Software as the co-worker

It’s time to start viewing technology as a valuable co-worker. An opinion piece by Andrew Mamonitis, VP of APAC Manufacturing Division at ECI Software Solutions.

The supply and labour constraints afflicting the Australian economy continue to create challenges for the manufacturing sector. According to the Australian Industry Group (AIG), the Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) dropped by 1.5 points to 52.5 in July.

With production and employment both falling, it’s clear that manufacturers are struggling with the impact of chronic labour shortages and supply chain interruptions, leading many to reevaluate their processes to drive efficiency.

An ongoing challenge

While many might have hoped for a more positive year, 2022 continues to challenge manufacturers. In fact, business groups across Australia have raised concerns about a shortfall of skilled workers across a number of critical industries such as health, trades, manufacturing and tech, amid historically low unemployment rates. In August the NSW skills minister, Alister Henskens, went as far as describing the critical workforce shortages as a “handbrake” on the state’s economy.

Against this backdrop, a growing number of manufacturers are considering implementing specialist technology, not only to minimise downtime but to also prevent their existing workforce from being completely overwhelmed.

Working as one

Keeping costs low and production cycles short needs to be a top priority, and achieving this relies on all departments working together. No matter how hard they try, those reliant on disintegrated systems will struggle to streamline communication between departments, chasing seemingly endless paper trails or running around the building speaking to different colleagues.

Specialist EPR systems can act as a valuable co-worker, designed to seamlessly link all departments across the business and avoid disjointed processes. Armed with a single source of truth, the entire business can access key information on the status of every order, meaning that the sales team no longer need to bother the schedulers or planners when a new order comes in, or vice versa.

With margins tight, manufacturers need to be able to offer customers accurate cost and delivery estimates - even when managing complex, multi-phase projects, as well as providing updates on the status of every order.

With complete visibility, sales representatives can easily calculate the time and resources required to fulfil a certain order, before quickly adding new orders to the planning schedule. Should a customer request an update on their order status, anyone in the business can simply log-in and immediately relay the information required. In such a competitive marketplace, being able to offer this level of service will help improve customer satisfaction and enable future growth.

Improving material and inventory management

The ability to manage larger inventories or raw materials has become increasingly important, especially as the needs of custom manufacturers have continued to evolve. This task is hugely labour intensive without the right technology in place.

Through the implementation of a specialist ERP, the entire inventory management process can be streamlined. With employees able to view the material supply and demand information on screen and, if required, drill into the details. Similarly, teams can view the material-on-hand balance for each project to avoid material shortages and prevent costly order delays.

Alongside the efficiency gains, a more accurate inventory management system will minimise unnecessary overspend or guesswork - something that few businesses can afford during such uncertain economic times.

Reducing errors

As those reliant on manual processes or an array of disintegrated systems will appreciate, when resources are strained the entire business will struggle to run efficiently. Small errors and oversights start to creep in and over time this can have a detrimental impact on the businesses overall reputation.

As soon as a piece of information is entered into an ERP, it’s saved on the system. Not only will this help to improve data accuracy, it will significantly minimise the duplication of work and time spent on data input - a huge benefit for those struggling to cope with the current labour shortages.

Overcoming the challenges manufacturers are currently facing is no easy task, however technology can act as a much needed ally, working alongside existing employees to reduce their administrative burden and drive efficiency.