Manufacturers Build an Advantage Through Analytics

By leveraging analytics, manufacturers can address the current economic volatility and disruptions head-on and be poised to face the future with confidence and certainty.

Manufacturers continue to face the perfect storm—labour and skills shortages, supply chain disruption and inflation—which are challenging the industry more than ever before. While there might be a light at the end of the tunnel, manufacturers are questioning if it’s a train coming head-on. Businesses are struggling to find skilled workers to operate production processes, as the labour shortage worsens.

By leveraging analytics, businesses can address these challenges and disruptions head-on and be poised to face the future with confidence and certainty.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 16.8 per cent of manufacturing businesses are reporting vacancies in Australia. To make matters worse, persistent disruptions in the global supply chain, including raw material shortages, transportation delays and production interruptions, have significantly hindered operating ability according to the Australian Financial Review. On top of this, the issues of costing, scheduling and tracking are as relevant now for businesses as they were 30 years ago. Amid shifting expectations from both customers and employees, predictive and prescriptive analytics are essential tools for manufacturers to adopt to mitigate further disruption and meet the needs of their stakeholders. In leveraging solutions that enable tools like forecasting, businesses can carve out a crucial competitive advantage that gives them greater control over the larger manufacturing industry headwinds.

Gone are the days of being able to differentiate your job shop by the specific machines on your plant floor. Instead, it’s time to look at what customers need from their strategic partners. Expectations of technology and strategy are rapidly evolving – and both factors play an increasingly important role in a business’s decision to work with you. Businesses can and should seek to differentiate themselves from the competition with a forward-thinking strategy that goes beyond reflecting on last quarter’s performance and instead focuses on an ‘around the corner’ view to help them prepare for what’s ahead. Using tools such as an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution with predictive and prescriptive analytics not only positions businesses advantageously for landing and retaining customers but also in attracting employees as well.

How ERP software enables predictive and prescriptive analytics

Managing and using data across a manufacturer’s departments and functions can be a daunting process, but manufacturing ERP software consolidates this data, taking the guesswork out and providing a unified view of operations. This data serves as an integral input to prescriptive and predictive analytics, providing a single source of truth that makes it easier to analyse and derive insights. Real-time update capabilities mean that businesses can also use the resulting analysis to automate additional processes to keep ahead of the curve.

ERP systems, particularly Materials Requirements Planning (MRP), use predictive and prescriptive analytics to ensure that businesses always have the right standard and raw materials on hand, to be prepared for whatever job comes next. Using advanced calculators, material and inventory solutions within ERP can easily convert and ensure common materials stay in stock, eliminating guesswork and inaccuracies. With multiple warehouses and lot masters, businesses can also manage lot tracking. By prioritising lot tracking, businesses can regulate and track quality of their raw materials, ensuring that customers are receiving the quality products that they expect. Maintaining high-quality products is a primary way to retain customers and bring new ones through the door.

Bringing value to customers

Considering businesses don’t manufacture their own products, customer relations are vital - and keeping them happy is paramount to long-term success. Customers are expecting on-time delivery, even with supply chain delays and increasing material costs that challenge the ability to meet deadlines. Simply put, businesses need analytics and forecasting tools to meet and manage the constantly shifting needs of their customers. The traditional methodology of looking back at the past and asking accounting ‘how did we do last month?’ no longer suffices when it comes to navigating uncharted territories of inventory lead times, material shortages, and production delays. To meet current expectations amidst the external environment, businesses need a real-time, forward-thinking strategy that utilises the power of predictive analytics for accurate forecasting.

Using analytics to strengthen talent

The incoming workforce has grown up in the digital age, and as such, has formed high expectations for the tools that they use on the job. Modern ERP solutions need to be simple, intuitive and boast a robust, feature-rich user interface. A lack of these traits will be seen as a major deterrent and present an obstacle to widespread adoption.

Beyond user experience with technology, employees entering the workforce are increasingly concerned with career growth and development. By automating manual and repetitive tasks that leave staff feeling bored, underappreciated, and unfulfilled, businesses can increase efficiencies, accuracies and production levels while raising staff satisfaction. Opening the door for higher value work, growth and development will be a critical component of attracting—and retaining—top talent entering the workforce.

Solidifying a competitive advantage

With labour shortage and supply chain difficulties bearing down, businesses need to find a way they can differentiate efficiently. It’s time to say goodbye to the ways of the past and adopt the latest in innovative technology, such as ERP tools with predictive and prescriptive analytics, to improve outcomes, service delivery, and customer satisfaction. ECI Software Solutions’s JobBOSS² software allows businesses to gain more control over how they are scaled with real-time operational visibility to help boost revenue and maximise profitability.

Harnessing the power of these tools also solidifies job shop competitive advantage in two critical ways. By providing a comprehensive platform for managing and analysing data, businesses can improve strategic decision-making and optimise processes that set them apart in the eyes of their customers. Beyond customer growth, modern ERP tools appeal to the next wave of employees, who prefer to work in a tech-driven environment. By leveraging analytics, businesses can address these challenges and disruptions head-on and be poised to face the future with confidence and certainty.

Original article posted on Supply Chain Executive.