bmfinance.comLeverage Manufacturing Productivity with MRP/ERP/MIS
MRP in manufacturing stands for material requirements planning or manufacturing resource planning. Both mean the same thing: ideally planning what is needed to effectively manufacture a product. ERP also known as enterprise resource planning is often used as well and is a derivative of MRP. ERP takes into account not only manufacturing processes but also business processes as a whole and links them all into one large system. MIS is a management information system which manages business information. Data in its raw form is altered into understandable information. Essentially, ERPs and MRPs are management information systems since they are converting raw data into information such as reports and invoices to optimally run a manufacturing environment.
MRP and MRP II
When MRP stands for material requirements planning, it refers to inventory and product management software. The computer system maintains scheduling so that production stays on track and the product is delivered to the customer on time. When MRP is referred to as manufacturing resource planning it is often referred to as MRP II. This involves a set of principles and is the whole planning system along with the computer system. Leadership would also be a part of MRP II. Management cannot be ignored and a business cannot rely entirely on a computer system alone.
Goals of MRP II
MRP II’s goal is to keep the production process as elementary as possible and to take a serious look at the requirements needed to produce the end product. Careful analysis also have to be done to ensure that no waste is happening in the production such as through analysis of the inventory. A management plan begins with looking at what product the company will be manufacturing for customers. The next step is looking at what inventory is needed to produce the product as well as staff needed, equipment, materials, and any other things that may be needed for the manufacturing process. The final step would be to examine how everything is functioning and also the management team needs to make sure everyone has the resources they need.
Software for ERP and MRP
Software solutions for ERP and MRP allow for tracking of inventories in a manufacturing setting as well as purchasing and manufacturing controls and communications with people on the fabrication floor so that everything is streamlined between all departments of a company. Additional tools involve the ability to produce invoices, customer service, and tools to conduct analysis on sales. Financial tools are also available in packages to allow for an all-inclusive software system. A useful feature in one MRP software package is the ability for multiple users to enter purchase orders simultaneously on computers in a networked environment as long as that environment was constructed with servers such as Nowell or Microsoft for multiple users. A software system should also be able to generate reports using selected data. Computer MRP systems keep all the data current. Another tool would be capacity planning where a system would inform the user what resources would be needed to finish a job based on a production plan such as manpower and equipment. This would also be called rough-cut capacity planning.
Benefits of MRP Systems
Advantages of using a computerized MRP system would be lowering of costs and inventories, better efficiency in the shop, a shorter amount of time to manufacture the product, lower costs of materials and overhead, and thus better customer service as the product would arrive on time. MRP and MRP II would be useful for a manufacturing environment and for any type of business to improve productivity.
Reto Hug is the President of Maloya Laser which focuses on <A href=”http://www.maloyalaser.com”>laser cutting technologies</a> and complex metal manufacturing using <A href=”http://www.maloyalaser.com/index.php”>advanced laser technologies</a> for medical, aerospace, scientific and transportation needs.