Job Shop Manufacturing White Papers and Demos

In the years leading to 2000, many manufacturers realized it was necessary to prepare for a potentially disruptive transition in the IT functions when the turn of the century arrived. With thoughts of internal systems not functioning properly - or even stopping the manufacturing processes altogether - action was required.

Service-oriented architecture (SOA) continues to emerge as the dominant technical platform for building next generation business applications. The potential of SOA to transform enterprise software applications has been well documented within leading industry trade publications. This white paper will attempt to cut through the hype surrounding the technology by (1) examining the manufacturing pains that are driving the conversion to service-oriented business applications, (2) breaking down the essence of SOA, (3) focusing on the relevance of SOA as a tool for continuous business process improvement, and (4) comparing and contrasting the Made2Manage SOA product development strategy with that of other ERP vendors.

ERP solutions are data-driven. This is arguably the most beneficial technology feature because it alerts users to the specific inventory needs right down to quantities and timing. The right ERP tool can analyze historic and current data such as customer orders, inventory balances, usage/shipment of each product, seasonal trends, etc. and apply these insights to future inventory predictions. Armed with this knowledge, manufacturers can make more intelligent decisions regarding how much inventory to keep in stock and how best to respond to customer demand, regardless of seemingly unpredictable fluctuations. This help ensure investments are being made in the right place and that operations remain efficient.