Challenges that plagued the manufacturing industry in 2022 are not showing any signs of slowing down, leaving business leaders with the monumental task of dealing with these issues—or at least their remnants— all while pushing innovation, meeting customer demand, and driving operational growth.
Surely, there will be new trials and tribulations but the beginning of 2023 also welcomes endless opportunities, posing the perfect time for companies to reassess their business operations and set in stone their plan towards running a successful enterprise.
Here are some of the things that could help business leaders in weathering the challenges that the new year has to offer:
Learning to say no to manual processes
A whitepaper published by Global Shop Solutions said manual processes act like “anchors” for businesses, slowing down production times and increasing the chances for error. Transitioning to automation could help businesses in their goal of reducing labour costs, eliminating waste through more efficient inventory processes, reducing turnaround times with CAD, and future-proofing operations through efficient forecast capabilities.
Going paperless on the shop floor
Being able to transform transitional business operations into smart factories entails a long list of traits. This includes capabilities as simple as efficiently and rapidly moving materials and parts throughout the shop floor. Solutions are now capable of enabling operators to have a wealth of information on the shop floor without huge piles of paperwork following materials around.
“You can produce reliable count verifications and updates, run cycle counts in real-time, and make on-the-fly adjustments to part and lot-bin counts – all without printing a single sheet of paper,” Global Shop Solutions said.
Tapping into job cost accounting solutions
According to Global Shop Solutions, business leaders equipped with Job Costing Accounting Software have a huge advantage as they have the power to immediately know the cost breakdown for freight, labour, overhead, outside services, and material.
Aside from being able to view old and new quantities, the software also offers operators a time-lapse view of every part that has passed through the shop floor.
Automating inventory processes
Delivering parts to customers on time should be a no-brainer for modern businesses with the availability of automated inventory processes. An automated system not only allows business leaders to manage inventory in real-time, but it also enables them to make business-critical decisions in a timely manner.
Effectively controlling labour costs
Labour costs are typically one of the biggest items on the P&L, but they are also the hardest to track with precision.
A worker’s time and attendance on the job could be inaccurately recorded or overtime hours could be poorly managed. Automating this aspect of operations will improve the business leaders’ capability to address these workforce issues.
