Information is the fuel that powers modern businesses<\/a>.<\/p>\n At a time when Australian manufacturers face disruption, price competition and supply chain challenges from all directions, reliable data has never been more important.<\/p>\n But businesses are also generating more data than ever, contributing to a potential information overload for managers trying to catch up.<\/p>\n In the right hands, data from the supply chain and production processes can help you:<\/p>\n In other words, data + insight = lower costs and higher productivity<\/a>.<\/p>\n So if information is fuel for modern manufacturing businesses, then the ability to extract meaningful insights is the accelerator pedal, and you\u2019re the one behind the wheel.<\/p>\n ERP systems are only as useful as the implementation strategy<\/a> guiding them.<\/p>\n In other words, without clear goals, your team will end up lost in a sea of meaningless data.<\/p>\n Before embarking on an ERP implementation, ensure the project is aiming toward clear operational and financial targets.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t implement an ERP for the sake of implementing an ERP<\/a>.<\/p>\n Implement an ERP to grow, optimise and improve how you deliver products to customers.<\/p>\n Use the business goals as the foundation for data collection.<\/p>\n There are hundreds of seemingly interesting data points (if not thousands) available to manufacturers.<\/p>\n Not all will be useful.<\/p>\n Use criteria derived from business goals to filter usable data from noise or nice-to-have numbers.<\/p>\n For example:<\/p>\n It\u2019s often handy to track complementary data alongside these focus points.<\/p>\n But streamlining your ERP dashboard to present salient information first means you always have the answers available.<\/p>\n ERPs bring in data from across the business.<\/p>\n Use this simplified, centralised data source to your advantage.<\/p>\n Tracking trends is often more valuable than individual data points.<\/p>\n Different machines, processes, operators and business areas will produce different values with varying degrees of granularity.<\/p>\n Compare these trends to identify patterns in the data.<\/p>\n Data visualisation tools provide an easier way to digest complex data.<\/p>\n Once you understand the story your data is trying to tell, you can use reporting tools and graphic charts to provide feedback on progress towards business goals.<\/p>\n Manufacturing ERP systems like Jobman have built-in tools to generate instant reports using sales, production and financial data.<\/p>\n These tools help manufacturers make the final leap from data to insight.<\/p>\n And they do it on-demand<\/a>, not at the end of the quarter.<\/p>\n With the cleaned, compared and visualised data in hand, go back to step 1.<\/p>\n What do the reports highlight about the business\u2019 progress?<\/p>\n How can you use the information to make better business decisions?<\/p>\n There\u2019s a good chance the answer to these questions will lead to more questions, which is where complementary data comes in handy.<\/p>\n For example, if the data shows output was below expectation last month, you can dig into production data to understand what went wrong.<\/p>\n Or, if overtime is creeping higher, you can use time and attendance data, production metrics, defect analyses and downtime figures to find the wastage.<\/p>\n Without good data, making accurate, insightful decisions and investing in growth tactics that pay off is almost impossible.<\/p>\n\n
How manufacturers can turn ERP data into actionable insight in 4 steps<\/h2>\n
1. Start with the business goals<\/strong><\/h3>\n
2. Ask the right questions<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n
3. Collect, combine and compare data<\/strong><\/h3>\n
4. Visualise the data<\/strong><\/h3>\n
4. Go back to the beginning<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Transform data into insight with a powerfully simple manufacturing ERP<\/h2>\n