Category: Manufacturing
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The Devastating Impact of Too Much WIP: How Excess Inventory Kills Manufacturing Flow
In manufacturing, WIP (Work in Progress or Work in Process) refers to partially finished goods that are at various stages of production but not yet completed. In accounting terms, WIP represents the value of raw materials, labor, and overhead that has been invested in unfinished product. Reducing WIP is a frequently cited goal for many…
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Solving Wood Products Planning and Scheduling Challenges with Master Item Planner
Table of Contents Manufacturing wood products is not for the faint of heart. As if seasonal and economy-based demand variability weren’t enough, working with organic raw materials such as wood inherently leads to manufacturing process variability. Skilled workers and robust processes are needed to ensure sustainable operations despite thin margins in this highly competitive market.…
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The Role of Algorithms in Production Planning and Scheduling
By: John Maher | January 20, 2025 | 7 min read In my last post, I talked about the challenges of using spreadsheets to manage production planning and scheduling in complex manufacturing. Some of you have probably experienced those challenges first-hand, but if you want to read that post, you can access it here. If you’re…
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Will 2025 be the Year You Finally Ditch the Spreadsheets?
It’s January 2025, and many of the manufacturers I know are still neck-deep in strategic and operational planning. They need to get better at meeting customer commitments this year. They need to cut waste. They need to trim costs. They need to cut lead times to remain competitive. Most of all, they need to cut…
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ERP is an Oxymoron
Have you ever had one of those moments when a thought hits you that is so obvious that you wonder why it never occurred to you before? I just decided that there couldn’t be a technology less aptly named than Enterprise Resource Planning, more commonly known as ERP. Before I go into why, let me…
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Going Lean: Should You Replace Your ERP System?
By Trey Jordan, Senior Software Consultant Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) has been around for decades. You’d think, by now, the industry would have it figured out. Yet, every year, we hear news about ERP implementations that fail. For every one of these high-profile flops, there are many, many more implementations that simply fail to live…