Apriso, a leading provider of manufacturing software solutions for sustained manufacturing operational excellence, on April 20 announced the completion of a new white paper by IDC Manufacturing Insights, sponsored by Apriso, that features a methodology to consider when deciding how to best manage factory and warehouse operations.
Two popular approaches are evaluated in detail:
- A platform-based approach to manufacturing operations management, or
- Extension of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system down to the shop floor
A comparison discussion follows, including end user interviews explaining the benefits of each option.
One conclusion drawn from the white paper is that dedicated manufacturing operations platforms offer deeper functionality and flexibility; this approach is easier to extend and modify, especially when implemented across multiple plants. The importance of flexibility depends on how one values "ease of extensibility," or the ability to modify or retain local processes specific to a particular plant or factory or adapt to changing business conditions.
“A dedicated platform offers many benefits because it provides the best opportunity to establish corporate standard plant-level processes while giving local management latitude in calibrating those processes to their specific needs. This approach will require an organizational commitment to the platform to be successful, but it will be the most direct path to the desired business outcome of an innovative and adaptive supply network,” explained Bob Parker, group vice president, IDC Manufacturing Insights.
Further, the study found the dedicated platform to be more cost effective in many situations. According to IDC Manufacturing Insights, “The differences in total cost of ownership come down to three central issues: how much plant-level support is needed, what are your infrastructure requirements and what will be the cost to continuously adapt the system?”
This white paper is based on two sets of research and discovery – one with Saint-Gobain Sekurit (SGS), based on their use of a dedicated platform for manufacturing operations management, and one with an unnamed, but similar, automotive component supplier, based on their selection of ERP to manage their shop floor. This Apriso-sponsored IDC Manufacturing Insights white paper “Manufacturing Operations Management: Choosing Between ERP Extension and Dedicated Platform,” Document #MI220884, November 2009, is now available for free, and may be downloaded at: www.apriso.com/pr/idcreport.
The white paper provides a detailed discussion to offer the reader insights on how to best evaluate their specific manufacturing operations requirements, which in turn will help guide the best decision for manufacturers to consider when evaluating this important decision.
About Apriso
Apriso Corporation is a software company dedicated to providing competitive advantage for its customers. It does so by enabling organizations to adapt quickly and easily to market changes and unexpected events. Apriso’s FlexNet platform provides visibility, adaptability and real-time control of manufacturing operations across the enterprise and supply chain network. This is accomplished by integrating planning, execution and control, increasing operational efficiency and eliminating errors in the production process. Apriso serves more than 180 customers in 41 countries across the Americas, Europe and Asia. Its customers include General Motors, Lear, Honeywell, L’Oréal, Trixell, Lockheed Martin, Becton Dickinson, Saint-Gobain, Novelis and Essilor.
