Today, the wide adoption of the mobile & Internet by businesses and consumers has provided new and more efficient ways to connect and made Companies in various industries to focus more on Enterprise mobility than ever before. When I mention enterprise mobility, its not just about Apps or design, its about productivity, business process transformation and accessing to work from anywhere. With mobile transformation, companies are looking for a unique source for information that gets updated real time and ready available from either web or a mobile app. In an industry like Manufacturing, everything needs to be updated real time and be in compliance to ensure a smoother flow of business operations. However, manufacturing companies are facing some common challenges, which are listed out below, with legacy ERP Softwares and Enterprise Mobility could solve these effortlessly.

Some of the challenges are common and can be seen in a majority of manufacturing companies using ERP. And, there is a high chance that your company is facing one such challenge. This article brings out the challenges manufacturing industry is facing and how enterprise mobility can solve them.

Challenges –

1. Delay in Manual updation of data

Currently, activities related to shop floor, part details, inventory audits at manufacturing centers are collected and performed through manual entry. With the manual data collection, there is an unnecessary wastage of time in producing the collected information digitally. What’s common with manual data entry are low productivity, waste of time, finding the misplaced/missing records and tracking the data collected and there is no need to tell you the time it takes to rectify the error. Mobility solutions combined with data collection techniques such as RFID, Bar Code Scan and integrations with other devices change the way decision makers see. Errors. with the improvement in technology, errors through mobile solutions are minimal. Even if there are any, they can be easily corrected through mobile apps saving resources. Companies can update their data in real time with very less manual instructions and track the data with a click of a button allowing real-time communications between these systems

2. Poor Inventory Control and tracking

Poor inventory control results in stock shortages, high lead times, overstocking, over buy or under buy of supplies to meet demand. Delays in controlling the inventory ultimately affect the customer satisfaction or lead to unpredictable cost burden on companies. Mobile solutions help track the inventory in real time and the data is available to desktop and mobile users instantly and helps in faster stock replenishment and better manage inventory.

3. Compliance Maintenance

Companies are constantly challenged with getting quality products and services to their customers while ensuring internal processes remain in compliance with industry and government regulations. To do this, they are relying on manual or legacy IT systems that make compliance difficult to manage. However, With company policies and regulatory policies achieved via mobile apps reduces audit burden for enterprises. By strengthening compliance, improving employee productivity, and lowering transaction, and audit costs mobility apps demonstrate a high ROI.

4. Lack of Co-ordination between internal departments

Optimizing Company’s Operations leads to customer satisfaction and long-term sustainability. With the heavy operational activities, Organization’s departments are lacking co-ordination between themselves. Mobile solutions combined with bar code scanning technology, RFID automates the business process ensures inter-departmental coordination throughout the organization between employees and speeds up receipt and back order reporting and inventory management.

   “Stronger integration between internal departments helps companies in better responsiveness to its customers.”

5. Delay in Decision Making

With the delayed and unreliable data collected, Decision makers get the essential statistics and reports belatedly from their sophisticated and expensive ERPs. What use does these ERPs do when the required information is not credible and readily available?

Many a times manager’s decisions are improper and Opportunity cost of these decisions are high due to the limited information available or delays in access to required information. Avoid bad decisions with real time information through mobile apps.

   “Never wait for information. Let the information wait for you. Make it possible with Mobile solutions.”

6. Bad Customer Service

Ensure right person is allocated to the right problem with the right information by using mobile platforms combined with service apps and avoid bad customer service and the problem of service call cancellations or delays.

7.Low Cost savings and business process improvements

As said in the beginning of the article that mobile solutions goal is to improve business processes and address the availability of information, organizations with mobile solutions can deliver higher shareholder value and can achieve cost savings and improve productivity.

8. Bad User Experience

Employees use ERP tools all the time but the software are clunky and are not user friendly. User Experience is critical for the user using the software as a meaningful and affective interaction is necessary for the employee to perform the tasks. ERPs are not easy to customize and are not UX oriented. However, Mobile solutions are easy to customize, helping provide better UX and boost employee productivity.

Areas where mobility could see a high impact are production centers, Sales, HR and Finance.

IDC predicts that by 2018, only 30 percent of manufacturers investing in digital transformation will be able to maximize its outcome – the rest will be held back by outdated business models and legacy technology.

Leverage the widest application footprint in the industry—covering quality, production, warehouse, and time & labor—to enjoy the full power of mobility across all your manufacturing operations.

Business Benefits of Mobile Transformation

1. Business Process innovation and Operational improvement
2. Product innovation & tracking
3. Better Resource management
4. Improvements in Productivity
5. Better customer service
6. Anywhere anytime to required data without system dependence.

Getting Started?

Propel apps, Previously Algarytm, an award winning Enterprise mobility solutions provider, can design a custom Enterprise mobile strategy needed for organizations using Oracle and SAP ERPs and deploy the much-needed apps. By combining ERP software and mobile solutions with over 100 plus mobile app project implementation experience, Propel Apps helps organizations redefine and reinvent business processes across the wholesale, retail, manufacturing, finance, transportation and logistics industries.Our Oracle Mobile apps are available on Cloud Marketplace and are free for deployment purposes.