Lisa O'FlahertyCloud-ERP Can Support Job Shops at Every Level of Digital Transformation—Here’s How
August 14, 2023Comments
The challenges job shops face with shop-floor scheduling and planning have been exacerbated by several factors, among them labor shortages, supply-chain delays and overall lack of visibility. While pandemic-era supply-chain delays have been resolved for the most part, job shops still require better visibility of their entire supply chain and business processes as they position themselves for future growth.
In my experience, job shops tend to fall on two ends of the scale when it comes to technology. On one end, some shops simply look to digitize; they want to take the work they perform on paper to the cloud. At the opposite end we find shop owners on the bleeding edge of innovation. They have engineers on their team who want to do more with their already-digitized processes. Their to-do list includes adding advanced scheduling, developing completely paperless processes, and employing mobile apps that allow them to be versatile.
ERP solutions can be tailored to help job shops on both ends of the scale, embracing technology in steps. At the core, it’s all about organizing data and creating process visibility.
So, how best to begin? Start by determining where your shop is in this continuum; here are some helpful tips to get off on the right foot.
Level 1—Take the Business to the Cloud
Understandably, some job shops still operate with pen and paper, spreadsheets, and even sticky notes to manage their businesses. The old adage, “if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it,” applies here, and until the pandemic completely upended global supply chains and the manufacturing workforce, job shops hadn’t previously seen a need to digitize their processes.
