In this content we will discover how the implementation of an ERP for the manufacturing sector simplifies and optimizes business processes, obtaining a competitive advantage in terms of production and ROI.

According to a study on the manufacturing industry published by McKinsey *, most executives surveyed are convinced that correcting current inefficiencies in data management could increase productivity by 25%. Has your company adopted an ERP that allows you to do this?
A state-of-the-art vertical ERP allows to improve data management between different business areas, optimize production costs, up to a positive ROI in a short time.

Choice of ERP for a manufacturing company: vertical or “generalist”?

Why choose a vertical ERP?

The answer is simple: a vertical ERP allows you to natively cover the typical dynamics of the sector with its own functionalities.
Thanks to the ERP you can manage multiple business functions and allows you to have a unique view of the multiple processes, for example production, of the company. So you go into an optimized management of corporate resources, in fact you can manage, among others, the areas: Finance, Procurement, Supply Chain, Human Resource Management, Marketing by automating specific processes.

Why not choose a “generalist” ERP?

A generalist ERP in the medium term can lead to various critical issues for the company that adopts it. The reasons are many, such as:

• poor productivity management skills
• difficulties in the growth phase of the company
• lack of modules for the management of particular company information flows
• difficulty or impossibility of customizations
• partial or rigid integrations with other information systems

System Integrator ERP Manufacturing

At the same time, a System Integrator who has a specific know-how built by working on sector projects, becomes a competitive advantage over competitors. In fact, knowing the logic and production processes allows you to have an aware view of the company both from a consultancy and from a design perspective.
Sarce is a System Integrator with a team specialized on ERP verticalizations for manufacturing companies, for over 40 years. We have adopted Sage X3 as ERP for manufacturing companies thanks to its modularity and flexibility features that allow us to carry out projects with a positive ROI for the customer.

With the right ERP and System Integrator you improve business performance
ERP is truly performing when the System Integrator allows you to facilitate the management and control of processes, including:

• Improve production: in fact, you can analyze which are the most common stalls and identify the improvement solutions, thanks to the possibility of having an analysis of company performance
  Automate processes: you can automate repetitive processes in order to “free up” resources for activities with greater added value
• Optimize the supply chain: supply flows, warehouse, transport and inventory are optimized
• Single vision: you have a single vision of the business and of the different areas, reducing fragmentation and silos
• Centralize information from different data sources in order to avoid multiple data mismatches with a high time cost
• Share specific information and reports quickly and easily
• Adhere to certification standards
• Improve and support business growth
• Promote exports
• Manage multiple taxes

Sage X3 ERP Manufactoring

Let’s take a closer look at some processes that through Sage X3, Sarce optimizes to give customers the maximum of its market expertise.

Improve production

The production management scope of Sage X3 is able to improve processes, planning and controlling performance by developing different strategies and diversified production planning methods such as: Make to Stock, Assemble to Order, Make to Order, Engineer to Order and Lean Production.
Planning can benefit from MPS (Master Production Schedule) logics, a sophisticated calculation of net requirements and effective management of production orders with infinite and finite capacity, with multi-company and multi-warehouse logics.

Take back control of your processes

Eliminate inefficiencies, ensure compliance and streamline operations with end-to-end integration of your business processes and automated workflows. In fact, through workflows it is possible to “delegate” activities with low added value, in order to free up time for strategic activities.

Do more and faster

Increase user productivity and accelerate adoption with an intuitive web interface that users can easily customize to work however they want.

Get the information you want when you want

Evaluate risks and monitor performance in real time through reporting tools, self-service business intelligence. In fact, you access your data from mobile devices, check inventory, acquire customer orders, approve purchases and analyze key performance indicators on the go.
Plus, improve employee responsiveness with easier and faster access to the information they need. Increase cash flow and invest in growth. You will be able to easily manage sensitive issues such as purchase orders, subcontracts, import declarations and transactions.

Offer better service to your customers

With ready-to-use customer service features and integration with Microsoft Office and a host of other solutions, you’ll always have the tools you need to get the most out of every client interaction. Better visibility into all your customer relationships and make sure you’re making the right offers to the right customers at the right time.

Optimize cash flow

Free up capital for growth with a solution that controls the costs of all processes and constantly increases your profits. You will have a better view of all your purchases, you will be able to take advantage of the most affordable prices and discounts, and reallocate the money on the fly.

Expand into new markets

Elevate capacity, implement new processes, manage new business units, or expand business into new countries with a flexible management solution designed for growth and international business. You can manage over 50 localizations.

ROI

According to a report by Forrester Consulting, Sage X3 has generated multiple benefits in different areas of adoption:

• Administration and Accounting: thanks to SageX3 real-time reporting on purchases and warehouses, the control of resources is performed on a daily basis, generating better management of investments and employee working time.
• Purchases and Suppliers: the company has managed to streamline the entire purchasing process by making all offices adhere to company policies, generating an annual global saving of 4% on material costs.
• Sales: the organization, thanks to SageX3, is now able to monitor the entire customer activity and all the discounts that were previously authorized locally with a single system.
• Warehouse: by investing in SageX3 you get complete visibility on the entire storage process of all warehouses, so as to reduce the conservation of certain resources by 10% thanks to an increase in the average levels of inventory turnover.
• Production: SageX3 has led to the complete automation of most of the production sites, giving direct access to waste rates, the company can intervene and modify the production process if there is a waste of resources

We are a latest generation System Integrator: we provide software, consulting and services to accelerate the digital evolution of companies. Do you want to know how we can create value for yours?

Sage X3 is the ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) used by Italian and foreign SMEs. Given its flexibility and our ability to implement, Sarce offers its customers Sage X3.
The process of choosing an ERP certainly presents complexities because it is a software that must adapt to multiple business processes by interfacing with as many work areas, so it is very important to know the opinions of those who work on it every day. We have evaluated the opinions of users online to offer an overview of the Sage X3.

Compared to other players Sage X3 is characterized by:

• greater standard functional coverage
• greater user-side usability
• advanced technological architecture
• it is suitable for Italian and foreign companies (or those that export)

User reviews

Analyzing the opinions of Sage X3 online users, we note a very high overall rating (4.3 out of 5) out of a pool of 50 reviews.
Evaluating the results, there is a strong degree of satisfaction: medium-high for over 60% of users, while 32% declared top marks. Only the remaining 6% declare a “good” value.
The assessment criteria managed are 4 which include:

• ease of use
• customer care
• features
• value for money

Overall, the Sage X3’s rating is excellent and comes in at 4.3 on average.

By carrying out a sentiment analysis on the positive aspects of the product, you can find that Sage X3 is appreciated by users for the functional aspects integrated with aspects of ease of use that translate into versatility and speed. Furthermore, not a secondary aspect, a particular focus is placed on ROI.

Source: https://www.capterra.it/software/167769/sage-business-cloud-enterprise-management#reviews

Opinions of Sarce customers

What do Sarce customers think of Sage X3? Here are some testimonials:

“We needed an international product. Why Sage? For ease of integration and modeling; and compared to other ERPs, it proved to be the software that most of all could follow an evolution and customization. Why Sarce? For the skills of the people made available (..) prepared and pragmatic interlocutors”

Fabrizio Schiatti
IT Manager
Bertazzoni Kitchens

“(..) it was urgent for us to identify a new ERP solution that would allow us to be” ready for the future “thanks to an integrated and collaborative management of the company. Why Sage ERP X3? “(..) Intuitiveness, ease of use, ‘convenient and direct’ information extraction, ease of integration with our logistics and business intelligence solution.
Sarce, Business Partner of Sage ERP X3, has brought consolidated know-how on the automation of business processes and on the Litokol company. Fast learning and collaboration have characterized a successful implementation carried out quickly and which, thanks to Sarce’s experience, has never been ‘blocked'”.

Fabio Plazzi
President
Litokol

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We are a latest generation System Integrator: we provide software, consultancy and services to accelerate the digital evolution of companies. Do you want to know how we can create value for yours?

In this content you will find a guide on the ERP selection process, we will see the checklist to achieve the best software selection, the selection criteria and the different process steps. The software selection of the ERP is a process of selecting a delicate business software because it impacts on different business areas and, above all, the correct choice of the ERP is fundamental for the business of the company.

Here is the checklist for your software selection

Business objectives

It will seem obvious but the first element to take into consideration is the business goal in relation to the ERP change. Starting a selection is a complex process, so it’s best to write down clear and defined goals. There are several reasons for starting a selection, for example the improvement of business processes: the ERP adopted at the time (in Italy an ERP has an average life of about 10-15 years) no longer corresponds to the evolution of the company and / or the market, so in order not to lose competitiveness it is necessary to evaluate a new ERP.

Business requirements

Do a company audit, create functional interviews with the managers of the business areas involved in the adoption of a new ERP, listen to their needs, deepen their processes.
Once you have an overview of your specific needs, you need to trace the requirements.
Having shared the table / document, are they all in agreement? Are there any changes in progress? Update the list. As you can see, this phase alone presents complexities to manage.

Internal support

In choosing an ERP, internal support is an essential element. This should at best span two areas::

• Management: having a strong corporate endorsement allows you to “speed up” some choices and avoid company “stalemates” as much as possible
• Users: they are the users who will experience the strongest change operationally, so it is essential to know the operational limits in the use of ERP and to enhance their wishes, in terms of improving functionality. It is very useful for users to see the information material of the list of ERPs chosen in the selection.

Functional requirements

The functional requirements of your company are one of the most important elements in including or not an ERP in the software selection. Beyond the specificities of the company, it is better to start from the sector. Does the potential supplier offer me an ERP designed and built for my sector? Is the ERP designed for the size of your company?
Does the company work in Italy or does it need internationalization? Does the proposed ERP cover the legislative requirements relating to the administrative area?
In terms of customization, does the supplier have experience in my sector?
These and other questions are key to understanding if my company’s functional requirements will be covered.

Reliability of the software

The reliability of the ERP, the market share and other elements that determine its reliability are essential in the selection process. In fact, thinking of an “extreme” scenario, the adoption of an ERP created by a software house more exposed to the market, could lead, in the worst case scenario, to its closure and this would mean the end of assistance and implementations

Integration with existing systems

What is the degree of integration with existing systems of the future ERP?
For example, the company works with calculation tools such as Excel so it would like this type of file to be integrated with the ERP. Is it natively or will a customization be required?

ROI and budget

For an ERP project you clearly need to have a budget available.
The most expensive ERP may not necessarily be the most useful solution for your company (the opposite is also true).
However, reflections arise from the budget theme that define a context:

• average life of the ERP, which in Italy is around 10-15 years
• How much is the old ERP causing the company to lose in terms of competitiveness?
• ROI, or the return on investment: can we estimate it?

Future technology and scalability

Technology is another factor to be taken into consideration, for the simple fact that an obsolete technology could affect the life cycle of the ERP. And this is useful for ensuring security at the platform level, minimizing intervention times and assistance / maintenance costs by offering greater autonomy on the user and IT side which translates into lower operational management costs, for example on opening tickets.

Evaluate and select your options

In the different ERP and supplier options, the analysis is very often managed through a file where you have the list of features / requirements. Of each ERP you should be able to evaluate their respective strengths and weaknesses, against multiple objectives, as mentioned above. A score is assigned to each item. Does the best for a specific need turn out to be the best for the others?

Reliability of the supplier

As mentioned above for the software, the evaluation of the reliability of the supplier side is important for the success of the project. So how to evaluate the reliability of a supplier? There are several elements including:

• Company experience: how long have you been on the market in the implementation and management of ERP projects?
• Company size: how many employees does the company have? A company that is too small, for example of 10 people, could suffer in the event of a peak in turnover.
• Dedicated team: do you have defined interlocutors?
• Is there a training and assistance plan in the project?
• Customer Reviews: Which Customers Are Talking About Them?
• In the analysis, does the supplier provide personalized advice on your company’s processes?

Personalization

Each ERP implementation project needs levels of customization to adapt to the real and specific needs of the company. The question to ask is what is the degree of customization of the supplier’s ERP? What is the design flexibility?

We are a latest generation System Integrator: we provide software, consultancy and services to accelerate the digital evolution of companies. Do you want to know how we can create value for yours?