Affordable ERP for manufacturing SMEs

“We still have a long way to go to fully exploit the capabilities of Manusoft,” says Sean MacEntee, md for Irish toolmaking firm, Laserform. “However, we’re already seeing the benefit on our bottom line and it has to be said, that after 21 years in business, this is the first time that software people have not over-promised and under-delivered!” Located in Drogheda, Ireland, Laserform manufactures tooling for the packaging industry, as well as general sheet metal fabrication and laser jet profiling work. Due to increasing pressure from customers for rapid responses to queries regarding past jobs, and because of internal problems the company was having tracking critical factors such as profit margins on these jobs, Laserform implemented Manusoft’s resource control software and its e-commerce B2B module back in April this year. And the firm is using the software right across the enterprise, from customer enquiry stage through to production control, financial accounting, management reporting and works order tracking over the web. In fact, MacEntee plans to roll out the software to all five Laserform UK-based sites in the near future. Production operatives at the company now input data via three touch screens positioned on the factory floor. This data includes clocking-in and out information, plus job start and end times and the system also allows production controllers or supervisors to prioritise jobs for machine operatives. There’s also production scheduling, a facility to record reject and quality information via the touch screens and a management reporting module. MacEntee explains: “A key attribute of the Manusoft system is the ease with which customised reports can be created. The system is supplied with many popular reports available as standard, but the ability to tailor the information to best serve our manufacturing practices has been extremely beneficial.”