Manufacturing Software Selection

With such a wide variety of products available, many companies looking for new ERP software have a hard time even knowing where to begin when they determine that a change is in order.  One of the biggest concerns deals with what "size" of software to get.  Of course, the size of the package will depend on the software's functionality, interface, integration with other systems, and so on.

One of the major difficulties in selecting a new software package is finding the right "match" between the size of your company and the size/power of the software package that you select.  All too often companies end up with software that isn't a good fit for their organization and suffer because of it - the software can become so time-intensive to operate that the operating cost can become higher than the cost saving that the software delivers.

For the small company, a basic project management software package will undoubtedly serve quite well, providing the small company has developed and adopted some of the commonly practiced business procedures and processes that many of the software packages are based on.

A number of small operators don't have official business processes and as a result have a hard time getting the software to work for them.  This is because software is only so flexible.  In most cases, the business themselves wil have to change some of their processes to fit the common denominators that the software is designed to work with.  Some software can be customized to work with a number of business procedures, but the amount of customization offered is limited, especially in packages designed for smaller businesses.

On the other end of the spectrum, large companies have to deal with similar issues when evaluating and implementing new software.  Although these companies are larger, that does not mean that they operate any more efficiently or are more likely to use best practices in all that they do.  As such, it will generally be necessary for all companies, large and small, to evaluate their business model and processes so that they will know what customizations they need to look for and ultimately implement in their next software package.

Few MRP software packages come with true “plug-‘n’-play” implementation.  This is understandable, since most businesses vary in their operations, at least to some degree.  Most reputable and recognized software companies provide solid bases to build on; and most also provide enough customizing functionality to fit the software to the business model if necessary.

Finally, the biggest names in manufacturing software are likely to have done a good amount of research before designing their software system.  They generally design their software to work with the most commonly used practices so that they can reach the largest audience with their product offerings.  Therefore, some companies may find some functionality in their software packages that seems completely foreign.

None of this is bad, though.  Yes, searching for new software will require you to do an internal audit of your business and your processes, but this is a good thing, not a bad one.  You may identify areas that need drastic improvement - perhaps even improvements that you can make without the help of new software.  In this case, you can improve your operations without having to buy new software, which will obviously help the bottom line.

So, size does matter!  Selecting the right project management software for your company is like buying the right pair of shoes.  If they don’t fit well, they will be very uncomfortable, and potentially detrimental to overall health!  If they do fit well, they can bring about many positive and beneficial improvements in overall health!