Adding a New Manufacturing Plant to Your ERP System? No Problem.

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Adding-PlantWhen you think of an ERP implementation, one of the first things that usually comes to mind is the process of converting your whole business from one system to a new one. A subset of the total business system conversion is the addition of a recently acquired business or new facility. As a testament to our strong customer base and their growing businesses, we have had many requests of late to add a new entity to an existing EnterpriseIQ installation. These requests have encompassed many different scenarios:

  • The customer just bought a company that services a different market and may have different manufacturing processes than their current operation. They would like to bring the new business up on EnterpriseIQ.
  • The customer just bought a facility in another country and wants to bring them online with EnterpriseIQ.
  • The customer is opening a new plant/warehouse and needs to get them up and running as soon as possible.
  • The customer has a sister division that they would like to convert over to EnterpriseIQ.

Every one of the above scenarios has a unique approach on how to get the new entity or entities live on EnterpriseIQ, but all require three key elements: adaptable foundation technology, capable support and services from the ERP vendor and a solid internal team at the customer.

Fortunately, IQMS has incorporated foundation technologies that enable our customers to expand their businesses. For example:

  • Our EPlant functionality allows for separate tax ID businesses to operate on the same instance of your existing EnterpriseIQ installation. EPlants are also used for new facilities that require the segregation of inventory, equipment, personnel and financials.
  • Multi-Currency and Multi-Language tools allow our customers to run the software in different countries.
  • Multiple manufacturing types provide the flexibility needed to operate diverse manufacturing processes within the same ERP system and still be able to see the detail needed to run the shop floor. Manufacturing types can even be mixed and matched within a facility. This allows for the accurate modeling of your manufacturing operations.

In addition to the foundation technology IQMS provides, our professional services team can assist your personnel in bringing the new entity online. We have support staff located in North America, Europe and Asia that are multilingual and understand the localization requirements for many countries.

In a recent example, a customer was able to bring online a newly acquired Mexico facility in two months. This was a total conversion for the new site and a third plant for the existing customer. All of the new personnel needed to be trained on EnterpriseIQ functionality and trained on the corporate policies and procedures already established. It took a total team effort from not only the customer’s corporate personnel and key personnel from the new facility, but also from several IQMS departments (training, support, professional services, development and EDI). The customer had a knowledgeable internal corporate team and a dedicated team at the new facility. With all three key elements aligned, this implementation came in on time and was deemed a success.

I would be interested in hearing your experiences incorporating new facilities into your current business. Any tips you can offer to make the transition smoother?

IQMS

For more than 25 years, IQMS has been designing and developing manufacturing ERP software for the repetitive, process and discrete industries. Today, IQMS provides a comprehensive real-time ERP software and MES solution to the automotive, medical, packaging, consumer goods and other manufacturing markets. The extended single-database enterprise software solution, EnterpriseIQ, offers a scalable system designed to grow with the client and complete business functionality, including accounting, quality control, supply chain, shop floor, CRM and eBusiness. With offices across North America, Europe and Asia, IQMS serves manufacturers around the world. For more information, please visit iqms.com.