In custom manufacturing, each product is customized for a single customer, which requires effective navigation of complexity from start to finish. Without a concrete blueprint and the right tools to implement the plan/blueprint, each project becomes an expensive, time-consuming, and unprofitable process of exploration to turn the client’s unique design into a product. You don’t have a compass at sea, you don’t have a paddle at a creek, and mistakes can cost you not only money but customers as well. An ERP system for custom manufacturing can help you navigate complex oceans smoothly, get you ashore safely, make a profit, and keep customers happy, who keep coming back for more.

Without the right ERP system in place, the lack of predictability in the custom manufacturing process can make it difficult for manufacturers to complete tasks such as ordering the right materials in the right quantities, assessing the accurate cost of many parts of the production process, and flexibly adapting to changes that arise during the production process. What is the result of not managing this complexity well? Unhappy customers and issues around profitability – issues that custom manufacturers (or their customers) don’t want to see. No customers ever return for a second trip through the choppy, unpredictable seas. You need to know where you’re going and how much the trip will cost, and share that information with your customers.

By the way, not having a good compass can also frustrate your employees. Try asking them to track the estimated cost of the project versus the complexity of the actual cost on an Excel spreadsheet, as many manufacturers (those “people without OARS”) do, and see how your employees react. “I love filling out Excel spreadsheets,” says no production employee in the history of the world.