multinational organizations. Typically organizations that have grown aggressively through mergers & acquisitions and organizations that are for other reasons potentially trying to standardize their operations and create an operating model that's consistent across a global organization. If we were just to look at our large clients, our Fortune 500 or Fortune 1000 clients, SAP would probably rank a lot higher than number five on that list but when we look at our entire client base, it comes in at number five. Some examples of clients that we've recommended SAP S/4HANA to recently include a couple different chemical manufacturers, a large consumer product organization as well as a large multinational cement manufacturer. Manufacturing is a common theme we see with SAP customers, large multinational companies and organizations that are looking for consistency in scale.

Epicor

Epicor is a tier-2 solution that's firmly planted in the mid-market and they tend to go after manufacturing and distribution organizations as well as some retail. A few examples of recent clients that we've recommended Epicor for include an auto parts manufacturer, a consumer product manufacturer as well as a metals manufacturer.

Oracle ERP Cloud

Oracle ERP Cloud is one of the big tier-one systems. Oracle ERP Cloud often competes against SAP, in fact, when we recommend Oracle ERP Cloud, it often is pit against SAP. Oracle ERP Cloud is a software that we recommend to various organizations, especially ones that maybe don't want a system that's as rigid as SAP but they want something that's still scalable or more scalable than some of the smaller solutions in our top 10 list. Some examples of clients that we've recommended Oracle ERP Cloud to recently are a chemical and sealants manufacturer, a water distribution firm as well as a metals manufacturer.

IFS

IFS is a software vendor based out of Europe that focuses heavily on organizations that do field services and construction. IFS is a solution that we're starting to see not just the mid-market adopt at a higher rate but also larger enterprises. This is the case as it becomes better known throughout the world, for example, in Europe IFS is fairly well established. There is currently a pretty established ecosystem built within Europe but when you look to other parts of the world like North America, Asia and Latin America, IFS still isn't as well known but they're making inroads. IFS certainly has a product that can scale as well as support different types of organizations, especially the ones that are field service intensive. A few examples of clients throughout the world that we've recommended an IFS implementation to include a mining organization, a couple of different aerospace and defense manufacturers as well as an engineering consulting firm.

Acumatica

Acumatica is a product that we commonly see in small and mid-sized manufacturing organizations. Acumatica is a fairly flexible product, it's built fairly specifically for manufacturing and distribution organizations so it's naturally a good fit for our clients in the small and mid-market that are involved in manufacturing and distribution. Some examples of the types of clients that we've recommended Acumatica for include a structural manufacturer, a home building products manufacturer, as well as a medical device manufacturer. Those are just a few examples of the types of organizations throughout the world that we've recommended Acumatica to and it's the reason why Acumatica lands at number eight on our most recommended ERP systems for 2022.

Manufacturing IT

Improve manufacturing efficiency

Increase production speed

Enhance product quality

Boost employee life quality

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