Is MRP or ERP Software Right For Your Organization?

Can MRP software apply to a sales organization? As a sales organization, your primary focus is using your staff of manufacturers reps, to match the needs of potential customers to the manufacturing output of the manufacturing companies. MRP/ERP software has its roots in manufacturing, but like all products branched out to other fields as well.

Your firm is basically well organized, however looking for growth and profitability you begin to look for ways to optimize what you have. Software immediately comes to mind, as you currently use computers in your operation, but not necessarily in a cohesive and coordinated way.

As you begin your research, and begin contacting possible vendors, you notice some recurring buzz word-abbreviations; MRP, ERP, and others. Lets explore some of these look at how you can determine if they are suitable for you.

Lets begin with MRP, or Material Resource Planning. As the name implies, the function of this type of manufacturing software is to enable the business to have the materials on hand in a timely and efficient manner. This type of software can also be handily for a small to medium size company because the Bill of Material, the basic building block of MRP software can serve dual purpose as a shop router. Many systems include routers, but many less sophisticated companies, have managed with just the basics.

In a sales organization the same features exist, and in fact there are some custom versions of MRP software for sales forces. The content is slightly altered, but remains the same.

For a sales bill of material instead of a manufacturing bill of material, the product to be purchased is entered, just like purchased raw material. Substituted for manufacturing operations would be logistical information, including supplier due date, and in place of machine capacity, supplier (manufacturer) capacity. The different manufacturers would be no different than different production lines or equipment in one plant. The end result would be the ability to coordinate sales order and due dates with a complete spectrum of manufacturers.

A major weakness of MRP software in sales as in manufacturing is that it did not function well or often at all for capacity planning. This task with MRP software would be the sales manager, who would coordinate the MRP reports. While one of the main reasons for the purchase of Manufacturing Software was to realize labor reduction, the reason is sales would be to better coordinate a multitudes of manufacturers to different clients. MRP's inherent weakness became a buyer/planners job security.

The next option would be ERP software for sales. ERP may actually be more suitable for a sales organization than MRP software. ERP Software means Enterprise Resource Planning or planning for the entire organization. This includes modules for sales, human resources, AP/AR, accounting and financial performance, etc. With a sales organization being purely focused on sales, the ERP software would put a complete software based office to back up the sales force. Being modular, around a central core, it is not unthinkable for the sales organizations software to interface with the manufacturing companies represented. MRP software or ERP software, the sales organization has options.