Made2Manage joins the Theory of Constraints APS bandwagon

Eli Goldratt’s Theory of Constraints (TOC) bandwagon is on a serious roll: today’s news is that US SME (small to mid size) manufacturing enterprise software (ERP) vendor Made2Manage (represented in the UK by 4Front) has launched a supply chain management suite based on TOC. Dubbed M2M Synchronizer, it’s claimed to be a combination of optimisation software and TOC scheduling methodologies, and its objective, says the company, is to “help manufacturers dramatically increase factory throughput”. The system shares its database with Made2Manage ERP and is designed to “synchronise the entire manufacturing enterprise to make the right things at the right time.” Beyond TOC (Drum-Buffer-Rope scheduling) and optimisation, the suite also has a Gantt chart facility for viewing, and a drag and drop feature for editing schedules. Made2Manage says users will employ the system to help them identify a shop’s main bottleneck resources, move to exploit those with appropriate production buffering, and keep it running. The firm says the optimisation part of the equation should then be used to efficiently subordinate the scheduling of other resources, thus cutting work in progress and unnecessary early manufacturing and inventory build, and maximising on-time delivery performance. “[It’s] a huge opportunity for small and midsize manufacturers,” says Kyle Sanford, SCM (supply chain management) product manager for Made2Manage Systems. “M2M Synchronizer provides a unique combination of scheduling methodologies that allows manufacturers to move more product through their facility in less time.” Although he claims “Made2Manage Systems is the first company to bring this combined technology to the small and midsize manufacturing market”, actually, Lilly Software is already in there with the Eli Goldratt ‘Necessary and Sufficient’ offer (www.mcsolutions.co.uk home page), Mapics has its Througput TOC APS offering and supply chain big boy Manugistics, since its acquisition of STG, has the original OPT suite all now integrated with the rest of its wide-ranging systems. Nevertheless, Sanford insists: “We’re effectively delivering tier-one SCM functionality at tier-three pricing, enabling Made2Manage users to truly optimise supply chain processes and gain competitive advantage in today’s market. [It’s] highly automated and therefore simple to implement. It also shares a database in real time with Made2Manage ERP [so] when you promise sales orders in Made2Manage ERP, you now do it with Capable to Promise (CTP) based on the real-time production schedule. “Purchasing always sees purchased material requirements based on real-time production needs. The shipping department plans its work based on real-time production output. Managers see production or sales order exceptions based on the real-time schedule and progress made against it This intimate data share between SCM and ERP is essential to deliver the benefits of good plans and schedules to the manufacturer and his customers and suppliers. For small and midsize manufacturers, the only practical way to get it is from a single, committed enterprise applications provider like Made2Manage.”