We have often been asked if CloudSuite Industrial and SyteLine support Lean manufacturing processes. The simple answer is Yes!
Because every Lean project is different, though the answer can get more complicated from there. Standard CloudSuite ERP functionality, and SyteLine functionality, do handle many of the transactions that our Lean customers look for. Specific functionality within the CloudSuite Industrial and Syteline ERP systems that support Lean activities include:
- Just-in-Time production – orderless production to support manufacture of standard assemblies and items without the need for a work order
- Production Schedules to support repetitive manufacture without the need for work orders
- Backflushing of standard labor and/or material to reduce data entry
- Vendor consigned inventory management
- Phantom item support for flattening of Bills of Material and Routings
- Non-reporting routing steps to streamline transaction processing
Some of our customers, however, require more complex functionality to handle their Lean projects. In response to those requirements, DRI developed the SyteLEAN Pull System. SyteLEAN is a simple and responsive inventory management system for items that are regularly purchased or manufactured. It is an automated demand-pull system that “pulls” replacement orders when inventory is consumed, rather than “pushing” orders the way MRP does. Think of it as an electronic Kanban system.
SyteLEAN will “right size” your inventory using average usage, forecasted usage, and variability in usage. The system will pull replacement orders when inventory is consumed, rather than pushing orders through MRP. SyteLEAN can be combined, however, with APS and MRP to plan each inventory item using the most efficient method for each.
Replenishment orders are automatically triggered for each item based on actual consumption, not anticipated usage. All items, whether demand is generated by SyteLEAN or not, can be managed through the system’s standard Material Planner Workbench and Order Action Report. SyteLEAN uses standard APICS statistical calculations for safety stock, gives users visibility into demand spikes and supplier forecasts, and bases replenishment off of dynamic demand-driven trigger points. SyteLEAN can also work together with SyteLine Forecasting if needed.
SyteLEAN:
- Adds Lean / Kanban capabilities to CloudSuite Industrial (SyteLine) ERP
- Calculates Safety Stock
- Calculates Trigger/Reorder Point
- Calculates Maximum Supply
- Weighs History and Future usage – controlled by SyteLEAN parameters
- Creates JIT Picklists to communicate Kanban replenishment needs for manufacturing
SyteLEAN includes an inventory simulator that can quickly identify which items are best managed by a pull system, so that you can get your Lean inventory system up and running quickly.
If you are interested in an inventory management system that automatically corrects itself for changes in demand and product mix, and is much easier to deploy and manage than MRP – check our SyteLEAN.
SyteLEAN is compatible with all versions of SyteLine and CloudSuite Industrial.
Learn more today about DRI’s SyteLEAN application.
