Today, every savvy business leader knows that having integrated systems that allow you to collect and leverage data is critical to driving process improvement and productivity. Integrating your CAD and ERP systems is critical for custom manufacturers.
Nothing in custom manufacturing happens until a customer shows up with a design and asks for a quote. Customer design requirements and specifications can be in the form of drawings, Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, or CAD files. This information will be input by the engineering and design teams of custom manufacturers into their CAD systems. The files that the CAD system outputs provide the manufacturer with all the basic information about materials, parts, assemblies, and sub-assembly requirements, as well as all the other information needed to make the product for the waiting customer. Once the design is complete, the manufacturer can move into the production process.
This is where the integration between CAD and database ERP systems comes into play. ERP software can take CAD files and automatically convert design and production requirements into actionable information for use in the manufacturing process. It takes customer-specified materials, parts, and components and moves specifications throughout the system in the form of bills of materials, routing information for components and sub-components, labor required, machinery required, time required for each operation, etc. This is what seamless integration and optimization look like.
This is a huge benefit for your custom manufacturing company and your overall customer experience, enabling you to deliver high-quality products faster than ever before: abas ERP can be easily integrated with CAD software, enabling custom manufacturers to convert engineering data into financial and production information, thereby reducing delivery times and keeping customers happy (even if demanding).
If the product to be manufactured involves many complex sub-components, such as motors, pipes, circuits, or hydraulic systems, these parts may have to be outsourced or specially ordered by a custom manufacturer. An ERP system quantifies these automatically and makes it easy to start looking for the right supplier. Your ERP system is integrated with CAD to solve difficult problems automatically, rather than leaving employees scratching their heads (which is a very inefficient manual process).
But outside of the production process, abas ERP, integrated with CAD, can turn engineering data into dollars. The system has extremely detailed accounting and costing modules that help manufacturers keep track of their various costs (materials, labor, R&D, etc.) and ensure the profitability of each project.
Taking relevant information from the engineering stage to the manufacturing stage is critical for managers to deal with planning, scheduling, and capacity throughout the manufacturing process. It provides manufacturers with a panoramic view of every step in production and ensures that everything is completed within the customer's deadline and as close to the original estimate as possible. All of these CAD and ERP integrations can help you get the real-time visibility you need to keep your demanding customers up-to-date and satisfied. In addition, the automatic conversion of engineering data into manufacturing instructions is a major time saver, as it reduces the chance of redundant data entry and human error (due to multiple manual inputs) between functional areas. Saving time also enhances the experience for yourself and your customers.