You are here: / / Optimising Production for Engineering Firms Guide

FMIS GUIDES

Optimising Production for Engineering Firms Guide

Master the four key phases in optimising complex production for your engineering firm with the FMIS Guide.

Download the guide

    Your Name*

    Your Company*

    Your Email*

    * Required fields

    Optimising complex production for Engineering

    Efficient production for engineering firms requires a different approach and different tools to both traditional manufacturing and to other business functions. Many engineering businesses have invested heavily in ERP systems that provide excellent support for their project-based consultancy processes, but what happens when you have a division or subsidiary that manufactures, builds or assembles engineered products?

    A square peg in a round hole

    Business units that manufacture products in primarily professional services based firms are often dependent on ill-suited systems and processes because they function differently from other areas of the business. Typically, this will result in one of three outcomes.

    1. Relying on workarounds to fit with the parent ERP system
    2. Employing standalone production control software and processes
    3. Implementing a separate ERP system for the affected business unit

    The four phases to optimise production

    The guide looks at the four different phases of complex production that you need to optimise to cut production lead times and costs while improving control and visibility. These phases are:
    Four phases of production engineering

    1. Product phase

    One significant difference between engineering and other types of manufacturing or fabrication is its relative complexity. The materials purchased, production processes and the final product are seldom simple or standardised. In the product phase, you will focus on building flexibility and managing complexity.

    2. Order processing phase

    Effectively managing orders at each stage from quote to despatch is essential in optimising any type of production. This phase will cover sales quotes, sales orders and purchasing,  RFQs and finally despatch.

    3. Build phase

    The third element to optimise is the production process. As with the first two stages, engineering production is usually more complicated than batch production. Engineering projects typically deal with small production runs or one-off jobs that may involve re-kitting between jobs and work to a critical project path. In this phase, we bring together the two main elements of stock control and the work orders to transform materials into finished products.

    4. Accounts phase

    The final phase is the accounting phase. Optimising engineering production depends on having access to the right information when required and then having the processes to make changes based on that data. Here we deal with creating the reporting and journals required by the business to make the best decisions both for production and for the firm as a whole.

    More information

    For more information on how to optimise your production processes with FMIS, please contact us via email at support@fmis.co.uk or call us on +44 (0) 1227 773003.

    SoftwareSuggest Award

    SoftwareSuggest Awards – FMIS recognised for easy implementation

    FMIS recognised for Easy Implementation in the SoftwareSuggest 2024 awards
    Asset Valuation Methods

    Asset Valuation Methods

    A comprehensive guide to Asset Valuation covering the four main methods, when to use them and the strengths and weakness of each
    NHS SBS Partner

    FMIS announces new NHS partnership

    FMIS announces new partnership with NHS Shared Business Services to supply FMIS Fixed Assets and IFRS 16 Leasing software to their clients.
    FMIS sponsors Govmoney 2019

    FMIS to sponsor GovMoney 2019

    FMIS to sponsor GovMoney2019 conference for public sector finance professionals.