Process Manufacturers Face Unique Technology Challenges

 

 

Process manufacturers require the ability to operate their businesses more effectively with less effort and at lower costs. This is particularly true for small to mid-size process manufacturers including the following industry sectors:

Comprehensive formulation management with version tracking and rollback capabilities are essential for the process manufacturer. Formulas must be scalable and materials must be measured in any defined unit of measure. Few ERP (enterprise resource planning) solutions provide multi-level formulas and easy material substitutions. Production yields must be assigned to any formula. One technology leader in the process manufacturing sector is BatchMaster because it is formula- and not BOM-based, with ingredients added by prescribed proportions measured by either volume or weight.

Similarly few technology solutions define raw materials, work in process, and finished goods in terms of any unit of measure with automatic conversion from one unit to another. Physical and cycle count utilities synchronize perpetually with physical inventories. Inventories for process manufacturers must be valued using standard, average, LIFO, FIFO or lot cost. Ultimately the technology solutions must provide the controls and confidence necessary to reduce materials inventories.

SuperBatch by BatchMaster is rare in that it supports the simultaneous launch of a series of production projects for all components within a batch. Manufacturers can size a batch based upon a finished weight or volume or the availability of component materials. A batch can be defined as either a finished good or an intermediate. Batches can be defined as Fill (bulk to containers), Mix (raw materials and intermediates to finished goods) and Assembly (combination of finished goods to make up a deliverable product). This intricate technical solution provides the versatility of “partial close-outs” to assign production output for partial order fills for urgent customer requirements. A “critical materials” facility allows manufacturers to inquire if any material shortages will interfere with production.

 

Process manufacturers are constantly seeking solutions which will ease the complexity of compliance reporting.  Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) must be entirely automated. Linked to formulas, an MSDS should be automatically generated when a formula enters production for the first time or for the first time for a given customer. A new MSDS is best if it is designed using Microsoft Word templates.

 

Providing complete traceability allows process manufacturers to follow an item from incoming raw material through multiple bins to the finished good sent to a specific customer. Lot tracking is used for both purchased items and manufactured items. It is critical that process manufacturers can choose from several lot issue methods and create custom serial and lot numbers for any item.

  

Complete costing capabilities, from labor and material costs through overhead  burden, must be properly reflected in finished goods. The costing of raw materials must take into account any changes in material costs, whether the materials are used directly in a formula or incorporated into a sub-formula.

 

Quality Control of materials at purchase receipt, production, or sales shipment is always the paramount concern of process manufacturers. A flexible approach harnesses the QC tests as they are created and defined and will allow for a range of test types.

 

The versatility of planning materials and resources across an extended timeline can be measured as a lean efficiency.  MRP assists in plan demand, including anticipated seasonal fluctuations. Part of the planning and scheduling workflow includes automation of placing purchase orders and production orders, so that an item planned in January can have its raw materials purchased in May and not enter production until June.

Process manufacturers often seek technology solutions which allow for production planning within the constraints of facility production capacity. The associating of formulas with given process cells – groups of machines, all working in concert – makes it possible to assign the productive capacity for a single process cell or a group of process cells for maximum throughput.

  

Advanced Production Scheduling (APS) integrates demand and production planning with scheduling and distribution so process manufacturers can manage manufacturing and logistics in an integrated manner. APS allows for model production on an order-by-order basis; the ability to make real-time modifications and immediately understand the impacts of these decisions on capacity utilization, in both equipment and labor. With APS companies evaluate multiple scenarios to decide which is best for the enterprise.

  

At the end of the day, process manufacturers, with special needs in compliance and lot traceability (among many other requirements) are seeking a flexible, easy to learn and use technology solution that is also scalable to grow with the companies requirements. Of equal important is the ability for these solutions to Interface with third party applications assuring that information captured in one application is available to other linked applications, including CRM, HR, Fixed Assets, Business Intelligence, Demand Forecasting, POS and eCommerce.

 

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