Manufacturing Management Software: How to Adopt Effective Digital Transformation Strategies for Your Work Order Optimization

Supply chain disruptions, changes in buyer behavior and market demand, lockdowns are all contributing greatly to the overall risk faced by the manufacturers. Adapting to an ever-changing economic environment and finding efficient ways to operate are now the primary goals for production as well as for so many other industries.

Here’s why to improve work order management means to enhance efficiency, product quality, boost both employees’ and customers’ satisfaction, and, eventually, reach higher profitability.

Manufacturing work order management challenges

It’s not easy to gain a competitive edge in today's fast-paced manufacturing landscape. Below  are listed the top 10 work order management challenges companies need to overcome to achieve success in manufacturing.

1. Scheduling and prioritization. Efficiently scheduling work orders and prioritizing them based on factors like order deadlines, resource availability, and production capacity can be challenging. Balancing conflicting priorities while ensuring on-time delivery requires careful planning.
2. Resource allocation. Assigning the right personnel, machinery, and materials to each work order is crucial. Managing resource availability and preventing overbooking or underutilization can be difficult, especially in dynamic production environments.
3. Inaccuracies in inventory tracking, including specifications and quantities, can lead to delays and production interruptions if required materials are not available.
4. Fluctuating demand for products can lead to challenges in work order management. Handling sudden spikes or drops in demand while maintaining efficient production levels requires agile planning and flexible processes.
5. Change management. Manufacturing processes may need to be adjusted due to factors like design changes, material availability, or quality issues. Managing changes to work orders while minimizing disruptions requires effective change management protocols.
6. Miscommunication or lack of collaboration between various departments involved in the production process can lead to errors, delays, and confusion.
7. Complexity of products. Some manufacturing processes involve complex assemblies or customizations. Managing work orders for intricate products requires careful planning to ensure all components are available and assembled correctly.
8. Quality control and regulatory compliance. Work order management must incorporate quality checks at various stages to prevent defects and rework. Ensuring that work orders comply with particular regulations and standards adds an additional layer of complexity to the manufacturing management.
9. Lack of real-time visibility into the progress of work orders can hinder decision-making. Having up-to-date information on work order statuses, production rates, and resource utilization is essential for effective manufacturing management.
10. Balancing the costs associated with production, labor, and materials while maintaining profitability is a constant challenge in work order management.

Adopting digital transformation strategies for manufacturing

Now is as good a time as ever to reconsider the methods and metrics used by manufacturing companies to track progress.

Up-to-date data acquisition and its accurate analysis allow getting valuable and more comprehensive insights into factory operations.

Using manufacturing management software for

a) team communication 

b) defining tasks clearly 

c) assigning the responsible workers 

d) tracking specific management KPIs 

can streamline the business processes and boost productivity rates.

Adopting custom manufacturing work order software

Adopting and employing custom, in-house software empowers the alignment of both manual and automated activities with quickly-changing market requirements and ever-growing customer needs.

Moreover, custom software can be tailored to evolve with changing ESG regulations, industry standards, and your organization's specific goals and priorities.It enables better control, visibility, and impact in managing your supply chain's environmental, social, and governance aspects.

There is a lot at stake, particularly operational efficiency, top performance quality, and reduced product development costs.

One of the ways to help organizations make their processes autonomous and easily operated is integrating work order management software into the routine.

 

Digital Transformation of Work Order Management | Case Studies

Check out how to gain full control over work order process, boost its transparency and efficiency regardless of your company’s industry, based on our customers’ digital transformation experience:

• A SaaS facility management app with dozens of renown clients
• Manufacturing workflow management software
• Contractors services management app

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Manufacturing work order management software features

Building manufacturing work order management software from scratch enables complete customization of the technology to suit specific companies’ needs. Some of the basic features for making the operations more efficient include:

• Creation of the work orders and their modifications by authorized staff. Keeping all the tasks in one system with necessary requirements and people responsible fosters better workforce and work order organization, which leads to more efficient planning and execution. One more way to optimize plant operations is to design a calendar for smooth task scheduling.
• Getting up-to-date information regarding the status of the tasks. Receiving status updates and tracking tasks as they move from initial entry to task completion allows company leaders to monitor how fast and accurately the work orders are processed.
• Accurate reporting system. Manufacturing management software gathers data from each task in a system that makes it easier to track an organization’s performance metrics and record whether the company is in line with operational goals.
• Easy access to the system through mobile devices. Working at the manufacturing plant suggests spending the majority of the time out, on the plant floors or outside. To have access to work orders anywhere on or off-site, a manufacturing mobile app is the best solution that accounts for flexibility, convenience, and smooth tasks transition with just a click.

How can companies benefit from implementing manufacturing management software to transform their business processes digitally? 

Implementing manufacturing work order management software into your routine will result in scaling up your business. Here are the benefits you can get:

• Better efficiency rates. Automating manufacturing operations on a plant saves lots of time. It allows companies to get rid of keeping manual records and manage the work orders from one centralized system for increased productivity. Manufacturing work order software minimizes the risks of errors, disorganization, and inefficiency. 
• Improved data acquisition and detailed reports. Getting insights into how work orders are processed provides a better chance for companies to create and accomplish growth goals. While comparing real-time information to KPIs, organizations stand a better chance to understand where their company is and how to achieve their strategic plans.
• Gaining controlled access with a complex user role system. Only authorized users will be able to create and assign tasks, design schedules, while for other workers only viewing, changing work order status, and reporting is allowed. A complex user role system fosters accountability and keeps valuable information intact.
• Real-time insights into operational processes with a tracking system. By building or integrating work order tracking, allows companies to improve the management of orders’ completion. Inventory tracking helps organizations stay on top of their supply and discover shortages faster.

A chance for production transformation

Manufacturing industry is facing long-lasting changes, consisting in reconsidering the established processes to increase efficiency while maintaining the safety measures and ESG compliance.

Reimagining and upgrading the way things are done positions organizations in a place for growth, even when the times are challenging.

By accelerating the digital transformation in manufacturing, companies have all the chances to recover from the crisis with safer, more efficient, and more flexible manufacturing processes.

If you need any technical support, our expert development team can easily assist you. Just let us know!

Want to know more? Check out: 

• Case study of a work order management software
• How Custom ERP Development for Manufacturing Can Drive - or Kill - Digital Disruption
• Manufacturing Workforce Management App: How to Reinforce Your Business with Digital Technologies
• Mobile Apps for Manufacturing: Types and Features That Reshape Industry
• WIP Tracking Software: Your Key To Manufacturing Excellence
• How To Build Your Supply Chain Metrics Dashboard to Make Better Business Trade-offs