This is the third in a series of articles about transforming your business with ERP. Check out the earlier articles on the Jobman blog.
Implementing an ERP improves processes across the supply chain
Cabinet-making businesses are complex. Without a manufacturing ERP (enterprise resource planning) system in place, it’s almost impossible to reach peak productivity and grow your business. There are simply too many disconnected systems and too much double-handling.
Superior Kitchens & Cabinets in Albany, WA, faced this exact issue 12 months ago. The business wanted to grow, but the pipeline of work was messy and unproductive. As a result, customers weren’t getting the service they deserved.
“Before, everything was on a job-by-job basis,” says Jake Maring, owner of Superior Kitchens & Cabinets.
“Somebody would ring up say ‘look, I need a kitchen done, then I say ‘maybe I can do it, maybe I can’t. I don’t know exactly. Now I’ve got it scheduled”.
Manufacturing businesses with and without ERP
“Now we’ve got Jobman, we can go into every single job knowing what we’ve got coming up,” says Jake.
“We can look at the materials we need for it, and we are actually pre-ordering our stuff now months in advance.”
Jake and his business are not the only examples of how a manufacturing ERP improves efficiency. In fact, 95% of manufacturing businesses reported process improvements after implementing an ERP.
Common problems before implementing an ERP solution
Without ERP, manufacturing businesses are a mess under the hood. You might have experience with these common complaints from staff and management:
- Unreliable production data
- Production and profits don’t match forecasts
- Job costing is often out, resulting in lost profits
- Missed deadlines
- Time and materials are constantly wasted
- Production bottlenecks hold up the process
- Scheduling is time-consuming
- Similar jobs are not scheduled together
- Machines sitting idle
- Inventory management is a black hole
- Double data entry, especially timesheets and financials
How ERP improves business processes
Implementing a manufacturing ERP like Jobman centralises your data, so your entire team works from a single browser-based system.
- Automated job scheduling
- Complete visibility over your business from end to end
- Streamlined ordering
- More efficient production processes
- Less waste
- Production bottlenecks hold up the process
- Easy timesheets and no double data entry
- Simple, accurate forecasting
- Better customer relationships
Three big benefits after implementing ERP
1. Productivity increases
Operational costs fall by 23% and administrative costs by 22%, while on-time delivery jumps up 24%. ERP software lets you see what’s happening across the business, look backward and forward in time and improve productivity through Lean methodologies.
2. Collaboration across the business
Jobman has a bunch of collaboration features that contribute to the 22% drop in administrative costs:
- Timesheets that automatically flow to Payroll
- Accounting software integrations
- Automated capacity planning from quoted jobs
- Easy, automated inventory management
- Agenda screens for the shop floor
All these features are specifically designed so manufacturing and cabinetmaking teams can work better together.
3. Single reliable data source
All your data collects in one place, so you don’t need to go hunting for answers. Whether you need production figures, sales reports, inventory levels or customer details, it’s all there in a single web-based browser app.
One simple step to long-term growth
“For the first time in my life, I’ve actually got this dream now – and it’s not just a dream, it’s actually something that we’re working towards,” says Jake.
“I can actually start to back off running in the business. I can spend more time overlooking the whole thing and making sure it works”.
Implementing an ERP is an investment, both in terms of finances and time. But the average return on that investment is a touch over 2 years. Not long at all in our industry. If you’re ready to take the next step towards a more productive, more profitable business, contact the Jobman team today.
And don’t forget to check back for the next article in this series, all about automated intelligence in the manufacturing industry.
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