Most manufacturers rely on an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution to manage operations. Just as manufacturing operations are a necessary company-wide initiative, so too is quality assurance. The importance of creating an environment where cross-functional teams can share information and collaborate across the enterprise is critical to a company’s overall success.
An ERP system can provide a high-level approach to quality assurance, but companies in highly regulated industries usually require a more granular approach to quality to achieve their objectives. The management of evolving industry compliance and regulatory standards is a job best left to an industry leading quality management solution. A quality management solution adds quality assurance functionality that is much deeper than an ERP system can provide.
ERP and quality systems can exist as point solutions and not be fully integrated. However full integration allows for real-time exchange of critical quality and manufacturing data and provides for better overall transparency. This collaborative effort allows users to take immediate action to prevent or correct issues within the manufacturing process and drive continuous manufacturing improvements.
Benefits of ERP and Quality Assurance Integration
- Improve data integrity and eliminate redundant data entry
- Track status of corrective and preventative actions
- Gain tighter control of your supply chain
- Synch and centrally store documentation
- Provide information needed for auditors to ensure compliance
- Achieve real-time communication throughout the enterprise
- Automate alerts for employee skills due for re-certification
An effective quality management solution leverages the functionality that is already built into the ERP solution by maintaining the information flow from the ERP to the quality management solution with items such as Commodities, Purchase Order Lines, Receivers, Routings, Personnel, and more. The quality management solution coordinates response information back to the ERP for items such as Receiver Inspections, Supplier Status, and Approved Part-to-Supplier. The ability to attach documents, link parent-child records, and include unlimited text results in a comprehensive history that greatly improves the process.
Success comes when the integration of this functionality is seamless, and the user does not have to worry about how to make the two systems work together. Choosing a quality management solution with built-in connections to your ERP will alleviate problems and the need for custom programming.
ERP and quality assurance integration are essential to becoming a more evolved manufacturer. Vital processes can be standardized and automated, creating a more efficient workflow. Seamless ERP and quality assurance integration presents a holistic view of manufacturing operations which enables a company to become more agile and make better overall business decisions.
TIP Technologies partners with the leading ERP providers to provide a complementary quality management solution. Its TIPQA Quality Management Solution provides an API integration layer that permits custom connections, as well as certified out-of-the-box connections to select ERP and MES solutions such as Deltek Costpoint, SAP, Oracle, and Microsoft Dynamics. These connections, in concert with the TIPQA Quality Management Solution enable TIP Technologies to provide a closed-loop connection between manufacturing and quality. Contact TIP Technologies today for a demo of the TIPQA solution and one of its several ERP interfaces.