Comarch ERP Enterprise, integrated company management software of the ERP class equipped with functionalities dedicated to manufacturing, is a natural system for communication with an IoT Platform. An ERP system may be used to send a manufacturing order to a machine which can be situated not only in a production hall, but also in a distant location. In addition, the completion of a given production stage registered by a sensor may be a signal for a given department or device that a workstation needs to be prepared to begin the next stage.
Data interchange allows the registration of a failure of a specific machine in Comarch ERP - for instance, on the basis of a temperature rise registered by a sensor, or an increased level of pollution.
Additionally, a sensor located in a device sold to an individual may send a warning that the device will soon break down, which is a signal that a service worker should be sent to the customer, or that a personalized offer should be prepared for them.
Numerous sensors are already used in industrial automatic control. Temperature meters, along with proximity, smoke, light, and motion sensors, make it possible to register considerable amounts of data, both during the production process and in the course of the daily use of already manufactured products. But such sensors are becoming part of digitization thanks to wireless communication.
A modern ERP system is equipped with machine learning mechanisms, which may be used not only to complete current manufacturing operations, but also to generate recommendations for changes in production technology. For instance, if the previous ten manufacturing orders have used four, not six kilograms of resources, or if an operation takes three, not two hours, the system may suggest a change in technology norms. Automatic prompts will make a technologist or a production planner aware that they should analyze a BOM or an itinerary; if they consider it appropriate, recommended changes may bring about an update or the creation of a new version of a technology.
The use of augmented reality in cooperation with an ERP system may considerably facilitate work both for employees responsible for the movement and maintenance of machinery in a manufacturing company and for those handling service orders from customers. Thanks to augmented reality, it is possible to verify, with the use of special goggles or MES screens, what an installation or device looks like with no need to disassemble it.
Additionally, data sheets or technical details may be supplemented with tutorial videos or other clips, thanks to which even an inexperienced technician will be able to repair a device following step by step instructions.
Quality control may function similarly – an employee responsible for that process may compare a given copy of a product with its displayed model, and therefore identify and report any inconsistencies rapidly.
Displayed information may be handled from the level of ERP systems, where appropriate details can be entered by construction engineers, technologists, process engineers, or quality control managers.
Digitization allows the production of highly personalized goods in a flexible manner, at the same time keeping costs at the optimal level. Thanks to that, manufacturing companies want to be seen more as trading companies and reach the final customer, bypassing intermediaries.
For instance, an individual may order a garage gate or doors, and an enterprise may individually match appropriate electronic components, an air handling unit or soundproof booth, directly with a producer. They can do this online - either using a B2B platform or in an e-shop. For that purpose, e-commerce tools may include a product configurator, in which, through an appropriately prepared set of questions and answers, customers may create their own unique product.
Importantly, such a virtually designed product may automatically create a production technology in an ERP system. This is possible with the use of the product configurator functionality built in to ERP systems dedicated to manufacturing companies.
Once an order is placed, a manufacturing company may start to plan production following MPS or detailed scheduling - with no need to become engaged in the work done by technologists or construction engineers. It shortens the order processing time considerably, simultaneously lowering production costs.
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