Integration Brings These 3 Advantages

Manufacturers invest a significant amount of money into enterprise applications like manufacturing execution systems (MES) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions that help streamline operations, yet it’s not uncommon for those systems to be disconnected. Tasks like transferring data from one system to another are being done manually, and this creates significant inefficiencies that slow down production and leave a wide margin for error. By integrating systems, manufacturers can leverage their existing technology while also improving efficiency, eliminating mistakes and scaling quickly.

1. Improve Efficiency

One of the most significant advantages of integrating systems is the ability to improve efficiency. Manual processes can be time consuming and as the saying goes, time is money. A manufacturer using Glovia to generate packing lists was printing drawings separately. In other words, someone was taking the extra step of locating and printing the drawings. By integrating Glovia EDocs and MasterControl, the company gained the ability to print the drawings and packing lists at the same time. This ensured all the information necessary to assemble and inspect the product was readily available to customers and employees. Streamlining the process accelerated workflow, helped them to achieve new levels of productivity and saved the company approximately $200,000 each year.

2. Eliminate Mistakes

Disparate systems cause unnecessary time delays. A medical device customer using Microsoft Dynamics, a customer resource management (CRM) application, had been using a manual process to transfer information between Dynamics and customer complaint forms. This led to keying in the same information in two separate places and making avoidable transcription errors. The organization integrated the MasterControl Process module with Dynamics, which makes it possible for customer representatives to select “complaint” within the CRM, and MasterControl launches a complaint process that auto-populates fields using information that’s already in Dynamics. By integrating software, the medical device company is able to save time and reduce errors.

3. Scale Quickly

As companies grow, manual or paper-based processes simply don’t scale well. A medical device company was keying ECO data into Microsoft Dynamics. They input as many as 6,000 changes per year and had to fix numerous errors caused by inaccurate keystrokes. Adding other sites into this process would have been inefficient at best. Using MasterControl, the company created an integration that allows the organization to generate an XML file with ECO data that can easily be uploaded to Dynamics. The new level of efficiency made it possible for them to bring five other sites into the process.

Integrations make it possible for manufacturers to digitize all their processes from start to finish. Eliminating manual processes allows for faster production, improved data integrity and greater scalability – all of which can be accomplished while leveraging existing systems to maximize investments in technology.