Manufacturing Resource Planning systems are intended to
integrate all manufacturing and related applications including decision support,
material requirements planning, accounting and distribution into a single enterprise
wide application. They are often special cases of generic ERP systems that are somewhat
tailored for manufacturing by providing support specific functions like inventory
management and production scheduling. The value of commercially available MRP systems
is often felt to be directly proportional to the time and cost spent in customizing
these large and generic software systems. In a number of cases, especially for small
and medium size manufacturing businesses, it is difficult to justify the effort
and risk involved in purchasing a COTS product and then customize it to fit
operational practices. In fact, it is often the case that companies
are forced to change their operational practices from to non-optimal scenarios in
order to accommodate systems with limited flexibility.
It is our belief that a manufacturing enterprise system
is only effective if it is designed specifically for each implementation, due to
the unique nature of each manufacturing operation. MNJ Software has provided alternative
options for a number for a number of our clients, by developing fully custom enterprise
systems that are designed for their operational methods, manufacturing processes
and facilities. These systems effectively reach deep into the manufacturing operations
using real time inventory data capture methods, quality management functions and
efficiency monitoring tools. They provide a powerful alternative to commercially
available MES or MRP systems by providing increased flexibility, integration options
and ROI.