Getting answers to your business questions doesn’t have to be hard. All you need is good ERP software. It can keep your shop organized and make finding information a breeze. If you’re using spreadsheets or not using software at all, you could make a dramatic difference in your shop just by implementing an ERP; slash the time and effort…
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Things change quickly in job shops, and it’s important to make sure everyone can keep up. However, it’s hard to talk to people on the shop floor while social distancing. The more your shop is optimizing for things like profitability and meeting due dates, the more often you might need to communicate with the folks on the…
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If your shop is having scheduling problems, it’s common to assume that they are because of the scheduling department. That may be true sometimes, but there are many other reasons your scheduling department may be having trouble. Those reasons might come from different departments in your shop. Below are the four most common sources of concern for your scheduling department from other areas. Purchasing Sometimes, scheduling problems can come from purchasing….
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When you boil it down to essentials, a successful job shop sends out its jobs on time and makes money on every job. Getting to this point can be difficult, especially if your shop uses paper to track everything. It’s hard to know if you made money on a job if you don’t know how…
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2020 has hit hard. As manufacturers reopen and continue to find ways to keep their employees safe and their machines running, efficiency and improvements become even more important. Technology can help any job shop become more efficient and keep it running. Below are three ways ERP software can assist a shop post-lockdown to run even…
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Before you start looking at ERP software, it’s helpful to have goals for what you want the software to do. These goals act as your shop’s North Star when you’re looking at ERP software. Most ERP systems will make your shop better in one way or another. However, if you want to be sure it’s…
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Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software encompasses many things. You probably know it can help you run your entire job shop, but what exactly does that mean? In general, ERP software helps your shop operate more efficiently and gives you the data you need to run it better. Specifically, it can help improve your job shop…
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Over the years, ERP software has been changing to help fit its users’ needs. Most recently, those needs have made software that is safe, accessible, and smart. Imagine being able to hold all of the information you need to run your shop in the palm of your hand, and access it from anywhere. What if…
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Running a job shop is difficult work, and each has specific needs. However, there are four building blocks, along with a good ERP software, that can help any job shop. With accurate invoicing, a broad customer base, great customer relationships, and efficient scheduling, any job shop will have a great foundation to succeed. Accurate Invoicing…
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Many people have been working from home over the past few months, and one of the side effects they’ve seen is fewer meetings. There’s a joke that many meetings could have just been emails. Now people are seeing the truth behind that. There are many things in a machine shop that you can’t do from…
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5S is a method for organizing workspaces and entire shops to be more efficient, effective, and safe. 5S started in Japan as part of the Toyota Production System, and it’s one tool used in lean manufacturing. However, you don’t need to implement lean manufacturing or know anything about the Toyota Production System to use 5S…
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We’re going to continue to see the impact from COVID-19 for a long time. Your shop has probably already had to make changes, and you may have to make more. As long as you’re making changes in your shop, it may be time to think through some improvements you’ve been considering. These improvements can be…
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Having great customer relationships is always important. Change is constant, so it’s important for your customers to know that they can count on your shop. The two steps to making strong customer relationships are communicating and building trust. Communicate Changes At the beginning of the pandemic, you probably received many emails about what various companies…
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There’s been a lot of upheaval and changes in the last few months. For some manufacturers, they have fewer employees working, but a similar amount of work to get done. Whether these employees are out on sick leave, were laid off, or any other reason, that leaves the shop owner to figure out how to…
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Many people end up managing a machine shop because they started it. When they started, their shop was small. However, as their shop grew, they hired more people until they were doing more managing than they were working the machines. For others, they came into a management position more directly. No matter how you got…
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Whether you’re changing a process in your shop or implementing new software, there are specific ways to address change in every kind of shop. For instance, just because some things work well for repetitive manufacturers, doesn’t mean they’ll work well for a job shop. You need strategies that work with your shop’s operations. Below are…
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You probably know that an ERP system can make your shop more efficient. However, did you know that it can also save your shop money? An ERP system can have a great impact on your bottom line by allowing you to eliminate work, work more quickly, and accurately quote and schedule. Eliminate Work Many shops…
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You’ve probably heard the expression, “Time is money.” Nowhere is that truer than on the shop floor. The longer a job takes, the more it costs to run, which means that tracking this time is critical. To get the most accurate numbers, consider job time tracking software. Often the part of an ERP system, job…
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Wouldn’t it be great if you could spend less time on paperwork? You’ve got enough on your plate without having to create every report or email every customer. You can’t delegate this to someone on the shop floor, and your office staff is already busy. What you need is a middle manager, or software, that…
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Scheduling can be one of the most complicated parts of running a shop. Each job is just a little different, particularly if you’re running a job shop. That can make it hard to schedule and make sure that each job finishes by the due date. This process gets even more complicated when you’re trying to…
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Three Leading Causes of Bottlenecks (And How Job Scheduling Software Can Help) Has another bottleneck slowed your shop’s production? There are few things more detrimental to a shop’s success than a bottleneck. It creates havoc up and down the production line and could cause you to miss deadlines with multiple customers. A bottleneck could even…
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How do you manage your shop schedule? Do you use scheduling software? Or do you have a simpler system, such as a whiteboard, a spreadsheet, or maybe even a bunch of post-it notes on the shop wall? If you have resisted the urge to invest in scheduling software, now may be the time to reconsider….
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There’s one constant in every machine shop – change. You can have the most detailed plans and processes in the world, but if you can’t facilitate change, you’re going to have difficulty being successful in the manufacturing world. Nowhere is the ability to adapt more important than in your scheduling process. If your shop is…
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How often are you hitting your customer’s delivery deadlines? One-hundred percent of the time? Ninety percent? Less than 80 percent? If hitting deadlines are a problem for you, don’t worry. You’re not alone. Many machine shops struggle with the challenges of meeting customer demands. And let’s face it – customers can be pretty demanding. They…
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You sit down at your computer and see a familiar sight. It’s another email from another frustrated customer. They want to know when their job will be complete. When will it ship? What’s taking so long? How much longer? Do these questions sound familiar? Are you getting complaints from customers about your long turnaround time…
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