Many manufacturing companies are tired of the limitations and headaches caused by manual data entry, scattered information, and outdated or overutilized systems like Excel. Breaking free from these inefficiencies caused by fragmented or legacy systems can be difficult. With the help of Acumatica, the cloud ERP, our team at CS3 Technology is streamlining our customers’ manufacturing planning processes to achieve greater efficiency and productivity.
Acumatica offers production order capabilities designed to streamline manufacturing operations and maximize efficiency. Acumatica empowers manufacturers to effectively manage and control the production process with a comprehensive set of features and functionalities.
In this blog post, we will explore Acumatica's production order capabilities and highlight the key features that enable manufacturers to optimize their operations during the production phase. See our previous blog here to learn more about how Acumatica can also help during the production planning process.
Acumatica offers flexible options for order creation, allowing you to generate production orders based on various criteria. You can link production orders to specific customers, projects, or sales orders, ensuring accurate cost allocation and easy traceability. Acumatica also enables you to customize order parameters such as production quantities, due dates, and priority levels, empowering you to adapt to changing customer demands and optimize your production schedule.
Real-time Work-in-Progress (WIP) Tracking:
Acumatica provides real-time tracking of work-in-progress (WIP) during the production process. Manufacturers can monitor the progress of each production order, track its current status, and view the completion percentage of individual operations. You can define and customize stages based on your unique workflows, from raw material acquisition to assembly and quality control.
Acumatica's visual representation of the production process allows you to monitor the status of each stage, identify bottlenecks, and take proactive measures to ensure timely production completion. Real-time tracking enhances visibility and empowers you to make informed decisions for process optimization.
Enhanced Visibility into Production Cost:
We know that cost-tracking is crucial for manufacturers. Acumatica's production orders module provides comprehensive insights into critical metrics related to your production orders. This tab offers a consolidated view of all costs related to the production order, including labor, materials, overhead, and even subcontract costs (outside processing). By analyzing these metrics, you can effectively evaluate your production order profitability, identify cost-saving areas, and make data-driven decisions to optimize resource allocation.
With Acumatica, you can accurately track material consumption throughout the production process, record the usage of raw materials, components, and sub-assemblies, and even manage scrap in multiple ways depending on your needs. If components are lot or serial-tracked, you will have complete visibility into where and when components and subassemblies are used!
Manage production metrics effortlessly with Acumatica's Totals tab.
Shop Floor Control:
With features like mobile capabilities, employee transaction tracking, dashboard views, and scheduling capabilities, Acumatica enables real-time monitoring of production activities, resource allocation, and employee assignments. The system provides customizable dashboard views for real-time visibility into key performance indicators and production schedules. Integration with other modules allows for seamless data synchronization and accurate tracking of materials, inventory, costs, and financial transactions. By effectively managing shop floor activities, manufacturers can improve productivity, reduce bottlenecks, and enhance overall production performance, leading to greater operational success.
Some customers require barcode scanners for warehouse management functionality and production floor transactions. For instance, you might want production staff to clock in and out of jobs from their mobile devices or scan materials to jobs with a Zebra scanning device. Unlike many other ERP providers, Acumatica has a native mobile application available for all iOS and Android devices, so no need for a bolt-on product!
It is common for our customers to use CAD drawings and other documents during production. Acumatica makes it easy to attach work instructions, standard operating procedures, and other relevant documents to production orders. This feature ensures operators can access the necessary instructions and guidelines to perform their tasks accurately and efficiently, thus minimizing errors and maintaining quality standards.
Quality Assurance and Inspections:
Do you have quality assurance and inspection needs upon receipt of components and raw materials or during production? With Acumatica, you can define quality checkpoints, inspections, and tests at various stages of the production process. Acumatica captures quality data, performs checks against predefined criteria, and generates alerts or notifications for non-conformities. By integrating quality assurance and inspections, you can ensure that products meet or exceed quality standards, reducing rework, scrap, and customer dissatisfaction.
Closing:
Acumatica's production order capabilities equip manufacturers with features and functionalities that optimize operations during the production phase. From real-time work-in-progress tracking and shop floor control to material consumption tracking, work instructions, quality assurance, and rework/scrap tracking, Acumatica empowers manufacturers to streamline their production processes, enhance quality control, and maximize operational efficiency.
If you want to transform your operations with Acumatica ERP and leverage our decades of ERP and HCM software experience, please contact us.
