Scheduling & MRP: software buyers' guide.

Processors shopping for MRP II and related manufacturing-management software systems have a surfeit of choices on their hands. With more than 100 systems out there, most of which have dozens of features, you could spend months sifting through all their specifications. Some processors have asked PLASTICS TECHNOLOGY to provide a shorter list of MRP II software that's specifically suitable for molding or other plastics applications. This installment of our Software Buyers' Guide does just that.

While not a comprehensive listing of every MRP II vendor or package under the sun, the following list includes products from 14 companies as a starting point. What these systems have in common is relevance to plastics processors. Three of the suppliers listed - Data Technical Research, IQ Management Systems, and Mascon Inc. - focus exclusively on plastics. They cater mostly to injection molders but also have experience in blow molding, extrusion, and other processes.

The remaining vendors mentioned here offer more generic manufacturing packages, but they all have some plastics-processing customers or else can point to software features that would suit their products to today's plastics-processing environment, which commonly includes assembly and finishing operations. Of the systems not specific to plastics, most would apply more to molding and forming of discrete parts than to continuous processes like extrusion.

This guide doesn't attempt to address some of the thornier technical issues that processors face when buying an MRP II system. Chief among them is the question of whether a generic MRP II system can do the same job as one from a vendor specializing in plastics (We plan to answer that question in a future article).

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

Before you look over the following buyer's guide, it's worth noting that the name game played by software marketers poses a potential source of confusion. For many vendors, the term "ERP," for "Enterprise Resource Planning," has supplanted "MRP II," or "Manufacturing Resource Planning," as the designation of choice. Mascon general manager Amir Raza explains that ERP typically takes in more business functions than does the production-oriented MRP II - functions such as sales management, human resources, and financial calculations. MRP II, by contrast, focuses on production oriented tasks such as materials planning and shop-floor scheduling.

Yet Raza is not alone among software vendors in conceding that the terminology itself offers little hint of what the software can do for you. "These terms get thrown around so much they almost lose meaning," says Raza. He argues that processors should worry less about what a piece of software is called than what it can do. "The bottom line here is the ability to digitally track customers and product lines," agrees Albert Maruggi, marketing director for Fourth Shift, an ERP vendor.

Because the naming conventions in this area are obviously not clear cut, the buyer's guide that follows includes packages labeled ERP and MRP II as well as ones that eschew acronyms altogether.

MRP II & ERP

ALLIANCE MANUFACTURING SOFTWARE

P.O. Box 2009, Santa Barbara, CA 93120 Phone: [phone] Fax: [phone] Web Site: www.alliancemfg.com

Alliance/MFG for Windows (3.x, 95, and NT) offers a full range of MRP II functions, including graphical bill of materials, materials requirements planning, inventory control, shop-floor control, forecasting, purchase orders, sales quotations, custom reports, CAD links, barcode reading, utilities, EDI, and links to PC accounting applications. A network version of Alliance/MFG includes the first six seats and costs $8795.

B&L INFORMATION SYSTEMS INC.

4707 Rambo Rd. Bridgman, MI 49106-0608 Phone: [phone] Fax: [phone]

Plastics Management Software is an integrated manufacturing package that provides traditional MRP II functionality and includes additional modules for on-time delivery performance, quality control, interactive scheduling, job costing by part number, and inventory control. It has plastics-specific features such as scrap analysis, support for multi-cavity tooling, and separate inventory files for molded and purchased parts. The software runs on IBM AS/400 mid-range computers. Prices start at $50,000 and is based on the size of the installation.

BAAN USA INC.

4600 Bohannon Dr., Menlo Park, CA 94025 Phone: [phone] Fax: [phone] Web Site: www.baan.com

Baan IV supports the range of ERP business processes, including manufacturing, distribution, financials, transportation, distribution, supply-chain management, sales and service, and maintenance. Baan also offers internet-connectivity tools, constraint-based scheduling, and links to product data management (PDM) and management reporting systems. Baan IV runs in client/server UNIX and Windows NT environments.

CMI-COMPETITIVE SOLUTIONS INC.

3940 Peninsular Dr. S.E., Grand Rapids, MI 49546-6107 Phone: [phone] Fax: [phone] Web Site: www.cs.cmi.com

TRANS4M, designed for automotive suppliers, offers ERP functionality, including materials resource planning, integrated shop-floor applications, purchasing management, EDI, release-control management, barcode printing, inventory, and labor transactions. It also supports QS 9000 and other auto-industry quality standards. Based on client/server technology, TRANS4M runs on UNIX and Windows NT.

CMS MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS INC.

131 Belle Forest Circle, Suite 230, Nashville, TN 37221 615-662-3102 Fax: [phone] Web Site:www.cmssoftware.com

CMS/400 is an ERP solution for plastics processors that are shipping discrete products to their customers on repetitive schedules - typically weekly or more frequent JIT deliveries. Running on the IBM AS/400 mid-range computer, CMS/400 includes integrated manufacturing, sales-management, scheduling, distribution, financial, EDI, accounting, and barcode-label management. Features that are helpful in a molding environment include family-part support, tooling management, preventive-maintenance scheduling, and quality-monitoring capabilities.

DATA TECHNICAL RESEARCH INC.

8653 Baypine Rd., Suite 100, Jacksonville, FL 32256 Phone: [phone] Fax: [phone] Web Site: www.dtr-software.com

Manufacturing Manager provides plastics processors with traditional ERP functionality, including modules for financial, sales, distribution, and supply-chain management. Other features include barcode printing, EDI, process monitoring, office automation, SPC/SQC, and ISO 9000 compliance. Manufacturing Manager runs on Windows NT and Novell LAN networks, several UNIX platforms, and a variety of minicomputers (IBM, Hewlett-Packard, and Digital). Price is $15,000 for the license plus $2500 per seat.

EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS INC.

12000 West Park Place, Milwaukee, WI 53224 Phone: [phone] Fax: [phone] Web Site: www.ems.com

Time Critical Manufacturing (TCM) software is an integrated ERP and manufacturing execution system (MES) consisting of six software suites: product data management, planning, supply-chain management, manufacturing execution system, finance, accounting and administration, and decision-support tools. It runs on client-server platforms, including Windows NT and SCO-UNIX on Intel-based hardware, AIX on IBM RS/6000, HP-UX on the HP-9000, and Open VMS on DEC Alpha.

FOURTH SHIFT CORP.

International Plaza, 7900 International Dr., Minneapolis, MN 55425 3000 Executive Pkwy., Suite 140, San Ramon, CA 94583 Phone: [phone] Fax: [phone] Web Site: www.fs.com

MSS for Objects is an ERP software package composed of more than 40 integrated modules that perform a range of manufacturing, accounting, and information-management tasks. The program is available for three different PC network configurations: Windows NT server, NetWare Loadable Module, and multi-user DOS. MSS for Objects also comes in a single-user DOS version.

IQ MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS INC.

1332 Vendels Circle, Suite 101, Paso Robles, CA Phone: [phone] Fax: [phone] Web Site: www.iqms.com.

Plastics-oriented IQWin32 offers quotations, visual bill of materials, dynamic drag-and-drop scheduling, instant production reports, activity-based costing (ABC), inventory control, orders and shipments, financial management, invoicing, and purchasing functions. It also integrates real-time production data as part of the main system. Add-on modules include preventive maintenance, project management for tooling, EDI, and barcode. IQWin32 is a 32-bit application that runs under Windows 95 and NT.

MASCON

475 N. Martingale Rd., Suite 450, Schaumburg, IL 60173 Phone: [phone] Fax: [phone] Web Site: www.masconit.com

AIMS, Windows-based integrated business management software for plastics processors, combines modules for materials management (MRP), shop scheduling, sales, quality, and financial. It supports unlimited Bill of Materials levels, multiple inventory-issue methods, cycle counting, multiple warehouse locations, and a variety of purchase-order styles. Other key features include finite-capacity, drag-and-drop scheduling and a new Action Message Report that automatically alerts users to changing materials requirements. Other functions for the plastics processor include tool tracking and family-mold support. Prices start at $25,000.

SHOPPRO SOFTWARE

4010 Executive Park Dr., Suite 430, Cincinnati, OH 45241 Phone: [phone] Fax: [phone] Web Site: www.shop-pro.com

ShopPro, an information-management system for job-shop and project-based manufacturing businesses, includes a graphical scheduling system, project costing and estimating work sheets, and an order-entry modules. It also offers an Executive Information System feature, a direct link with Microsoft Excel, allowing users to view data in graphical or spreadsheet form. ShopPro's Windows system runs as a client/server application on PC networks (Novell or Windows NT). It also runs on Unix, HP-UX, RS-6000, and AS/400 systems.

SYSTEM SOFTWARE ASSOCIATES INC.

500 W. Madison, Chicago, IL 60661 Phone: [phone] Fax: [phone] Web Site: www.ssax.com

Business Planning and Control System (BPCS) integrates a full range of manufacturing and business processes, including multi-mode manufacturing, supply chain-management, EDI, electronic commerce, and global finance. Its computing platforms include IBM AS/400 and RS/6000 as well as a variety of UNIX servers.

SYMIX SYSTEMS INC.

2800 Corporate Exchange Dr., Columbus, OH 43231 Phone: [phone] Fax: [phone] Web Site: www.symix.com

SyteLine ERP software caters to mid-sized manufacturers, especially those involved in industrial, electronics, and packaging/container applications. It manages the full range of business and manufacturing functions, including sales, customer service, inventory, materials planning/management, shop-floor control, quality, costing, scheduling (finite, infinite, forward, and backward), financials, after-sales service, project control, business intelligence, and modeling. SyteLine operates across a variety of operating systems, including UNIX, DOS, and Windows NT. It supports LAN and client-server architectures as well as distributed databases.

TANGIBLE VISION

5120 Belmont Rd., Suite R, Downers Grove, IL 60515 Phone: [phone] (800-SOFT-MF) Fax: [phone]

Imprimis is ERP software that supports a combination of make-to-stock, make-to-order, and mixed manufacturing environments. Its engineering and manufacturing applications include shop-floor control, real-time data collection, quality assurance, and tool management. Other application modules cover inventory control, financials, sales, and customer service. Imprimis supports multi-plant, multi-country, multi-currency, and multi-language environments. It runs on Compaq Proliant HP9000, IBM RS/6000, and other hardware platforms and works with network operating systems such as Windows NT V3.1 and Novell NetWare. Price starts at $50,000.

What You Can Get from A Stand-Alone Scheduler

Buy almost any kind of computerized manufacturing system, whether for MRP II/ERP or for production and process monitoring, and you will find that it has some sort of scheduling functionality. So why buy a separate scheduler? Some users may not have an MRP II or process-monitoring package. Others may want to take advantage of advanced scheduling features.

As with MRP II/ERP systems, there is no shortage of companies offering stand-alone scheduling programs. Here is a look at two packages that are used in plastics processing:

JOBTIME SYSTEMS INC.

P.O. Box 469, San Mateo, CA 94401 Phone: [phone] Fax: [phone] Web Site: www.jobtime.com

JobTime Plus is an event-based, finite-capacity simulation and scheduling system than handles explicit assembly structures, multiple resource constraints, variable resources, set-up matching, and batch processes. Users can apply an unlimited number of scheduling rules and work-center set-up rules when creating schedules. JobTime Plus runs on a single PC, or it can be interfaced to existing Windows networks. Price, including installation, is $60,000, though discounts for small companies are available.

MATTEC CORP.

1301 Mattec Dr., Loveland, OH 45140 Phone: [phone] Fax: [phone] Web Site: www.mattec.com

ProHelp Plant Scheduling and Reporting System provides real-time machine and shop-floor scheduling, operator labor and set-up scheduling, materials scheduling (i.e., planning JIT materials purchases), and production reporting. All scheduling functions are graphical and changes can be made with a drag-and-drop feature. ProHelp works as a stand-alone PC-based system, or it runs on existing Novell or Windows NT networks. ProHelp exports and imports simple flat files, making it compatible with a variety of MRP II packages and with real-time production-monitoring systems. Price (with PC) is $10,80048,700, depending on number of users.