Purchasing Resources for Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Supplies

Manufacturing

In order for a business to run efficiently, its operations must run smoothly. Operational failures and mistakes can cost a company time, money and customers. Industrial manufacturing services can ensure that your operations run at optimal speed and that you have the machinery and manpower to get things done.

There are both foreign and domestic industrial manufacturing services providers that can help you locate machines, tools and labor to produce your products. Assessing and obtaining the correct enterprise resource planning software is also an important consideration in manufacturing.

There are benefits, pitfalls and pricing concerns to address when evaluating your industrial manufacturing options.

Benefits

Automated Production

When you employ any form of manufacturing machine, you are employing a worker that will produce non-stop and twenty-four hours a day if you need. This means that even if you are on vacation, your company can still be producing goods and can even complete the rest of the manufacturing process. These machines are so advanced they could create, sell, and ship a product without you lifting a finger.

Precision

One of the greatest benefits of having machines manufacture your products for you is the precision in which they succeed in doing so. The most amazing part of automation software is the longevity in which it can consistently produce. When compared to a human worker, the benefits of the machine far outweigh the expense of employing an actual worker. Mistakes are very rarely made and they are most often caused by human error while setting up or loading the manufacturing machines with materials.

Adaptability

No matter what the project is that you want manufactured, through proper ERP, (short for “enterprise resource planning”) you can obtain nearly anything that your business might need created. There are so many different configurations possible that it is almost guaranteed that there is a solution for your specific need.

Profit Increase

The most important part of all of the great features of manufacturing automation is the increase in profits that will happen almost immediately upon implementation. One of the greatest advantages of automation is that while your machines are creating the products for you, you can be preparing for the next phase of manufacturing or planning the next product. This gives the ability to turn an even greater profit, sometimes up to a two hundred percent increase. The precision of the machines also saves scrapping products and having to produce remakes of trashed mistakes. This saves in production and material costs. And lastly, because the machines and ERP software are so adaptable, business owners no longer have to worry about constantly upgrading machines to be able to keep up with rival companies. This is because many manufacturing machines can be configured for different projects. In turn, this saves money on having to buy new equipment very often. A study done by Meta Group in 2002 accounted for the costs of internal staff, software, hardware, professional services, the initial installations, and a two year period of upgrading and maintaining the system machines. In this study, the TCO (total cost of ownership) average of over fifty companies surveyed was fifteen million dollars, with the top TCO being three-hundred million dollars and the lowest being four-hundred thousand dollars.

Pitfalls

If you have a mid-sized to large manufacturing business you probably use or are planning to obtain enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. These systems are expensive and finding the right one for your business is essential.

Do you Really Need ERP Software?

ERP software generally comes with modules that can manage your finances, customer relations, supply chains and various other aspects of your business in addition to manufacturing. This is wonderful if you need all that, but if you are looking for software to manage the manufacturing function only you will need to be careful that you aren’t paying for modules you don’t need. Also, if you are planning to keep some existing systems you will need to ensure that they will integrate seamlessly with your ERP software.

Do you Have On-site Expertise?

Buying and installing ERP software is only one part of the investment required. You will also need to provide training to any staff members who will be required to use the system. The best system in the world can’t provide you with good results if the people using it don’t know what it can do or how to use it to its best potential.

Who do you Trust?

There are many different ERP systems out there; they will all promise you the moon and the stars. It can be overwhelming weighing all of the pros and cons. Before you even begin to narrow down the choices you need to be extremely clear on exactly what you need, and how much you are prepared to spend (including staff training, any down time during installation and transition, and any software customization you may require). Putting out a request for proposal (RFP) itemizing all these parameters can be very helpful in narrowing the field. When deciding among the final few it is essential that you check references. Not only do you want to know if previous customers were satisfied with the software, you will also want to know if there were any hidden expenses or other unanticipated pitfalls.

Is it Right for Your Company?

Finally, you will want to be sure that whatever system you buy has worked in companies similar to yours. A system with a proven track record of increased return on investment for huge companies might not be at all effective if your business is half the size.

Pricing

Initial costs

The total cost of ownership for ERP software is around $15 million, however this greatly depends on the size of the company and its individual needs. The main items that play a role in the total cost are hardware, software, internal staff costs, and installation. In a study of manufacturing executives, 13 percent said that their most important consideration when selecting enterprise software was the mobile interface. A further 68 percent considered this just as important as other software features. The costs for maintenance, upgrades, and system optimization are also included in this estimate.

Return

While the costs of EPR software will not be immediately offset, the medial annual savings from implementing such a system are estimated at $1.6 million. You can expect to start seeing financial benefits from the new system after about eight months.

Conclusion

Industrial manufacturing services come with several benefits. One of these benefits is that you can source machines that will work around the clock to produce your product quickly. They provide automated production, precision and adaptability.

ERP software can help you cut costs and save money by organizing all aspects of your business and sharing information between them. Potential pitfalls of using ERP software include purchasing this software when your operations are too small to justify the need for it, not recognizing the costs and time of training yourself and your employees to use the software and buying ERP software that is unproven in similar businesses.