The Competition Heats Up In Manufacturing

As reported in a Boston Consulting Group study discussed in Manufacturing Business Technology, U.S. manufacturing is growing in competitiveness compared to other countries.  Becoming more competitive often comes with operating more efficiently.  According to the article, "In 2004, for example, manufacturing in China cost 14 percent less than manufacturing in the United States.  By this year, the China advantage had narrowed to 5 percent.  If the trends continue, Boston Consulting found, U.S. manufacturing will be less expensive than China's by 2018."

As companies look for ways to be more efficient, they often look to energy, labor, and raw material costs.  Many of these areas can be analyzed and adjusted to find ways to gain competitiveness when utilizing an ERP software system, such as Sage 500 ERP.  In today's volatile economy, it's important to find ways to operate more efficiently so that you can become more competitive.

For those companies who specialize in the process manufacturing industry, it's even more critical to use an ERP system that is developed for your unique industry, such as O2 Process Manufacturing ERP software.  This will allow you to drill down to manage and analyze important details found in formulation, planning and production, and regulatory reporting.

It's great to see the U.S. become more competitive in the world economy, and those companies who are the most prepared will see the most gains.  For more information on process manufacturing software or other ERP software or services, visit www.evs-sw.com.

Is Your ERP Software Ready to Grow With Your Company?

As optimism in the U.S. economy continues to increase, many manufacturers are facing the prospect of increased company growth.  Market optimism and growth create a lot of excitement in the business world, but some manufacturers also feel the stress of growing pains.  It can be even more stressful in process manufacturing industries, such as food manufacturing, where the industry is highly regulated.

Having  a strong, flexible ERP software system in place can help alleviate some sources of growth related stress.  For example, O2 Process Manufacturing ERP software has tools for managing formulas/costing, production, quality control, and regulatory reporting and security.  All of these areas can feel the squeeze during times of growth, and having a central location where you are able to evaluate real-time information will help you stay on top of your operation.

Going back to the food manufacturing example, increased growth requires companies to have a stronger food safety plan in place.  Business growth in food manufacturing can mean sourcing raw material from more locations and distribution through different channels.  O2 Food ERP software can manage all of your food safety concerns, along with the production, costing, and quality control areas, again, within a single system.  Critical information will be just a click away.

We hope your business can enjoy your time of growth and enjoy the success that comes along with it, instead of struggling with growth related issues that are easily controlled.  For more information on any of our process manufacturing software systems or other ERP software related products and services, visit www.evs-sw.com.

A Standard Cost History Module Is Announced for Sage 500 ERP Software

EVS just announced a new module for Sage 500 ERP, called Standard Cost History.  This new module will keep a history of all changes to your standard costs and saved, along with the information on date, time, and user.  This information is particularly important to our O2 Process Manufacturing ERP software users as they need to analyze the standard costs over time.

Users can also combine the new Standard Cost History module with the Standard Cost Set module for a total standard cost package.  For more information on this exciting new ERP software module, visit www.evs-sw.com.

O2 Food ERP Software's Role In Evaluating Commodity Price Volatility

I recently read an article discussing the effects of commodity price volatility on food and beverage manufacturers.  If you're producing products with tight margins, this volatility can have an even greater affect on you if it requires constant price increases for customers.  The article gave some great ways to find and manage alternative ingredients as a way to avoid falling victim to a cost spike for a given ingredient.

It's also important for food and beverage manufacturers to utilize a proper food manufacturing software system in order to get the full picture of your costs.  O2 Food ERP software will provide a central access to clear, accurate and real-time information on your production and more.  Having access to real-time cost data will help you track all material costs, including intermediates, to assess how specific ingredient costs are affecting your finished goods.

This food manufacturing ERP software also tracks labor, packaging, and finished good costs.  O2 Food ERP provides food and beverage manufacturers tools to forecast product demand and inventory levels, to notify of product expiration, and to manage quality control status of raw materials and finished goods.

For more information on the food and beverage ERP software, visit www.evs-sw.com.