Survey Says: ERP Not Keeping Up

Manufacturing is getting more complex and enterprise resource planning software (ERP) is struggling to keep up, a study from enterprise software vendor IFS North America reveals.

More than 80 percent of respondents to a study of executives of mid- to large-sized manufacturing companies said their businesses are running multiple business models or manufacturing modes, but only 15 percent indicated their enterprise software adequately handles all of the different modes they are engaged in.

Of the 83 percent of respondents running multiple manufacturing modes, 76 percent are making products-to-order, 55 percent are making products-to-stock, and 34 percent are assembling-to-order. Respondents said that enterprise software like ERP was able to handle relatively simple modes like make to stock better than it could more complex, engineering-intensive modes like engineer-to-order. The study was based on a survey conducted in December of 2010 among more than 200 executives at manufacturing companies with more than $100 million in revenue.

The study, which examines not only the increasing trend towards mixed-mode manufacturing but the green supply chain issue, will become publically available in February.