Manufacturing companies today face increasing pressure regarding price, quality, and delivery times. At the same time, they must cope with material shortages, equipment failures, and a lack of skilled workers. Ján Kapoun, Head of the Manufacturing Competence Center at SOFTIP, explains how modern information systems help them manage these changes.
You have been involved in production and production management at SOFTIP for several decades. How have customer needs changed over that time?
We have more than thirty years of experience in the planning and management of manufacturing processes. We started with the SYSKLASS solution, which primarily supported production planning processes. Gradually, we incorporated all of our experience and our customers’ insights into the system SOFTIP MONACO. Today, it is no longer just about creating and managing technical documentation. The solution covers the entire process, from preparing price quotes through technical preparation to production planning and management.
User expectations are also changing. The system must be functionally comprehensive, yet intuitive, technologically advanced, and accessible via a web interface. Its ability to integrate with the company’s ERP system is also important.
Where does effective production order management begin?
Already during processing price demand. Manufacturers need to respond quickly, but at the same time, they must accurately estimate costs and realistic delivery dates. SOFTIP MONACO can search for similar products and use existing technical documentation as the basis for a new quote. This provides a basis for calculation without the company having to create complete documentation from scratch before even securing the order.
At the same time, it is possible to verify the necessary production and material capacities. This way, the customer receives not only a price but also a realistic deadline. This is very important because incorrectly estimated costs or an unmet deadline can turn an initially attractive order into a loss-making deal.
However, manufacturing companies often have to deal with unexpected events as well. How can an information system help them?
Creating a production plan is only the first step. The true value of the system becomes apparent when a machine breaks down, materials run out, or an order’s priority changes. A malfunction in a single piece of equipment can affect the entire chain of subsequent operations and shut down other workstations.
Our solution allows you to quickly recalculate the schedule, work with alternative workstations and procedures, and create simulation scenarios. In the graphical interface, the user can view the utilization of individual production resources and evaluate various alternatives without immediately altering the current schedule. This enables production to respond to changes in a significantly shorter amount of time.
For what type of business is this solution most suitable?
A typical customer is a small or medium-sized manufacturing company that produces more complex products with multi-level bills of materials, alternative materials, or manufacturing processes. These are often engineering firms with their own products or subcontractors to larger companies.
Machine Manufacturing From an information systems perspective, it is one of the most demanding industries. It deals with extensive technical data, drawings, tools, jigs, gauges, calibrations, and rigorous quality control. Therefore, it is important that technical preparation, planning, the collection of production data, and business processes are all interconnected.
What role does the ERP system play in this integration?
The greatest value comes not from an isolated production system or from ERP alone, but from their integration. ERP, for example SAP Business One, ... creates a reliable foundation for business, financial, and logistics data. SOFTIP MONACO complements this with detailed management of technical planning and production processes. Together, they create a platform that enables companies to increase productivity, grow, and prepare for the next stages of digital transformation.
The advantage of SOFTIP is that we can handle the entire project—from process analysis through implementation to support and any necessary adjustments to the solution. This gives the customer a single partner who understands both ERP and the manufacturing process itself.
So what does the near future hold for manufacturing companies?
We are moving toward simpler and faster creation of technical documentation, automated capacity and material planning, and broader use of artificial intelligence. This can help users find similar products, work with information, and evaluate available options more quickly.
The long-term goal is more autonomous production, in which systems are able to process orders, prepare production, procure materials, and schedule shipments with minimal manual intervention. However, what remains key is what companies need today: to manufacture to the required quality standards, at competitive costs, and to deliver on time.
SOFTIP helps them achieve these goals with its SOFTIP MONACO solutions, SOFTIP MANUFACTURING a AddOn Production for SAP Business One, which integrate technical preparation, planning, and production management with the company’s financial and logistics processes. Here at SOFTIP, we are prepared for this near future and want to support our customers as they navigate it.
An abridged version of the interview was published