Why automating manufacturing has become essential

While the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) brings many opportunities for the manufacturing industry, it comes with a number of challenges too. Within African manufacturing organisations, there is a need to educate the industry on new technologies, what they are, and how they can be effectively deployed in business operations.

For years, manually inputted spreadsheets have gone hand-in-hand with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software, often resulting in manual capturing errors and siloed information. There are a number of benefits in selecting a comprehensive ERP solution that can produce greater insights and negate the need for spreadsheets.

Deirdré Fryer, SYSPRO Africa Head of Solutions, says “businesses that embrace automation see a reduction in the costs associated with human error, as it relates to data inputs, miscalculated quotations based upon old exchange rates or vendor/supplier information, and procurement, among others. As data is centrally stored, operational and financial reporting becomes simpler and more valuable.”

Automation offers the potential to mitigate many of these risk factors and improve on the business’s overall effectiveness and productivity. By integrating automation, businesses can often see relatively rapid results, particularly in the areas of finance, supply chain management, production, and product innovation. This presents opportunities for forward-thinking manufacturers to capitalise on and increase productivity.

Automation will not only remove repetitive functions, but see several jobs and tasks done more effectively and efficiently. With machines taking over the monotonous tasks, including basic accounting functions, manufacturers will witness increased accuracy, resulting in higher revenue.

Ms Fryer also notes that, “leveraging ERP systems automation capabilities enables operations to be efficiently performed and increases the rate of production. ERP optimises processes across the business and enables visibility throughout the supply chain. For example, quotations based on accurate material, labour, and outsourced services costs could be quickly issued to clients.”

Enabling automation with industry-built solutions such as SYSPRO ERP simplifies business complexities by providing an end-to-end solution for optimised cost control and enhanced business performance, positively positioning the industry for the next generation of manufacturing. SYSPRO 8 has powerful features that are integrated with the latest innovative technologies.

Click hereto download SYSPRO’s Free Manufacturing Operations Management (MOM) solution.

Enterprises that embrace automation and extract maximum value from their ERP software will keep pace with the changes and benefit from insights gained from the resulting in-depth analysis of their business.