In order for Lean-focused manufacturers to obtain and retain a competitive edge they need to think .Net when replacing their old ERP system, writes Jonathan Davies, Sales Director SSL-WinMan

Tuesday, 24 January 2006

The manufacturing environment has never been more competitive. Customers are demanding ever-shorter timescales, and there is increasing pressure to source parts from suppliers quicker and more reliably. Therefore, in order for companies to retain or secure a competitive edge, they need to both streamline production processes in a Lean manner, and have maximum overall enterprise visibility at their fingertips.

Lean manufacturing is increasingly being recognised as a crucial strategy for companies to have in their production armoury. It is therefore important to source an ERP solution that is geared for maximum Lean and Agile advantage. And by utilising an ERP software solution built on Microsoft .Net technology, manufacturers can better facilitate these requirements.

What is .Net?

But what exactly is .Net? In essence, it is a Windows-based framework for building and running the next generation of software applications and Web services.

From a vendor's perspective, it provides a simpler route to developing ERP solutions that offer increased security, robustness, and higher performance. This is important because the manufacturer, like any end user, can only benefit from what the vendor community can or are willing to provide.

So from a manufacturer's perspective, the use of .Net makes it much easier for them to gain from the well documented benefits of .Net - increased security, robustness and performance. Plus, given the open architecture of the .Net platform, it also makes it much much simpler for the solution to be integrated with other solutions by third party software developers, including a manufacturer's own IT personnel.

This combined with the ability to easily customise the solution eases the process of providing the best possible fit of the software to the required business processes.

Better integration and interaction

In terms of the core qualities of such a system from a Lean and Agile manufacturing perspective, such a system can provide the means not only to better integrate with other systems, but also to provide better interaction between the system and end-users, including partners and customers. In other words, the best .Net ERP systems should be able to ensure seamless communication via Wireless Information Network (WIN), Web or Mobile, thus ensuring information is available immediately at any time and from any required source, whether customers or suppliers etc.

In addition to being faster in use, more secure online, and easier to maintain than more traditional ERP packages. .Net solutions represent a lower cost of ownership precisely because they remove the need for often cumbersome and costly third-party/middleware packages.

Moreover, state-of-the-art .Net ERP systems also have the toolset to provide the rich intuitive interfaces that in the past have been lacking from ERP systems. In other words, the software can be made easier to use and understand, and where appropriate, to closely resemble existing processes thereby lowering training times and improving efficiency. This is especially important in manufacturing situations where there is an established workforce with little computer literacy.

And, when in use, feeding specific Key Performance Indicator (KPI) reporting to the desktop of the user provides relevant, real-time information for the user allowing him/her to give a more informed and timely response to what may be business critical situations.

Real-time benefits

For example, when used in an inventory management context, this can result in much leaner inventory control, thus providing the potential to save substantial amounts of money and space. And of course this all contributes to more rapid Return On Investment (ROI). And it's not just the workforce that can benefit either. The .Net ERP of choice should also have the ability to generate real time management information, again in a way that is readily accessible by whichever layer of management is using the system.

In addition, .Net ERP should also allow manufacturers to ease the actual task of entering information onto the system itself and subsequently processing those transactions. For Make to Order (MTO) manufacturers, this is essential and would be in the form of a highly flexible product configurator that can quickly determine costs related to production. The price to customers can then be speedily determined and relayed back to them often within minutes of the manufacturer receiving the order.

The beauty of a .NET system is that it has the potential to support both traditional and modern (XML) based Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), thereby allowing the manufacturer to optimally work with all its customers, irrespective of their technology.

This ability to work with others irrespective of their systems also enhances the efficiency of a manufacturer's supply chain operations. In addition to being able to receive and dispatch orders, this .Net-enabled interaction also makes it easier to provide real-time order monitoring which provides greater supplier/customer relationship benefits.

When is a .Net not a .Net?

However, all that claims to be .Net isn't actually .Net. To this end it is worth ensuring that the system of choice is 100% .Net managed code, not a system with a legacy code core but using .Net modules. Only a solution built from the ground up using .Net provides the enhanced scalability, security and maintainability often promised. Practically, the use of a Microsoft SQL Server can further add high performance and robustness. Because of the inherent modern structure of .Net, manufacturers using such an ERP system are best placed to make use of the latest 64-bit technology that provides even further speed and reliability benefits.

One thing that .Net hasn't changed however is the need to ensure that your systems supplier provides the best levels of experience and service. This is more than ensuring their solution is 100% .Net, it is ensuring they have a demonstrable track record of understanding manufacturing business. And that they have a solid basis for future growth and will be around to support you as your own manufacturing requirements change as your business grows. Together, you can work to identify the ways that a .Net ERP solution can help the unique requirements of your own situation, and then to implement it successfully to turn the theoretical benefits into practice.