ERP (enterprise resource planning) systems provide an all-in-one solution for businesses in the chemical manufacturing industry. They help companies manage their inventory, production, quality control, customer relationships, and distribution processes by automating tasks and uniting data.
This article will discuss chemical manufacturers’ challenges, how an ERP can help, and what to look for in a chemical manufacturing ERP.
What Are the Challenges Facing the Chemical Manufacturing Industry?
The chemical manufacturing industry is large and complex, and businesses must overcome many hurdles to succeed.
Following regulations
Following all the standards required by law can be incredibly complicated, especially if you supply to different countries or regions. These include environmental and safety standards and quality standards regulating the chemicals themselves.
Even if you can successfully follow all regulations, there is no guarantee that all rules will remain the same. Failure to comply with regulations can lead to many consequences ranging from fines to word stoppage and closures.
Research & development
R&D is a vital component of any company’s success. It is the foundation for new products and services and the driver of innovation. Chemical manufacturers use various research methods to create new and innovative products, including in-house R&D, partnerships with universities or other companies, and collaborations with other corporations in the industry.
Unfortunately, the budget for research has been decreasing for many years, making it difficult to fund projects that may not have an immediate return on investment. There’s also the additional challenge of trying to produce a product in a timely fashion while adhering to regulations which can take up valuable resources and time.
Environmental issues
The chemical industry is one of the world’s most significant and essential. However, it is also one of the most polluting. From water pollution to air pollution, companies need to find ways to reduce their impact on the environment. Unfortunately, adherence to higher environmental standards often comes at a higher cost, further reducing profit margins and making widespread change more difficult.
Worker shortage
Another challenge this industry faces is a need for more skilled workers and engineers. In addition, the current workforce is aging, resulting in a shortage of experienced workers over the next few years due to retirement.
How an ERP Can Help Your Chemical Manufacturing Business
An ERP is a business management software system that automates, integrates, and synchronizes the data and processes of an organization. A system properly implemented becomes the backbone of a manufacturing business.
The system coordinates all aspects of a company’s operations, from production to sales and marketing. It is also the system that manages all company data, including customer information, inventory levels, and financial records.
An ERP can help you improve efficiency in every area of your chemical manufacturing business.
Improved compliance
An ERP can help improve your compliance with regulations in several ways.
- Data is far easier to track down and, for the most part, is immediately accessible to you and your employees. This makes tracking adherence to regulations far easier.
- You can easily store regulations for quick access and reference.
- You’ll have better quality control with fewer human errors because of an ERP’s automation capabilities.
Higher efficiency with R&D
The use of an ERP system in R&D has been found to make the process simpler for businesses.
An ERP allows you to access all your data and the research institutions you collaborate with. The company can also use this system to store all the information gathered from their research. This is useful for future research because this data can be used for future projects and experiments.
An ERP system can be used to generate reports on how much time was spent on R&D, which products were researched and which ones were not, and what the cost was for each product researched.
Increased sustainability
An ERP can make your business more sustainable in a few ways.
First, as a peripheral benefit, the running of your business will be less environmentally taxing. An ERP will make your business paperless, particularly if you choose a cloud ERP. No more paper waste or storage if you can always access the relevant information as needed.
An ERP’s increased efficiency in your production will also help with waste issues. You will be able to optimize your resource usage, producing fewer cast-offs.
Power up your workforce
With labor shortages, you need your employees to work efficiently. An ERP will automate tasks that leave your workers free to do tasks only humans can. So instead of needing to hire more people, you can better utilize those you already have.
What To Look for in a Chemical Manufacturing ERP
It can be difficult for a small chemical manufacturing business to find an ERP that meets its needs.
Preferably, you should look for an ERP that’s already customized for chemical manufacturers. This means it should have features specific to your industry, size, processes, and procedures.
A chemical manufacturing ERP should be able to handle all the necessary tasks for a chemical production process. These tasks include:
- Production Planning and Scheduling
- Manufacturing Execution
- Quality Control
- Inventory Management
- Procurement Management
- Supply Chain Management
- Production Costing and Profitability Analysis
If you can’t find one you like that’s intended for your industry, find a customizable one. You want an ERP with a robust and flexible system.
And if you are already happy with your existing software, you’ll also want to find an ERP that can be integrated with other systems in your company.
Don’t Wait – Start Today!
Practically any business would benefit from implementing an ERP. But chemical manufacturers stand to derive even more positives from using an ERP because they deal with such highly regulated products. In addition, an ERP will help you manage your data and integrate with other systems to provide a more holistic view of your company. This will allow you to make better decisions and keep track of your business’s critical aspects.
ERP System for Manufacturing Company
Manage every aspect of your manufacturing business in one place, and boost efficiency with a comprehensive, mobile, manufacturing ERP designed for your unique needs. Acumatica’s manufacturing cloud ERP software integrates with customer management, sales, inventory, and financials, providing real-time coordination of activities. Acumatica Manufacturing Edition helps manufacturers manage resources, reduce costs, and improve profitability. On the one hand if you’re a distributor, you can optimize your operations with distribution ERP software from Acumatica. Acumatica Distributuion ERP Edition helps Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to automate & streamline business processes.
You can access free trial for Acumatica ERP here: Acumatica Cloud ERP Free Trial
If you want to find the right ERP for you, Confianz can help. We will walk you through implementation to ensure you get a system that works for you. Confianz Global Inc. is an Acumatica Cloud ERP Certified Partner.
So call us today to get started!
