ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) is a business process management software that integrates a company's financials, supply chain, operations, commerce, reporting, manufacturing, and human resource activities. While ERP is getting better at meeting the needs of various industries, most of the software doesn't go beyond typical business processes. If you are a chemical manufacturer, it's crucial that you choose an ERP for chemical manufacturing designed for your industry.
Chemical manufacturers have specific needs. Finding software designed for formula-based manufacturing will maximize efficiency, ultimately saving time and money and promoting growth.
VicinityChem is a comprehensive ERP software system designed for chemical manufacturers. Our chemical manufacturing software grows as you grow, allowing you to unify your business departments, improve operations and drive sustainable growth.
ERP for chemical manufacturing
Unique needs of the chemical manufacturing industry include tracking production at the recipe level. VicinityChem's detailed tracking features give you more flexibility than you would have with traditional manufacturing software systems.
For instance, your company's recipe may differ from the standard recipe with additions or substitutions. Your software must be able to document exactly what you used and designate it as standard or adjusted.
Achieving the same results with other systems would require much more work. You'd have to set up a new job for every possible combination of materials that go into your product. Then you would need to set up a new job for every bulk production run.
The traditional way requires more data entry, which wastes time and often leads to errors. It also requires more manual accounting. For instance, if you need to increase recipes for bulk production, you would have to divide your results. That makes it hard to capture actual yield totals and accurately trace individual lots.
Software designed specifically for chemical manufacturers considers the unique requirements of your industry. It will be able to adapt to several variations.
4 features to look for in software built for chemical manufacturers
1. Yield variations
Chemical manufacturers often deal with numerous products in varying quantities. Can your ERP solution handle variations from one batch to the next? When your product yields are non-standard, it will affect several areas. If additional materials are needed, you may face shortages resulting in the delayed shipment of finished products, increased expediting costs, and quality control issues.
If the actual formula yield doesn't align with theoretical yields, you will likely not see the profit margin you hoped for.
2. Ingredients variations
Traditional systems require that you use the exact ingredients and quantities every time. When selecting different components or producing different amounts, you must create an additional log to support each variation. Accounting for and tracking alternative ingredients and quantities without having to create new logs is a feature that can save extra work for chemical manufacturers.
When you alter formulas, you may need to review the previous versions. You'll want a record of the changes made and the results of those changes. You may want to revert to an earlier formula. Your chemical manufacturing ERP should be able to manage old formulas, newly commercialized formulas, and experimental formulas.
A tool that can process substitutions in chemical ingredients that occur in multiple formulas can save a great deal of time and reduce the likelihood of error. With VicinityChem, you can select a chemical to replace or substitute in one, many, or all formulas.
3. Packaging variations
As a chemical manufacturer, you produce batches of your product and then package it in various sizes. Most systems require entering a new batch or job each time packaging specifics change.
The ability to easily track bulk production runs and incorporate variations in packaging saves time and resources. For example, your bulk production may be packaged in 1, 5, or 55-gallon containers. Grouping this production by formula can reduce the number of jobs and provide other economies of scale.
Where possible, you can create one batch ticket that produces multiple end items. This will result in fewer batches in production and improved quality
4. Scheduling by formula
ERP for chemical manufacturing should seamlessly manage interdependent production runs and report outputs at each stage. It should calculate variable inputs and log intermediate batches and by-products or co-products created along the way.
Formula manufacturers frequently schedule their production runs when they receive orders. This allows them to control overages or excess stock. However, machine setup and clean-up time increase substantially with the production of small individual batches. Batch yields can vary greatly depending on some of the factors cited above. Grouping production batches by formula or setup will minimize machine downtime, decrease production costs, and reduce waste.
VicinityChem's scheduling module gives complete control over your production schedule, allowing you to group batches together when a formula or setup is shared. Production costs can be divided and associated with individual orders. The cost per unit is less, and the profit margin is greater.
VicinityChem's all-in-one ERP software system seamlessly addresses the unique challenges of your chemical manufacturing process. It eliminates the need for time-consuming and error-prone workarounds required to use traditional manufacturing software systems. Our product empowers your team with an accurate, centralized data set and a host of features that can save time and money while reducing errors.
Explore our industry-specific solutions to learn how Vicinity's formula manufacturing software can address your unique needs. our team at Vicinity for a demo.
By Vicinity Software,
