The small and midsized manufacturers we work with understand the need to update their manufacturing and supply chain processes. Our clients are pressed for resources, especially time, needed to make sweeping changes to take full advantage of newly affordable manufacturing technology.
While a complete overhaul may seem like the only way forward, impactful operational improvements can be made in stages. In sustainability circles, the mantra “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle,” helps remind practitioners that sustainability is not made of a single large change, but many small changes. This kind of sustainability is also great way to approach operational improvements in an age of rapid change.
Reduce – Delete Technical Debt and Unnecessary Work
A great deal of technical debt in manufacturing is connected to the use of data outside of an ERP. If you have a data management system but still have processes that require paper, white boards or Excel spreadsheets, you have technical debt you can eliminate. Triple Helix helped Turbine Support Services (TSS) make the data in its ERP visible to shop line employees. Using our Triple Helix View System, TSS saved time and reduced the personnel required to fill orders.
Reuse – Don’t Replace Your ERP, Improve It
As the TSS example shows, you don’t have to replace your ERP software to improve operational efficiency. The power of an ERP is that you have all of your data in one place. When you manage any data outside of the ERP, you are limiting the impact of that data for your entire operation. Instead, think of your ERP as an iPhone your entire organization can connect to. If you add a data-connective “app” to your ERP, you provide your organization a way to connect data to any process and allow the data to be viewed and updated at multiple stages in real time.
Recycle – Use Your Data Over and Over
Improve workflows and operational efficiency one “app” at a time, or with a suite of them focused on a segment of your business (management, manufacturing, logistics, support, etc.). In either case you are helping your organization to leverage the same data all in real time…and that saves your organization time and money.
Sustainable growth is dependent on many factors, but don’t let data management issues be a drag on your operational efficiency. Triple Helix has helped many manufacturers like TSS find solutions to “small” problems that provided a large impact to the bottom line.
Our Phase 0 Review can help your executive, operations, and administrative areas assess where opportunities exist for improvements. Contact us to learn more about our process and how it can help your business.
