“Executives realize they need to proactively manage customer service, inventory and their end-to-end supply chain. In order to consider the full picture and related options, business intelligence software is vital, and the AI component to add predictability into the mix is quickly becoming a ‘must have,'” said Lisa Anderson, president of Claremont, CA-based LMA Consulting Group, Inc. and manufacturing expert known for creating supply chain resiliency.
Whether you’re a mass clothing company crafting the latest fashions or a mid-sized facility baking and packing bread for local bakeries, manufacturing ERP software can streamline production, keep all eyes on your supply chain and provide compliance adherence. It’s also critical to invest in technology-based manufacturing trends to maintain your competitive edge and boost your KPIs.
However, you don’t want to invest in every trend you see because it’s popular or your colleagues use them. Like software, if the trend doesn’t mesh with your practices, it’ll cause friction and harm instead of helping revenue. We took the time to craft a solid list of these technological innovations and received opinions from manufacturing experts. Before we begin, let’s examine popular processes and growing industries.
Manufacturing Process Types
There are several processes manufacturers consider when they craft products. Some companies may implement more than one. The top five strategies include:
- Repetitive: As the name implies, this practice creates the same product repeatedly 24/7 to meet production rates and is altered as necessary to align with customers’ needs.
- Job Shop: Job shops focus on a specific area and build particular products in small amounts. They implement turning, milling, drilling, roughing and other machining techniques to craft products with different details and shapes.
- Discrete: Manufacturers leverage this technique for big jobs. They create separate parts in different local or global plants and combine them to make the final product in one location. Computers, cameras and cars are a few examples of discrete manufacturing products. You can take apart products and sell or replace parts easily.
- Process: Process manufacturing, unlike discrete, creates products in one location. They transform raw materials via heating, cooling, chemical or other forms of conversions to create goods like food, beverages, lotions, etc. You can’t take apart these products, typically following recipes or formulas.
- Continuous: A subset of process manufacturing, this practice resembles repetitive but deals with raw ingredients like gasses, liquids, slurries and more.