The trend of sustainability is here to stay, and today more modern manufacturing companies are linking sustainability to their long-term organisational viability. One tool that can be utilised when incorporating sustainable practices is the company's ERP system. For most manufacturing organisations, the ERP system is the main digital artery of production, ensuring a constant flow in production. Therefore, it is also highly relevant to make sure to include the ERP system as it can have a major impact on both sustainability and efficiency.
IFS Applications and LEAN
An ERP system such as IFS Applications makes it possible to work in new ways by operating from a LEAN manufacturing concept with planning tools that create transparency throughout the organisation, eliminating disorder and arranging activities in the most appropriate order. In short, quality, costs and transport are streamlined, which helps to reduce waste on several parameters, creating both environmental and financial benefits.
The purpose of LEAN manufacturing is to reduce production costs and maximise efficiency, which includes eliminating unnecessary waste that does not add value to the product, such as overproduction, defects, waiting time, transportation, unnecessary movement in production, unused knowledge, extra processing and large inventories. The effect can therefore be seen on the sustainability of the value chain, because only what is needed is produced in the most appropriate way. IFS Applications allows production to utilise tools such as Demand Planning (MRP), which creates automation in purchasing and production planning and provides a very accurate picture of what is needed from day to day. At the same time, IFS also provides ample opportunity for good knowledge sharing, as documents and history can follow you around the system, which counteracts unnecessary movement and unutilised knowledge because the knowledge bank is always at your fingertips.
The importance of sustainability is constantly growing these days, with more people adopting it as part of their values. By adopting a sustainable approach, manufacturing companies will not only be responding to consumer trends, but also have great opportunities for increased profits and new competitive advantages.
