{"id":1267,"date":"2018-09-21T11:09:56","date_gmt":"2018-09-21T18:09:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smartermanager.com\/blog\/?p=1267"},"modified":"2018-09-21T11:06:07","modified_gmt":"2018-09-21T18:06:07","slug":"3-mrp-software-features-manufacturers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.smartermanager.com\/blog\/3-mrp-software-features-manufacturers\/","title":{"rendered":"3 MRP Software Features Manufacturers Don\u2019t Want To Miss Out On"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.smartermanager.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/3-mrp-software-features-manufacturers-SMe-Software-Connect.jpg?ssl=1\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-1273\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.smartermanager.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/3-mrp-software-features-manufacturers-SMe-Software-Connect.jpg?resize=1140%2C805&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"3 MRP Software Features - SMe Software Connect - Manufacturing ERP Software\" width=\"1140\" height=\"805\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.smartermanager.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/3-mrp-software-features-manufacturers-SMe-Software-Connect.jpg?w=1280&amp;ssl=1 1280w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.smartermanager.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/3-mrp-software-features-manufacturers-SMe-Software-Connect.jpg?resize=300%2C212&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.smartermanager.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/3-mrp-software-features-manufacturers-SMe-Software-Connect.jpg?resize=768%2C542&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.smartermanager.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/3-mrp-software-features-manufacturers-SMe-Software-Connect.jpg?resize=1024%2C723&amp;ssl=1 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1140px) 100vw, 1140px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h1><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">3 MRP Software Features Manufacturers Don\u2019t Want To Miss Out On<\/span><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Material Requirements Planning (MRP) has been a cornerstone of manufacturing ever since manufacturers realized they need a way to bridge together their accounting and their inventory forecasting. The term is almost as easily identified as Manufacturing Resource Planning (officially MRP II) as the true meaning of the acronym.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While MRP software provides a number of benefits to users, a recent study by Software Connect discussing <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/softwareconnect.com\/mrp\/buyer-trends-2018-report\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">MRP software buyer trends<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> found these three MRP software features are the most commonly desired:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Purchase Planning<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Demand Forecasting<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Production Scheduling<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Companies use MRP for a variety of reasons, but more than 70% of buyers in the report indicated those above features as the top desired pieces of functionality in their MRP software.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/softwareconnect.com\/images\/chart-common-required-mrp-features-342756.png?ssl=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1268 \" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.smartermanager.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/chart-common-required-mrp-features-3427561.png?resize=440%2C591&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Common MRP Software Features - Software Connect - Russ Davidson\" width=\"440\" height=\"591\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why do these three features stand out from the rest? Are they proven to help manufacturers succeed the most? <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.smartermanager.com\/blog\/3-reasons-overstocking-just-harmful-understocking\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Optimization<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is the best way to succeed in operating MRP processes. But before you can get there, you need to ensure you\u2019re operating your MRP solution to meet your most desired needs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Purchase Planning<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The core of MRP includes \u201cplanning\u201d, which for purchasing means identifying which raw materials are needed for a job. If these items are not available, purchase planning needs to occur. One of MRP\u2019s primary goals will be to give your purchasing team\/department a better view of what is needed to complete a job, whether one that has already been ordered or one that is being forecasted.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A clear list of materials that are needed combined with adequate quantities of raw materials will ensure that you won\u2019t need to place additional purchase orders in order to finish a job. If you leave your manufacturing line in need of components before they can finish a job, you\u2019ll leave the line not operating at its full capacity and waiting to procure parts from the supplier. And since frequent changes in production planning are difficult to account for, it\u2019s no wonder manufacturers listed Purchase Planning as their most desired feature when shopping for MRP.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Demand Forecasting<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Where there\u2019s supply, there\u2019s demand. Predicting demand (outgoing inventory) will be a key factor in increasing profits in your business. Produce too much ahead of time, and you\u2019re left with too much finished product taking up space in your inventory. Produce too little and you\u2019re not able to fulfill orders on schedule or are backlogged in your production.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.manufacturing.net\/article\/2018\/04\/manufacturers-mrp-software-plans-2018\" class=\"broken_link\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2\/3rds of MRP buyers<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are purchasing for the first time, mostly due to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebalance.com\/u-s-manufacturing-what-it-is-statistics-and-outlook-3305575\" class=\"broken_link\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">growth<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in the manufacturing sector. With this growth comes a company\u2019s need for forecasting accurately how many jobs\/orders they\u2019ll be handling. If they don\u2019t have a grasp on this already, it becomes clear why manufacturers have chosen this functionality as the second most in-demand.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Every forecast will be different but tends to follow the flow of: <\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gather historical data<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Generate a forecast based on this historical data<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Authorize forecast<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Without any sort of procedure or solution in place to analyze historical data (or capture current data to later be used as historical data), you\u2019ll lose track on forecasting sales, and thus will have no need for purchase planning or production scheduling.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Production Scheduling<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Software helps automate important areas in your manufacturing process, such as production scheduling. The goal will be to develop your own finite scheduling to complete manufacturing jobs. Once available inventory is determined and purchases have been made for anything needed, software plays a key role in looking at production times to lead times on various items that need to be procured, and thus a schedule can be created that highlights the total project time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">High volume companies benefit the most from <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/smartermanager.com\/scheduling-and-tracking-software\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">production scheduling<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, as companies that have less variance in their overall demand will be able to have more of a \u201croutine\u201d schedule. Sometimes production scheduling so complex, that regular MRP simply won\u2019t handle it. You\u2019ll require an MPS solution in that case. The biggest difference between the two software options (and the best way to decipher what type you need) is to look at the items you\u2019re planning for.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In short, MRP has the ability to run daily in order to fine tune the scheduling process to fully utilize your production line. Almost all manufacturers are looking to tweak their processes to maximize output.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Author Bio:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Russ Davidson is a Digital Marketing Specialist at <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/softwareconnect.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Software Connect<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a company that provides free software and application recommendations based in Milwaukee, WI. Since 1996, we\u2019ve helped thousands of companies find the best solution for their needs by understanding software requirements and pointing them in the right direction.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; 3 MRP Software Features Manufacturers Don\u2019t Want To Miss Out On &nbsp; Material Requirements Planning (MRP) has been a cornerstone of manufacturing ever since manufacturers realized they need a way to bridge together their accounting and their inventory forecasting. &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.smartermanager.com\/blog\/3-mrp-software-features-manufacturers\/\">Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1273,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"kt_blocks_editor_width":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"3 MRP Software Features Manufacturers Don\u2019t Want To Miss Out On. #beSMARTer about #manufacturing. 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