Material Management

Get a handle on the practice and art of material management No need to reinvent the wheel. The material management industry is wide and full of excellent, generally free best practices white papers and research.

I recommend:  Take a look at CAPS Research, a joint operation of the Institute for Supply Management and Arizona State University W.P. Carey School of Business. The International Federation of Purchasing and Supply Management has publications as well. Learn more about materials management systems through materials management associations and organizations at Business.com.

Finding materials management software products Materials resource planning (MRP) software is beginning to become common, but it's still sometimes lumped in as a module of more popular ERP (enterprise resource planning) software.

I recommend:  While ERP is more robust, it's also expensive. If managing materials is your main concern, look at MRP softtware from QA Software, Frederick Group, and Power Purchase. Catch up on supply-chain management at Business.com.

Major league material management software The bigger picture on material management systems is overall supply chain management. Software now track the part or crate of material from a factory in Shanghai through your shop and on to the customer.

I recommend:  Some makers of supply chain software for materials management include da Vinci, Manhattan Associates and Ross Systems. See additional resources for materials resource planning software at Business.com.

Specialized material management systems according to need While general materials management software can go a long way, some industries require specialized help in managing materials, like healthcare.

I recommend:  Trade publication Modern Materials Handling magazine has a very good site with detailed case studies and links to nearly every materials association. See more on just-in-time materials management at Business.com.