This document discusses essential ERP features for manufacturers. It outlines key features manufacturers should look for in an ERP system, including inventory management, quality control, regulatory compliance, finances, production planning, purchasing, sales, and product development. Additional considerations for process manufacturers are also provided, such as lot tracking, mixed unit of measurement, recipe formulation, co-product management, and shelf life management. The document emphasizes that manufacturers need an ERP tailored to their specific industry to streamline operations and meet compliance standards.

1. ERP Must Have
Features for
Manufacturers

2. An Overview
• Introduction
• Manufacturing ERP
• Why is ERP needed by manufacturers ?
• Stat facts
• Process v/s discrete manufacturing
• Selecting a right ERP for manufacturers
• Must have ERP features
• If you are a process manufacturer
• Conclusion

3. 1Introduction
• Manufacturing industries transform raw materials into finished product for end user to consume.
• They involve activities such as planning, financials, operations, marketing and sales, purchase & vendor management,
distribution, quality, plant maintenance et al.
• If they want glitch-free business operations, an ERP is a must.
• ERP for manufacturers comes as a boon, which helps in
- Real-time data accessibility
- Streamlining business operations
- Looking into financials
- Saving money by reducing losses & wastage
- Increasing productivity
- Improving collaboration

4. 2Manufacturing ERP
• When it comes to manufacturing businesses, ERP solutions are an integral part of it.
• Different types of manufacturing ERP systems are made for different types of manufacturing.
• Each of them meets different needs, just as each manufacturer meets different market demands.
• Just because that’s a manufacturing ERP software won’t guarantee all features that a manufacturer needs.
• The right thing is to select a tailor-made, industry-specific or a vertical based ERP.

5. 3Why is ERP needed for Manufacturers ?
• To automate and streamline business processes
• To responds to market conditions quicker
• To enhance decision making
• To provide enhance customer satisfaction
• To reduce overhead costs
• To empower all manufacturing data, into one-single database
• Accurate production planning
• Enhanced control over inventory
• Improved on-time delivery of products

6. As per Aberdeen reports,
Implementation of ERP system in a manufacturing industry has resulted in:
• 22% reduction in operating costs
• 20% reduction in administrative costs
• 17% inventory reductions (M&D only)
• 19% improvements in complete and on-time delivery
• 17% improvements in schedule compliance (M&D only)
Stat Fact 4

7. Process v/s Discrete Manufacturers
Process Discrete
Requires a set of processes to be finished, yet each
process requires certain needs
All about assembling things, and making things that are
exact.
Uses multiple formulas or recipes Uses bills of materials i.e. single or multi level
Blends in a batch Assembles along a routing line
Uses lot management and shelf life Uses serial or assembly numbers
The finished product cannot be taken apart or
disassembled
Raw-material or parts can be disassembled
No way to reverse the final outcome of the products Final outcome of the product can be reversed without
difficulty
Involves Variable Ingredients, By & Co-products Involves Standard Parts and Components driven
Example: Foods, Beverages, Paints, Oils, Pharma,
Furniture
Example : Automobiles, High-technology devices
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8. 6Selecting a right ERP for manufacturers
To implement a right ERP for manufacturing , you need to focus on several features such as –
I. Functionality
• Has to be easy to use and should meet customer expectations.
• Should have room for future expansion.
• Should be scalable and have ability to add more features as the business grows.
• Adopts global compliance .
• Handles customs, shipping and other regulatory norms with global/domestic manufacturing.
II. Integration
• Seamlessly integrates all business activities with one another.
• Able to find and access the data, where ever needed.
• Should contribute in making better decision making and streamlined processes.
• Adheres to real time visibility.
• Should serve as a system of record, to look back and spot any order or inventory changes.

9. 7Selecting a right ERP for manufacturers
III. Mobility
• Mobile devices make one focal point manufacturers to look into business operations.
• Along with mobile apps, smartphones and tablets, the demand of wearable technology is growing too.
• More user friendly and capability to sync data with devices has enabled hand-free operations.
IV. Big data analytics
• Manufacturers are now, dependent on IT and vast amounts of data that can become underutilized.
• As the Internet of Things (IoT) connects physical devices and users to Internet, this data generation is speculated to
grow at an alarming rate, says Anthony Ortega.
• With an ERP solution, manufacturers can use data for accurate forecasting to build better business strategies.

10. 8Must have ERP features
• Not all manufacturing ERP systems are same, some manufacturing ERP vendors offer more in the way of supply
chain management while others may focus on inventory optimizations.
• Therefore, manufacturers should have clear set of the requirements while choosing the right ERP vendor.
Here are the must-have feature sets that no manufacturer should be without :

11. Must have ERP features
#1 Inventory Management :
To meet your unique business needs
• Optimizes your inventory level by eliminating over or under stock conditions.
• Supports tracking of production quality, expiry dates, shelf life period and lot controlled products.
• Gain real time visibility of inventory in stock for any inventory transaction.
• Tracks inventories present in multiple warehouses.
• Tracking can be on the basis of : Bins, Items, Warehouses, Lots, Containers etc.
• Helps in relishing instant updates of current inventory valuation methods.
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12. Must have ERP features
#2 Quality control :
To ensure expected quality is achieved for every product
• Provides greater flexibility in defining multiple quality checks at every point.
• Facilitates double sampling to get better quality assurance.
• Focuses on every phase of operations, from receiving raw materials, through intermediates to finished goods
till dispatching.
• Records pass/fail statistics to accept or reject the product based on inspection results.
• Quality checks at every step helps to deliver safe, uniform quality and compliant products throughout.
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13. Must have ERP features
#3 Regulatory compliances
Win the most stringent Regulatory Compliance
• Delivering safe, uniform quality products along with regulatory standards is the necessity.
• Monitor real time activities with cGMP norms & track non conformance and performing CAPA for rejected materials.
• Automatically generates Material Safety Data Sheets that are in full compliance with the governmental regulations.
• Scalable to meet new regulatory issues helping in the recalls, audits and fear of brand tainting at bay.
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14. Must have ERP features
#4 Finances:
Demonstrate strategic growth with managed financial processes
• Smoothens the financial matters by ensuring greater transparency and more liquid cash.
• Synchronizes all the transactions of sales, purchase, production, warehouse transfers, etc. with finance.
• Satisfies statutory requirements in line with the current regulations.
• Eliminates redundant entries by allowing end-to-end streamlined process.
• Allows multi-lingual and multi currency support with numerous accounting methods.
• Get faster journal entries, bank reconciliations, transaction posting, etc.
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15. Must have ERP features
#5 MPS and MRP
Ensure Progression and Performance with MPS & MRP
• Eliminates the imbalance caused in demand and supply.
• Master Production Scheduling (MPS) :
- Focuses on planning of orders considering the demand and availability.
- Assists in material requirement plan, prioritizing orders & short term capacity requirements.
• Material Requirement Planning (MRP) :
- Suggests what is to be procured and when it is procured.
- Allows to sustain with the lowest possible material and product level in stock .
• ERP integrated MPS and MRP, to determine orders and allows rescheduling with allocation of resources.
• Expedites easy view of production bottlenecks through an interactive graphical interface.
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16. Must have ERP features
#6 Purchases
Streamline your purchases
• Ensures procurement is done efficient and quick from ordering to receipt and invoicing.
• Assures material availability and increases planning stability.
• Offers Supplier Management as per regulatory norms.
• Evaluates the best vendor based on one or more criteria like delivery, quality, lead time and pricing.
• Supports Vendor Contracts, Landed Costs, Direct Delivery orders, Return as well as Rejected Return Orders.
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17. Must have ERP features
#7 Sales
Target Profitable opportunities with efficient Sales
• Provides a single unified solution for all sales activities related to returns, sales orders, order entries and work orders.
• Keeps a track of order fulfillment from quotation entry to invoice creation.
• Facilitates faster order creation, instant picking, shipment, contracts, pricing & discounts.
• Makes a note of the credit limit for each customer and restricts from dispatching if the credit limit exceeds.
• Manages your complete sales cycle and increases responsiveness, timely deliveries and ensures satisfied customers.
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18. Must have ERP features
#8 GST
Be Compliant with GST
• Adopts latest development in the tax laws
• Handles the complexities of Domestic Sales, Exports, Deemed Exports, Exports through warehouses
• Warehouse Transfers, Inter-state & Intra-state sale, Advance Payments etc.
• Keeps a complete track of CGST/SGST/ISGST/CESS(S)
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19. Must have ERP features
#9 Production :
Run Production process like never before
• Imparts features that guarantee precise processing of production activities, from start to finish.
• Enables creation of batches for all types in no time.
• Manages, tracks and controls all the activities from batch creation, allocation, inspecting, quality checks , and closing.
• Tracking costs along the process of material, labor, machinery and losses is also involved.
• Capable of accommodating last minute changes, or changes in requirement, material unavailability etc., through
automatic batch sizing and material substitution.
• Number of reports and dashboards helps in applying changes in schedule instantly.
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20. Must have ERP features
#10 Product Development
Bring new products to market, faster & cheaper
• Bringing product innovation in the market at a lightning speed is what is expected by today’s customers.
• Formula and R&D modules make it possible for any process manufacturer.
• The recipe created can be managed, approved, secured, revised and archived electronically for future reusing.
• Saves immense time that goes into re-formulating from scratch.
• Material substitution can be executed easily to accommodate changes in the original formula.
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21. If you are a process manufacturer -
Process manufacturing involves mixing, grinding, heating, state change, filling, assembling, and more.
If you are a process manufacturer, here are the few essential features to focus upon -
I. Lot tracking and traceability-
• Provides automated end to end traceability from raw materials to the finished product.
• Allows you to respond in any potential problem or initiate product recalls as soon as possible.
• Saves your time and possibly all negative consequences.
• Real-time tracking allows better planning, costing, simplified audits and margin analysis.
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22. If you are a process manufacturer -
II. Mixed Unit of Measure (UoM)-
• Handles all unitconversions throughout the process of purchasing, manufacturing, maintaining inventory, managing
orders and shipping
• Calculates inventory in terms of dual units of measurement in various stages of production, purchase and sales.
• Improves performance, customer service, reporting and accountability.
III. Recipe Formulation/Revision Control
• Allows the creation of new formulas, modifications, substitutions.
• Recipe formulation function decreases time spent on tedious calculations and costly errors.
• Manage multiple versions of formulas and recipes altogether and also, tracks changes.
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23. 21If you are a process manufacturer -
IV. Co-product & By-Product Management
• Dealing with co-products and by-products, provides significant financial impact to your company.
• Handles on-hand quantities, location and proper documentation on the formulas.
• Get a full financial picture of your company’s manufacturing process
V. Shelf life management
• Managing materials from initial raw material stage till it is manufactured into a finished good.
• Determination of expiry dates
• Analyze patterns and adjust your purchasing habits.
• Manages your suppliers, automates lot and batch entries, ensures quality and accurate pickings.

24. 22
• There are a variety of features to consider when searching for an ERP solution that meets your industry-specific
needs.
• Taking these features into consideration during your ERP search will enable you to find a solution that meets
your unique industry needs.
• One such ERP is the BatchMaster ERP, developed to streamline business-critical operations of process
manufacturers in the most simplified way.
Conclusion

25. Resources
• Want to know top 10 modules necessary for manufacturing ERP, read our blog :
https://www.batchmaster.co.in/blog/top-10-manufacturing-erp-modules/
• To know about all BatchMaster products and services, visit our website : www.batchmaster.co.in
• In case of any query, write to us on : sales@batchmaster.com
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26. About BatchMaster
 30+ years of experience
 ERP solutions for small to mid-sized industries
 SAP B1 and Microsoft certified solution
 Over 40,000 users worldwide
 Headquartered in California, with footprints across the
world
 A global presence with offices in 3 continents- North
America, Australia, and Asia
 7 offices round the globe
 Available in 3 languages- English, Chinese, and Spanish
 Original developer of formulation system in ERP
 Consistent record of never exceeding implementation
time of 350 to 500 hours