The majority of companies studied in The 2007 ERP in Manufacturing Benchmark Report, prepared by Boston-based analyst firm Aberdeen, view enterprise resource planning (ERP) software as a strategic weapon to streamline and automate business processes in order to improve efficiencies. As a result, those companies named best-in-class by Aberdeen are 82% more likely to have visibility into the status of all processes from quote to cash, making them 101% more proficient in notifying decision makers in real time as exceptions occur. In addition, they are 91% more likely to be able to act proactively in anticipation of exceptions.
Top Manufacturers Use Advanced Business Tools
Best-in-class manufacturers are more likely to use process, intelligence and performance management tools than other companies.
Courtesy of Aberdeen
- Top performing companies have 96% manufacturing schedule compliance and 97% on-time and complete shipments.
- These companies achieved 24% reduction in levels of inventory, with 97% inventory accuracy.
- They are 85% more likely to calculate the return on investment (ROI) of ERP projects.
Other keys to success using ERP involve effort expended in maintaining and upgrading the software and in making the most of all the functionality provided in the package.
- Best-in-class companies are 46% less likely to be running significantly outdated software releases (two or more releases behind their ERP vendors current release).
- Top performers implement 28% more functionality and are 100% to 280% more likely to use advanced technologies such as workflow and event management.
To achieve Best-in-Class performance, manufacturers must not let their maintenance dollars go to waste. While it may be acceptable to skip a release, or run one release behind the most currently available, do not let your implementation lag significantly, because you are leaving functionality and technology improvements largely unused. said Cindy Jutras, Vice President and Group Director, ERP Research, Aberdeen. The best manufacturers must also integrate and automate all basic functions to support business processes from quote to cash, as well as estimate ROI to cost justify major expenditures before following up to calculate the actual return. What gets measured gets managed.
Free copies of the report are available at www.aberdeen.com.
