lean manufacturing

The successful combination of the advantages of an ERP system with the benefits of the lean approach may lead to considerable potentials for improvement and thus to significant competitive advantages for an enterprise. As this approach is often criticized in practice, this paper aims to present an innovative solution which is not only theoretical, but also shows empirically, with the example of an ERP implementation project in a SME, that Lean and ERP can and should be profitably linked.

The amount of resource efforts prevails with 46 % all other cost factors within classic manufacturing structures. Focusing on energy and labor costs as a source of raising companies profit seems no longer useful. Today, material costs of the manufacturing industry are about 500 billion euro per year, connected with a saving potential about approx. 100 billion euro. Also the belonging for sustainably produced products is still raising and is becoming a factor for a guaranteed purchase. Small and medium-sized enterprises fitted attempt, which helps increasing the transparency of internal processes and allows a resource driven ecological and economical assessment, is the main subject of this article.

Traditional understanding of production planning and scheduling in concordance with IT support has led to an increasing complexity and instability of production schedules. Since their advent, ERP-systems problem solving approaches have basically remained the same: Intricate planning and meticulous detailing have resulted in sprawling complexity and massive IT employment. Yet, another approach is possible: Simple process design, courage to accept fuzziness in detail and rigorous process orientation will lead to a production system without the need for detailed, pseudo-accurate schedules calculated by ERP-systems. The design of manufacturing and materials logistics is, therefore, revived as a matter of brainwork. This simple environment is crucial in achieving minimum lead-times and inventories which is accomplished with less administrative effort. By using this concept of production planning and control at a production plant for welding elements as an example, this article emphasizes ...