From Production to Profit: The Impact of NetSuite on Discrete Manufacturing

NetSuite for Discrete Manufacturing

NetSuite’s Discrete Manufacturing solution offers a comprehensive suite of features designed to optimize production processes. Here’s a breakdown of the key functionalities: 

1. Configuration and Planning: 

• Location-Specific Parameterization: Allows manufacturing processes to be customized to meet the needs of certain plants or production lines. 
• Configurable Work Order Completion Logic: Defines custom criteria for determining when a work order is considered complete, ensuring accurate production tracking. 
• Enhanced Data Collection: Facilitates the gathering of granular data points from shop floor operations for improved process insights. 
• Comprehensive Manufacturing Workbench Record: Provides a centralized repository for critical production information
• Enhanced Operations Routings: Simplifying the definition of the sequence of steps required to complete a product.
• Primary and Alternate Finite Planning Parameters: Enables the creation of both primary production plans and contingency strategies using finite resource constraints. 
• Labor Requirements: Detailed specification of the manpower needed for each production stage.
• Detailed Work Instructions: Clear and concise instructions for each production task, promoting consistency and quality. 

2. Production Execution and Scheduling: 

• Configurable Shop Floor Travelers: Supports paperless manufacturing with customizable work order documents that leverage barcodes for efficient tracking. 
• Rough-Cut Capacity Planning: Provides a high-level overview of production capacity for initial planning phases. 
• Dynamic Schedule Codes: Enables the creation of flexible scheduling codes that can be adapted to changing production demands. 
• Finite Production Scheduling: Implements scheduling based on actual resource availability, ensuring realistic production timelines. 
• Improved Work Order Release Capabilities: Reduces production delays by expediting the release of work orders to the shop floor. 

3. NetSuite ERP Functionality for Batch and Process Manufacturers:

NetSuite ERP is specifically designed to accommodate the production needs of batch and process manufacturers. It offers a comprehensive set of functionalities that largely overlap with those provided for discrete manufacturing. Here’s a breakdown of these key features: 

4. Recipe/Formulation Management with Component Alternatives and Detailed Instructions:  

Define production processes using Bill of Materials (BOM) structures that allow for alternative components and include detailed instructions (recipes or formulas) for accurate production execution. 

5. First-In-First-Out (FIFO) Material Issuance for Lot-Controlled Raw and Bulk Materials:  

Ensure efficient material usage by prioritizing the utilization of older inventory (raw and bulk materials) with assigned lot controls through a First-In-First-Out (FIFO) issuance method. 

6. Batch Tracking with Automatic Lot IDs:  

Generate unique identifiers (lot IDs) for each production batch, enabling complete traceability throughout the manufacturing process, and allowing for precise monitoring and quality control. 

7. Enhanced Material Issuance Control: 

 Implement stricter control mechanisms to manage material usage during production, minimizing waste and ensuring adherence to established production plans. 

8. Comprehensive Manufacturing Execution System (MES) Capabilities:  

Leverage a robust MES system to manage and monitor real-time shop floor activities, providing a centralized platform for production control, data collection, and performance optimization. 

9. Mobile Functionality with Integrated Barcode Scanning and Tablet Support: 

Access critical production data and functionalities directly from mobile devices. Additionally, the system integrates seamlessly with barcode scanning tools and provides support for wireless tablets, facilitating efficient data capture and process execution on the shop floor. 

10. Real-Time Manufacturing Execution System (MES) Reporting:  

Gain immediate insights into key production metrics through real-time reporting functionalities offered by the integrated MES system. This includes data on work order completion status, material issuance details, downtime events, and actual labor or machine hours expended, allowing for informed decision-making and production adjustments. 

How Oracle NetSuite Optimizes Business Efficiency for Discrete Manufacturers

• Granular Inventory Management: Discrete manufacturing processes vary significantly, requiring independent management of production times and machine setups. Disparate systems complicate managing the diverse material needs of each product, hindering efficiency and profitability. NetSuite’s integrated cloud ERP system provides a single source of truth for inventory management. Real-time data on material availability across all stages ensures production doesn’t halt due to missing fast-moving parts or overstocking of slow-moving ones, optimizing warehouse space utilization. 

• Enhanced Production Planning: Resource capacity planning is a major challenge for discrete manufacturers due to the variability of individual processes and machine operation rates. NetSuite’s ERP software offers a comprehensive view of current workloads, enabling dynamic resource allocation and order/delivery prioritization for superior customer service. Additionally, it includes functionalities. 

• Labor Requirements: Accurate labor needs assessment for efficient production. 

• Configurable Work Orders and Instructions: Tailor-made production instructions for each product. 

• Finite Production Scheduling: Advanced scheduling for complete production execution. 

• Improved Profitability with Actionable Insights: NetSuite delivers real-time data and a comprehensive overview of all business operations and production performance. Its extensive reporting capabilities provide easy access to historical, current, and forecast data. Manufacturers can leverage this data to generate valuable insights that optimize production processes and boost profitability 

• Standardized Quality Control: NetSuite provides an integrated quality management function, enabling manufacturers to control quality across diverse production lines and components. 

• Customizable Records: Create customized records with statistical parameters for detailed quality tracking.

• LOT Serial Numbers: Efficient tracking of batches for improved quality control.

NetSuite’s Advanced Manufacturing module offers robust production planning functionality specifically designed for discrete manufacturing environments. This capability empowers manufacturers to leverage finite capacity scheduling algorithms to create detailed production plans.  

These plans account for resource constraints, including machine availability, workforce limitations, and material lead times. By factoring in these constraints, manufacturers can identify potential bottlenecks and proactively adjust production sequences to optimize resource utilization and on-time delivery performance.