Above: Dashboard Designer o ers the exibility to design, customize, track and display data in a format that works best for the fabricator
December, 2024- To rephrase a popular carmaker’s ad slogan from the 1980s, this is not your father’s ERP system anymore. Business leaders focused on current and future needs are leveraging real-time data in their ERP systems to drive more informed business decisions for both the long and the short term.
As Adam Grabowski, director of marketing for Global Shop Solutions, explains, “The expectations of today’s fabricators are evolving. Now customers want to know whether they have real-time data on a number of shop floor factors, like labor and material. This trend started to gain traction several years ago.”
Grabowski joined The Woodlands, Texas-based ERP developer 11 years ago just when interest in real-time data was beginning to pique among customers.
“For ERP users, the same four questions still apply today as 10 years ago: Do I know my costs? Do I know my inventory? Can I ow my inventory and operations data to an accurate financial statement? Do I have real-time labor and material insight from the shop floor?” states Grabowski. The evolution of ERP systems raises those questions to realtime status. “Real time just got real,” Grabowski proclaims.
EMPOWERED DECISIONS
With real-time data, fabricators are empowered to make decisions that affect operations immediately. These decisions center around five key areas: quality, production, inventory, efficiency and delivery. Tracking quality in real-time prioritizes the most recent change orders and helps reduce reworks. “Reworks impact a lot of other areas of production. It can hold up shipments. The sooner a fabricator knows there’s a rework, the faster they can adjust operations to ultimately ship the job on time,” Grabowski notes.
He gives another example of a shop that is working in a just-in-time environment. When the receiving clerk scans in a delivery of parts or material, that data is immediately available. Another example is when a delivery of key material has been delayed. “With real-time data reporting, management can shift an operator to another piece of equipment or inform the customer of a schedule adjustment,” says Grabowski.
Global Shop Solutions o ers a library of dashboard designs.
Real-time data gives insights into labor, down to the minute.
Through an ERP system, a CFO can look at each component to evaluate what is driving margin pressures. “CFOs may ask why someone is working overtime. Is a lack of material causing operators to stay late? By having access to real-time data, the CFO can view labor down to the minute, so action can be taken as soon as the overtime is happening,” states Grabowski. The fabricator doesn’t have to wait until the end of the month to make adjustments.
Leadership can also make long-term decisions by evaluating the data compiled within an ERP system. These decisions can cover a range of areas including sales demands, hiring, benefits, which customers and products are more/less profitable, and which areas are performing better than others. “Having this data allows management to guess less and decide more,” notes Grabowski.
COLLECTING THE DATA
The essence of Global Shop Solutions ERP is collecting, synthesizing then making accessible all the data for a company in real-time. A number of factors have enabled this mission. To improve data collection, Global Shop Solutions beefed up its capabilities. “Structurally our software is processing data faster and is more stable than ever before,” says Grabowski, who also notes more of an uptake in customers moving their data to the cloud.
At the same time, the compatibility of Global Shop Solutions software has improved. “It’s now easier for our software to connect with other systems, so any data, such as that from machines, can be pushed into the ERP,” he adds. Global Shop Solutions also integrates with ecommerce platforms like Shopify to facilitate online sales. The ERP system then links these orders directly to the customers’ production schedule.
SYNTHESIZING THE DATA
Enhanced user interface is another factor supporting a real-time culture. “Our user interface has more intuitive screens and fewer clicks. The whole world has raised expectations in terms of usability. We bring that expectation to our technology,” says Grabowski.
According to Grabowski, for years ERP systems have been generating a ton of data. “Now there are new tools to better cache that data with improved user interface so users can visualize the data needed to make better decisions.”
To make it easier for customers to apply the data in their ERP system, Global Shop Solutions introduced Dashboard Designer. This feature allows users to easily tailor their dashboards with the data they want, when they want it.
Compared to a decade ago, no special coding is required of the fabricator to design their own dashboard. Dashboard Designer gives fabricators the flexibility to design, customize, track and display data in a format that works best for the user. “Now the user can just pull the desired data fields back and forth,” Grabowski says, referring to drag and-drop widgets built into Dashboard Designer.
According to the company’s website, the most popular Global Shop Solutions dashboards include sales analysis, employee productivity, real-time work center dispatches and work order estimates versus actual.
With nearly 2,000 customers hundreds of which are fabricators Global Shop Solutions has built up a library of dashboard designs. Customers can access dashboards from the company’s online store. “It is highly likely, because of the size of our customer base, that someone has already created a similar dashboard or something pretty close. Access to this library helps our customers accelerate their use of the dashboards,” explains Grabowski.
DATA ACCESSIBILITY
What was once an anomaly in the manufacturing world, labor shortages have become common, no matter the region. “Labor challenges are the new normal. They are expected,” notes Grabowski. As a result, he explains, fabricators and others are turning to technology and software to take them from good to great. “Real-time ERP data helps manufacturers bridge the gap in labor.”
Adam Grabowski, Director of Marketing
To engage labor in a real-time culture, fabricators can bring production metrics to the shop floor via interactive TV screens. “By placing these screens on the shop floor, customers can display how employees or lines are performing in real-time compared to estimated targets. This holds employees more accountable. We’ve also seen employees rally around one another to help get the entire team in the green [ahead of targets],” explains Grabowski.
SUPPORT STRUCTURE
Beyond the development of its ERP system, Global Shop Solutions provides customers with extensive support. “We’ve created a set of audits to help customers see how they use their ERP and what they can do to get more out of their data,” says Grabowski.
In addition to audits, the company offers a virtual CFO service, whereby a customer contracts with one of Global Shop Solutions financial consultants. “When the customer is in between CFOs, we can help them close out their books every month, and keep certain aspects of the business going until the customer finds a replacement,” states Grabowski.
The software developer, founded 48 years ago, has nearly 350 employees. “We are laser-focused on ERP software and fabricators are in the bull’s eye of our target market,” explains Grabowski, himself the son of a pipefitter. “Our team members are so encouraged by the future of manufacturing and how we can help.” And it has the data to prove it.
Global Shop Solutions, 800/364-5958, http://www.globalshopsolutions.com/