Manufacturing’s role is changing and evolving in ways that make the traditional methods of creating products and services outdated. As manufacturing enters a dynamic new era, policy makers need new approaches and improved capabilities to save on costs while meeting the changing needs of a new consuming class.
Manufacturing apps offer increased productivity and throughput opportunities for manufacturers in a highly challenging and volatile environment.
Here are some manufacturing apps that can help you cut costs:
Inventory Management: NetSuite Manufacturing Edition
NetSuite Manufacturing Edition is an integrated manufacturing app that tracks inventory and warehouse activities and links them to relevant segments along the value chain such as accounting and financial management, customer relationship management (CRM), and ecommerce system.
Being a cloud-based solution, NetSuite is an inexpensive tool for manufacturers in inventory level stocking and restocking at multiple locations and managing production orders. In addition, the app helps warehouse managers manage bills of materials, work orders, barcoding procedures, diverse methods of measurement, shipping processes, and other related business activities.
Overall, NetSuite, through business dashboards it provides the senior executive, CFO or controller, senior manager, and inventory manager, allows management to immediately correlate production and revenue. The app is supported by Mac and Web browser (OS agnostic) operating systems.
Lean Manufacturing: LeanMan
LeanMan is a dynamic lean manufacturing application with a suite of data capture modules for use within Rapid Process Improvement Workshops (RPIW). The app helps optimize processes in manufacturing environments by identifying and reducing waste to improve production methods – all while increasing efficiency and decreasing costs.
Designed for manufacturing, LeanMan features include a project planner, metrics, standard worksheets, value stream maps, and reports. The project planner creates a project tasklist where managers can assign tasks to qualified employees and track their progress throughout the lifecycle of the project.
A metrics tool sets standards for measuring or evaluating all the components of the project. Standard worksheets contain diagrams, schematics, graphics, photographs, and process flows to provide visual data for the RPIW. Value stream maps define detailed process steps and the time needed to perform them, while reports give a summary of the project data to be shared with team members.
Tasks that Need Special Skillsets: ANSYS Fluent
The ANSYS Fluent software is a powerful computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solution to optimize a product’s performance. It has physical modelling capabilities for a wide range of CFD and multiphysics applications. For instance, it can be used in prototyping heat transfer, reaction, flow, and turbulence such as the airflow over an aircraft wing, heat reactions in oil platforms, or combustion in a furnace. It uses high performance computing (HPC) and engineers can perform real-time multiphysics simulation to solve complex models with precision.
Regulatory Compliance: Automotive Regulatory Compliance Management Solution
A clear competitive advantage for automotive companies is compliance with regulations. Non-compliance could mean launch delays, fines, recalls, damaged public image, and poor customer satisfaction. With the Automotive Regulatory Compliance Management solution, the product development team can generate reports to determine if compliance with manufacturing regulations has been met so that designers can make changes early on.
Automotive components and component suppliers are also incorporated into the evaluation process to ensure that quality components are built into the vehicles that to be made. The regulatory solution includes material declaration, material compliance assessment, End-of-Life-Vehicle (ELV) compliance management, Global Automotive Declarable Substance List (GADSL) compliance management, and International Material Data System (IMDS) integration.
Enterprise Resource Planning: SYSPRO ERP Software
The SYSPRO solution integrates, synchronizes, and controls the manufacturing lifecycle. It helps keep finished inventory at a minimum to maintain a crucial balance between availability and cost.
SYSPRO simplifies forecasting and planning in general and for materials requirement and capacity. It has an advanced scheduling functionality and tracks actual labor versus estimated labor to control costs. It integrates easily with data collection systems in the shop floor for seamless implementation. It can be supported by Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Linux.
Manufacturing Apps in Today's Fast-Paced World
Manufacturing apps are timely technologies in the changing economics of production and distribution. The volatility of manufacturing and most other industries is further exacerbated by mobility, “smart” devices, and “smart” customers. Forward-thinking manufacturers can’t afford to overlook manufacturing apps if they are to thrive, or at least survive.
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