Manufacturing ERP Software

ERP software improves manufacturing efficiency by connecting people, processes, and data in one system. 

It gives managers and shop floor workers the tools to manage production, materials, and costs more accurately while reducing repetitive work and communication gaps. However, it goes beyond the production lines, by helping to unite other departments on a shared, real-time platform, ERP eliminates the need for manual entry and separate tools. 

Automation plays a major role in improving efficiency within your manufacturing. 

Tasks such as monitoring and updating stock movements, creating purchase orders, and updating schedules can easily be automated with an ERP, saving time, reducing errors, and allowing staff to focus on higher-value work. A single source of truth means teams from any department can access the same information, making approvals faster and coordination easier.

Most ERPs also come with advanced planning and scheduling features. 

Features that allow manufacturers to see available materials, active jobs, and machine capacity in real time. The system automatically adjusts when new orders arrive or stock levels change, keeping production balanced and avoiding costly delays. Linking sales forecasts to production capacity improves planning accuracy and prevents shortages.

You can also benefit by getting better insights into your inventory and supply chain, as a manufacturing ERP system tracks every material movement, from receiving to shipping, and updates stock levels in real time, helping to maintain the right balance between supply and demand while avoiding waste or overstocking.

The three key features to look for in manufacturing ERP software are production planning, inventory control, and cost tracking. But almost all solutions go beyond just those three, and to find the right for yourself, here are a bunch of other things that the best ERP for manufacturing will contain:

• Real-time stock tracking: Updates inventory levels automatically whenever materials are received, moved, or used in production. This ensures your stock counts stay accurate across all warehouses, bins, and containers, helping prevent shortages and overstocking.
• Manufacturing and shop-floor control: Helps plan and monitor work orders from start to finish. You can schedule jobs, set priorities, and assign tasks to specific work centers. By tracking yields, labor hours, and material usage, manufacturers can calculate true job costs and keep production on schedule.
• Picking and pack validation: Guides workers through the picking and packing process to ensure accuracy. Employees can generate pick lists, scan barcodes to confirm items, and create packing slips or Bills of Lading automatically. 
• Barcode scanning and configurable labels: Scan bins, pallets, and barcodes on SKUs to adjust inventory. The ability to design and print custom or serialized labels helps maintain complete traceability. With built-in barcode generation, you can label materials, batches, and finished goods.
• Demand and supply planning: Connect purchasing, inventory, and sales data to forecast demand. You can set reorder points, safety stock levels, and lead times to align supply with production needs. 
• Multi-level BOMs: Manage complex product structures with nested and alternate BOMs. Each BOM can include costs, yield rates, and scrap factors to improve accuracy.
• Material availability checks: Verify that all necessary items are in stock. This prevents mid-run stoppages and helps teams plan around potential shortages.
• Lead-time planning: By combining supplier data with production schedules, manufacturers can plan purchases and manufacturing runs that align perfectly with lead times, reducing waiting periods and excess inventory. 
• Safety stock control: The software allows users to define minimum stock levels for materials. Automatic alerts help avoid disruptions caused by low inventory or delayed deliveries. 
• Demand-based purchasing: ERP systems for manufacturing can automatically generate purchase orders from current sales and production forecasts. This ensures materials arrive just in time for manufacturing while reducing carrying costs. 

Integrated cost tracking: Manufacturing ERP software provides full visibility into material, labor, and overhead expenses. Real-time cost tracking helps managers evaluate profitability, adjust pricing, and plan future budgets more accurately.

A manufacturing ERP system supports a wide range of industries that rely on efficient production, accurate inventory control, and, most importantly, compliance with regulations. 

• Cosmetics: Meet safety and compliance standards with the tools to track ingredients, batches, and the readiness to perform a recall in a worst case scenario.
• Food and Beverage: Manages recipes, expiration dates, and traceability to reduce waste and maintain consistent quality.
• Plastics: Helps use materials wisely, plan machine work better, and keep production running without delays or extra costs.
• Packaging: Organizes materials, design changes, and production schedules to keep products accurate and consistent.
• Distribution and Wholesale: Improves order accuracy, keeps track of stock in warehouses, and speeds up deliveries while saving money.
• Automotive: Makes it easier to manage parts from many suppliers, build products on time, and work closely with partners.
• Electronics: Keeps track of parts and materials, manages how products are built, and gives a clear view of what is happening across factories.
• Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals: Watches over sensitive materials, checks product quality, and tracks every item from start to finish.

General Manufacturing: Connects purchasing, production, and sales to improve efficiency, cost control, and decision-making.

When searching for manufacturing software, you’ve probably seen the terms MRP and ERP. 

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MRP stands for Material Requirements Planning. Both systems help manufacturers organize and manage operations, but they focus on different levels of the business. 

ERP manufacturing software connects all parts of a company, including finance, HR, sales, purchasing, and manufacturing, in one centralized platform. 

This allows everyone in the company, regardless of if they work on the manufacturing side of the business or not, to access the same data, improving collaboration and decision-making across the board. It’s not just horizontal communication and understanding that improves, but managers and c-suite can monitor performance, identify problems, and plan growth using accurate insights. Nowadays cloud manufacturing ERPs are available, meaning they can be accessed anywhere and expanded with new tools as the business grows.  

MRPs on the other hand are designed and focus primarily on production. 

It helps manufacturers plan material requirements and production planning. You’d want to use an MRP if you’re looking for something to help you manage materials, manufacturing orders, and inventory to keep production efficient and uninterrupted. It is especially useful for smaller or mid-sized manufacturers that need to balance stock levels, reduce waste, and keep production on time.

Digit combines the strengths of MRP and ERP in one connected cloud system. 

It helps manufacturers plan materials, schedule jobs, and track production like an MRP, while also managing finance, sales, and supply chain data like an ERP.

At a certain point as a business grows, an ERP becomes essential. It’ll give you a single system to manage everything from production to payroll across multiple locations or departments. With ERP, you can:  

• Align your teams, 
• Standardize processes, and 
• Gain complete visibility into your entire business.

MRP is ideal if your main challenges involve: 

• Material shortages,
• Excess stock, or 
• Late production runs. 

It gives manufacturers control over purchasing, inventory, and scheduling so that materials are available when needed and costs stay manageable.