Have you ever found yourself looking at your team’s output, and wishing they were just a bit more efficient?
Are you tired of watching them:
- enter the same information in different places multiple times…
- fail to pass the baton effectively at various stages in your operations…
- or struggle to make decisions, because they don’t have the right information?
In this post, we’ll share the 3 key advantages your manufacturing company can gain by making your various applications and systems talk to one another.
Ultimately, these will allow you to reduce the time your team spends on each order, and can have a significant impact on your profit margins.
Let’s dive in…
Cut Down On Manual Data Entry
The first thing we’ll draw your attention to is this…
How many times in the lifecycle of a client, or an order, does your team enter the same information into your various systems?
How long does that take them?
How much would you be able to reduce your overhead and your labor hours if any time your team entered data, it was instantly synced with every team member?
Think about it… if you were able to shave five minutes off each time your team enters data into the system, how much time would you save. Consider:
- Every quote.
- Every Order
- Every invoice.
- Every change order.
- Every daily log.
- Every weekly production report.
- Every QA report.
If you have all your systems integrated, the information is all in one place, and you’re “picking up where you left off” each time, rather than starting fresh.
Best of all, clients will be saved from the frustration of answering the same questions multiple times, and improve your relationships with them.
The Problem With “Loose” Integration
We understand that at this point, your systems are probably sending data back and forth to some capacity. However, most of the businesses we work with are relying on what we call “a loose integration.”
Loose integrations are systems that send information back and forth at scheduled points (either when someone takes a particular action or a time-based cadence).
A loose integration is a lot like a leaky faucet. There’s always going to be something that slips through the cracks. Information (or water) builds up in a holding tank, and then rushes through all at once. There is almost always going to be something that slips through the cracks.
The problem with loosely integrated systems is that most of the time they don’t share a database. There are two distinct systems that interact when they are told to.
One of our clients’ existing systems was exchanging data between two applications – the data on the receiver side was being overwritten when there was a delay in the data consumption process.
That meant that the order data was overwriting the notes the customer service team was putting in, some of which were critical to the orders’ success. They’d had numerous instances where they had inaccurately labeled products for shipments.
What we propose is a two-way sync which will allow you to…
Trust Your Data
All too often, manufacturers are forced to rely on “their best guess” or anecdotal evidence because they don’t trust their data.
Having the right information at hand lets you make data-driven decisions, relying on facts and figures rather than your gut.
If you’re able to integrate all your various systems in one place, you can automate the creation of intelligent reports that track progress at every stage of your manufacturing process.
This empowers you, as an executive, to optimize your workflow, your staffing, and fuel your bottom line.
It also allows you to communicate with customers more effectively, forecasting order completion timelines and budget at every step in the process, even when unexpected delays occur. It gives your employees what they need to help your business grow.
We encourage you to take advantage of the money you’re putting into your business applications, rather than only getting half the benefits from it! You’re paying for these systems anyway, you want to make sure you’re getting the most you can from them.
How To Get Started
f you’re considering overhauling your systems, so they can provide more value to your client and your team, consider booking a Technology Modernization Call.
We’ll explore the opportunities for updating your legacy applications, streamlining processes and how you can do more with the right tools.