Even if you don’t consider yourself a precision manufacturer, managing a manufacturing operation is all about precision. Or, at least it should be. The more precisely you manage every aspect of your manufacturing business, from end to end, the more efficient and profitable it will be. Success occurs when each element of the manufacturing process is well-controlled and connected to relevant systems. For example, as manufacturing inputs like parts or raw materials arrive in the plant, they should be digitally tracked as they enter the warehouse and go through the production process. This may sound like inventory control—and it is—but it’s also a vital part of ensuring an effective manufacturing operation.

Achieving high precision in manufacturing management is best accomplished with software like Acumatica Manufacturing Management. This specialized set of modules for the Acumatica Cloud ERP suite provides the feature depth and connectivity with Acumatica and other business systems to ensure a high degree of precision in managing the complete manufacturing operation. Here are the highlights of how the software enables profitable, efficient and highly precise manufacturing management:

Getting Estimates Right

Profitable manufacturing starts with accurate estimating. Acumatica makes this possible. You can create estimates for new products or update estimates for existing items. The software lets you convert estimates into bills of material or production orders into estimates. For accuracy, you can also use Acumatica to estimate non-inventory items. For efficiency, the tool integrates with the Acumatica sales management module.

Product Configurator

For companies that offer customers custom configurations of products, having a rules-based configurator is a big advantage. The Acumatica configurator can be used to generate estimates, sales orders and production orders—all with up-to-date pricing and costs included. This is an example of the kind of precision you need to attain maximum profitability. Without this kind of software, it’s easy to miss a cost increase that could eat into margins on a custom product.

Inventory Management

Inventory management is particularly relevant for companies implementing lean manufacturing processes. Inventory ties up cash if it’s not under control. At the same time, confusion about where inventory is stored, when supplies will run out and so forth can disrupt manufacturing. And, without rigorous inventory tracking and control, there’s always the risk that defective parts and raw materials can end up in the final product. This will result in complaints, brand damage, returns, rework and more. Acumatica addresses these needs by offering real-time access to inventory that’s in-house, inventory in transit, reorder quantities and costs. It can track inventory at the level of lot numbers, expiration dates and bin locations.

Other highlights of Acumatica Manufacturing Management include:

  • Bill of Materials and Routing—Plan and manage inventories, processes and costs.
  • Production Management—Schedule production on the shop floor while tracking material and labor costs.
  • Material Requirements Planning (MRP)—Maintain optimal inventory with the Acumatica MRP planning tool, which offers a complete view of supply and demand.
  • Order Management—Manage sales activities while streamlining procurement and automating order fulfillment.
  • Planning and Scheduling—Set accurate, reliable delivery dates based on resource availability.
  • Fulfillment—Reduce mistakes in order fulfillment and avoid costly returns.

All of these elements in Acumatica Manufacturing Management work together synergistically to keep your manufacturing operation working at its best. You can stay on top of orders and production while keeping inventory under control. It integrates with Acumatica accounting and financial management systems as well, so there’s no clumsy rekeying of data or missed opportunities for coherent management of manufacturing finances. These system elements also generate rich data that you can visualize in Acumatica data reporting tools and dashboards.

To learn more about Acumatica Manufacturing Management, contact us for a demo and assessment of your manufacturing software needs.

Additional Acumatica Manufacturing Resources

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