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by Beth Stackpole, Contributing Editor   | Abstract: | Manufacturer of metal products have long been averse to packaged enterprise software, convinced that no off-the-shelf application could meet the industry's unique need for elements of both discrete and process manufacturing. Driven by customer demands and a desire to get out from under heavy support burdens, however, metals manufacturers are finally beginning to embrace package applications. And vendors are tailoring their products to meet the needs of metals manufacturers. |
For years, Gibraltar Industries walked the tightrope that many manufacturers in the metals industry face: The $1.4 billion company wanted to invest in packaged enterprise applications that could help it improve operational efficiencies, scale more effectively, and deliver better customer service, but it couldn't find software that fit the way it did business. Like most companies in the metals supply chain, Buffalo, NY-based Gibraltar makes products that are transformed through a variety of fabrication processes, turning basic forms like coiled steel or slabs into different shapes, parts, or products. It's essentially a hybrid operation, combining features of discrete and process manufacturing. Traditional enterprise applications such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) and even manufacturing resource planning (MRP) are not designed to handle that kind of manufacturing. Instead, most ERP systems are oriented around an inventory management system based on discrete, functional parts. "We stayed with proprietary solutions because our shop floor and manufacturing processes had a lot of very specific requirements that didn't lend themselves to basic MRP functionality," explains Dave McCartney, Gibraltar's corporate vice president of information services. "A proprietary system was the best way to get specific to the metals manufacturing process." [Click to continue] |