Leaner times

During the early nineties enterprise resource planning (ERP) software was the thing to have, and technicians were setting up pilots to implement SAP or Baan systems.

Then the world changed. Far Eastern manufacturing edged out UK firms, and to stay in business we had to figure out what we were good at. During that process many firms discovered that the traditional big company approach to SAP and Baan-style ERP was no longer valid.

The kind of manufacturing that sets the UK apart from the rest of the world is its ability to customise and make exactly what the customer wants — in the quantities required. This environment, and the necessity to make small batches economically, places new constraints on manufacturing software.

According to Simon Bragg, European research director at ARC Advisory Group: ‘Today, challenged by increased product variability, greater demand fluctuations, and shorter lead times, lean manufacturers are adopting agile manufacturing which synthesises lean thinking, make-to-order manufacturing and event management to increase profits.’