Skip to main content

Do you have a 'MRP Mindset'?

Over the years I have worked with a fair number of businesses that had thought that implementing a MRP system would solve a lot of their problems.

Instead, they found themselves:

  • No further ahead with their on time delivery problems.
  • No better off from an inventory management point of view.
  • Still lacking teamwork across the business.
  • Feeling frustrated with their system and creating spreadsheet workarounds.
  • Stuck with higher levels of admin tasks, for no obvious gains...

Using a MRP (or MRP II / ERP) system in your business requires a change in the management style for most businesses.

The way that you organise your day, your meetings and your management approach should complement the MRP system approach.

You cannot keep working in the same way that you worked before MRP and expect MRP to magically work; you need to align your daily / weekly management activities with the logic of MRP in order to get it to work effectively.

So, here's today's tip (before I get to a special offer!):

Check that one of your regular (daily or weekly) meetings includes a reference to the effectiveness of the key production triggers that your MRP system supports:
  • Material being issued on time.
  • MRP exceptions being dealt with.
  • Production orders that haven't moved
  • etc...
If you review these triggers then you can improve them - simple!


Okay, I promised a special offer above.

If you are struggling with your MRP / ERP system then I am offering 50% off my 'MRP Audit' kit until then end of Tuesday 10th of January 2017.

To get the audit for just $10 (USD) visit this page and use the discount code MRP50%.



Have fun looking at your daily meeting,


Giles




About the author
Giles Johnston is a Chartered Engineer who specialises in helping businesses to grow and improve through better business processes.
Giles is also the author of Business Process Re-Engineering and creator of the 'Making It Happen' continuous improvement toolkit.
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

The Kaizen Checklist is here!

Do you want to get better results from your Kaizen programme? Improve your business results quickly with my downloadable kit (including guidebook, workbook and templates) for only $39. Are you looking for a sustainable way to identify and implement improvements across your business? Practical improvement strategies The Kaizen Checklist is a downloadable kit that you can use with your management team to develop a system that suits your business and allow you to quickly implement Kaizen effectively at your place of work. This works great if you use it as the centre piece of your own internal workshop. The kit includes a 40 page guidebook, a workbook, four appendices and three templates. All parts of this kit are designed to get you up and running as fast as possible. If you are unfamiliar with Kaizen, let me stress that this is a simple improvement philosophy that is so much more than just  ‘a Japanese word for continuous improvement’. I’ll cover what it rea
Read more

Do you need a burst of improvement ideas for your business?

If you haven’t created your improvement action plan for 2020 yet then I have something for you. I have just completed my latest project – The CI Focus Tool . This Android App is now available on Google Play and provides a simple method for generating as many effective improvement ideas as you need. This is the same basic method that I describe in my book Effective Continuous Improvement  and is now available as a simple to use app. In essence it is a brainstorming focus tool. Press the focus button and you will be presented with a random continuous improvement focus. Brainstorm ideas around this focus with your team (whilst the timer is running) and there you go – a number of great ideas for you to prioritise and implement. The reason that this works so well is because of the focus. When your business runs out of its immediate problems to fix you need a different strategy. Very focused brainstorming helps you break past this problem and configuring the app to meet t
Read more

Take the pressure off! Using the Y-curve with your Kaizen improvements

Do you feel under pressure when you have to make changes happen in your business? It can be scary when we try something that we have never done before. I remember thinking to myself 'how on Earth am I going to figure this out?' on many occasions. I think the last time was a few weeks ago! Years on from becoming reasonable at the art of change I am still faced with the same dilemma. It is scary and it is clear to me why so many people shy away from making change happen. It is natural to get stuck in this oscillation. On one hand you need to make change happen; the business needs the improvement benefits. On the other hand you don't want to screw up... Last week I was talking to a young engineer that I am mentoring. He was paralysed. Changes were not happening at all. There was always some early promise with his projects and then, as completion (and judgement day) loomed, progress would evaporate. The engineer asked me for my views on this  during a recent conversati
Read more