Patients at a hospital check in and check out. Factories pump 24/7, assembling cars, dish washers, electronics. Construction sites start up at the crack of dawn, and a floor is added by dark.
What these bustling businesses have in common is a huge demand for material management systems and material management software. Someone is in charge of making the syringes, the car parts, the cement show up on time and be available to working hands. Materials management software is a help, but it's also a lot of brain power to keep material management in business on track and in budget.
Covered in this guide:
1. Best practices and resources for material management
2. Materials management software for big operations
3. Supply chain and material management software
4. The importance of specializing material management systems
and material management software
Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done
Get a handle on the practice and art of material management
No need to reinvent the wheel. The material management industry is wide and full of excellent, generally free best practices white papers and research.
I recommend: Take a look at
CAPS Research, a joint operation of the Institute for Supply Management and Arizona State University W.P. Carey School of Business. The
International Federation of Purchasing and Supply Management has publications as well. Learn more about materials management systems through
materials management associations and organizations at Business.com.
Finding materials management software products
Materials resource planning (MRP) software is beginning to become common, but it's still sometimes lumped in as a module of more popular ERP (enterprise resource planning) software.
I recommend: While ERP is more robust, it's also expensive. If managing materials is your main concern, look at MRP softtware from
QA Software,
Frederick Group, and
Power Purchase. Catch up on
supply-chain management at Business.com.
Major league material management software
The bigger picture on material management systems is overall supply chain management. Software now track the part or crate of material from a factory in Shanghai through your shop and on to the customer.
I recommend: Some makers of supply chain software for materials management include
da Vinci,
Manhattan Associates and
Ross Systems. See additional resources for
materials resource planning software at Business.com.
Specialized material management systems according to need
While general materials management software can go a long way, some industries require specialized help in managing materials, like healthcare.
I recommend: Trade publication
Modern Materials Handling magazine has a very good site with detailed case studies and
links to nearly every materials association. See more on
just-in-time materials management at Business.com.
Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide
- There's a lot of confusion in the industry between inventory, supply chain and materials management. Material management in business relates specifically to feeding a production process -- raw materials or supplies -- while inventory and supply chain could be actual products for manufacture or sale.
- Before you put out a request for quotes on materials management software, it may be money better spent to have a consultant come in and overhaul your entire process first.
- Managing materials is a cornerstone of profitability in some industries. Too much materials inventory eats capital, not enough slows production. Do your own return on investment review. Money spent improving material management or buying material management software could be recaptured pretty quickly.
The official source of Material Management is the Material Management page at Business.com
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