ERP with IoT: What\'s the Future?

ERP with IoT: What's the Future?

Manufacturing Technology Insights | Thursday, January 24, 2019

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is software that integrates all the departments and functions into a single system in a company while meeting each department’s specific needs. It is designed to help companies make smarter decisions, better serve their customers, and provide greater results by automating processes. The implementation of ERP software is often different for different vendors, but there are key steps that need to be performed to ensure the new customer is prepared to use the software to its fullest extent for their business needs.

IoT involves monitoring all aspects of manufacturing or business through the integration of monitors with components, production lines or vehicle fleets, making it is easy to see how they would create a data flood. And with large amounts of data capable of being captured, the use of machine learning applications enables the ERP system to generate smart recommendations for managers of the factory floor and supply chain.

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A report by IFS North America, a business software provider, shows that, in 2018, only 52 percent thought that their software worked somewhat or very well, compared to 60 percent in 2017. Some 46 percent thought that their software performed poorly or was an integration impediment in 2018 compared to only 40 percent in the previous year.

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The IFS study also suggested that companies should focus on adopting more IoT-based technologies that help them gain more revenue, reduce the cost of operation, and enhance the customer experience. The study showed that the most common uses of industrial IoT are process automation and operational efficiency monitoring.

The IFS study showed that the most common uses of industrial IoT are process automation and operational efficiency monitoring. In 2017, 49 percent of companies used IoT monitoring for process automation, and 54 percent for operational efficiency in 2018, the figures for process automation increased to 55 percent and 65 percent in operational efficiency.

Manufacturing Execution System (MES) helps to plan and execute industrial machine process controls, while SCADA uses a network of controllers, sensors, and user interfaces to create a high level of control for large-scale operators. SCADA systems are both interfering with the functionality of MES and absorbing the role of MES in transmitting relevant data to ERP as IoT integration expands.

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