Supply Chain Planning Software for Small Businesses

The manufacturing industry is an ever-evolving host of enterprises and operations - and it's evolving as fast as demand is growing. Consumers weren't purchasing the same finished goods a decade ago that they are today; likewise, through the discovery of new compounds, our food, medicines, vitamins, and clothing needs are ever-changing as well. "Functional clothing" has seen a demand rise due to changes in fitness fabrics and new polymer threads being developed.

Supply Chain Planning Software for Small Businesses The latest fabrics have almost totally altered the supply chains of both warm and cold weather clothing. Most new materials of this ilk are aimed at dealing with perspiration due to heavy activities. This market shift has been one of the more recent upheavals for supply chain management in specific segments of the garment industry. Interestingly enough, the last change in that field had been due to new elastics for flexible and stretchable clothing. First came the accommodation of clothing to comfortably fit us no matter our size. Then came a shift in apparel geared more towards exercise and exertion, perhaps to reduce our physical dimension. But, these are the sifts in demand and product development that can impact demand, production methods, and supply chains, all in one annual shopping season.

Every day, new technological advances are made in areas of production that generate a more optimal means of retooling, bottleneck elimination, and improving the flow of materials and finished goods throughout production facilities worldwide. Areas that benefit from these ongoing improvements can include distribution, textiles, inventory management, sales, and many other inflows.

Supply Chain Planning Software for Small Businesses
As these technological advancements are made available, many project managers wonder what types of software would be the best to implement into their manufacturing operation. Many project managers are coming to the same conclusion - supply chain management software. Along with various other software platforms, such as advanced planning and scheduling (APS), enterprise resource planning (ERP), supply chain management software is a beneficial asset to your manufacturing operation and will aid your production facility immensely.

Implementing Supply Chain Management Software for Small Businesses

Supply chain management software is a tool that can be used in supply chain transactions, business process control, and supplier relationship management. With perks of simple integration and implementation, supply chain management software can successfully enhance your production facility in the following ways:

Visibility Achievement - Understand the health of your supply chain with real-time and up-to-minute alerts.
Supply Chain Cost Reduction - Through a quick and practical system location, supply chain software can identify areas where cost-deviation occurs.
Service Level Increase - Utilization of order management can enhance your delivery plans and further diminish lead times.

In correlation of the benefits of supply chain management software, the availability of systematic features include the following:

Plan - You can quickly develop a strategy through various attributes such as sales forecasting review and demand analysis.
Execute - After the plan is developed, the program can effortlessly be implemented into production and allow for production to flow as usual.
Collaboration - Supply chain management software is an integrated system that will collaborate with other machines within the production facility and promote insight within the operation.

The utilization of supply chain management software is a step in the right direction of production optimization. Implementing an APS system can further optimize production within your supply chain and manufacturing operation.

Advanced Planning & Scheduling (APS) with Supply Chain Management Software

Advanced planning and scheduling software (APS) offers supply chain management software that enables various functions and capabilities to your production facility. With capabilities such as "what-if" scenarios, capacity planning tools, KPI optimization, and multiple others, APS users are experiencing the following benefits from the software:

Improved Delivery Performance
Profit Boost
Reduction in Inventory and Labor Cost
Six-Month ROI

Implementing an APS system into your manufacturing operation will efficiently optimize production through data accuracy, bottleneck resolution, and simple production order rescheduling. Separate yourself from competitors by implementing an advanced planning and scheduling system into your shop floor.

Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) Software

Advanced Planning and Scheduling Software have become a must for modern-day manufacturing operations as customer demand for increased product assortment, fast delivery, and downward cost pressures become prevalent. These systems help planners save time while providing greater agility in updating ever-changing priorities, production schedules, and inventory plans. In addition, APS Systems can be quickly integrated with an ERP/MRP software to fill the gaps where these systems lack planning and scheduling flexibility, accuracy, and efficiency.

With PlanetTogether APS, you can:

Create optimized schedules that balance production efficiency and delivery performance
Maximize throughput on bottleneck resources to increase revenue
Synchronize supply with demand to reduce inventories
Provide company-wide visibility to resource capacity
Enable scenario data-driven decision making

Implementing an Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) Software will take your manufacturing operations to the next level of production efficiency by taking advantage of the operational data you already possess in your ERP system. APS is a step in the right direction of efficiency and lean manufacturing production enhancement. Try out a free trial or demo!