Workshop

Your plan for Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software was for it to be the central nervous system for your facility. This software would integrate all departments and functions across your company into one computer system. Your ERP system was to track company financial information, engineering data, and manufacturing information from order entry to the shipping of your finished product.

You were under the impression that installing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software in your manufacturing facility would bring needed results in a reasonable amount of time, and that it would be simple and easy to use.

So what happened?
Existing ERP systems are being used to support an increasing amount of critical business initiatives, even though this is far from their original purpose. You started spending mountains of money and people’s time to get this software synchronized with your business. The economy changed; and your customers insisted on shorter lead times and lower prices; and you now need to integrate ERP with Lean and your suppliers and customers. You now realize your company’s mind-set from the “traditional way of doing business” is now gone forever.
This workshop places heavy emphasis on ERP basics, and re-building shop floor and supply chain order modifiers, to support new business thinking.

Topics Include:

ERP Overview

• Defining ERP and Lean

• Understanding the various ERP engines

• Using ERP in a Lean environment

Advanced thinking for resetting ERP

• New calculations for lead times, lot sizing and safety stock

• ABC classification

• Back scheduling

• Lead time offset

• Exception reporting

• Business rules

Lean Scheduling (factory and supplier)

• ERP “thoughtware” to level load the factory

• Mixed-Model scheduling for ERP and Lean

• Order launching and dispatching techniques

Supply Chain

• ERP “thoughtware” to synchronize the Supply Chain

• Outlining process steps for automated Supply Chain communication

Path Forward

• Measuring what’s important

• Developing a detailed plan

• Celebrating success

As a workshop participant, you will learn to…

• Organize your ERP “rebuilding” effort

• Rethink and document your factory and Supply Chain business rules

• Use new “thoughtware” to fundamentally change the way you plan and manage people, materials and machines

• Reduce lead times and improve on-time performance

• Eliminate inventory in the Supply Chain

Who Should Attend?

Manufacturing staff responsible for the following: Corporate Management, Materials, Production, Purchasing, Material Handling, Planning, Engineering, Information Technology, Operations, Factory Automation,
Logistics and Finance.

ERP Optimization
ROBERT A. ABAIR, CPIM

As Senior Partner, in Robert Abair Associates, Inc., Bob has managed his own consulting firm for over 25 years. He has guided large and small clients on ERP/MRP II, Supply Chain Management, Lean/Agile Manufacturing, JIT, TQM, and major cost reduction initiatives. In 1997, the firm became consulting partners with Agility Forum, in Bethleham, PA.

Prior positions include Plant Manager for a plastics extrusion company, Director of Materials with a high-volume valve company, as well as Production Control Manager, and MRP II Project Leader at a large cutting tool company. Bob was instrumental in the design and implementation of their high-volume manufacturing and warehouse distribution, MRP II and DRP Systems.

Mr. Abair has more than thirty years of management experience in various manufacturing, distribution, and service companies, including management positions as Plant Manager, Director of Materials, Production Control Manager, as well as Data Processing, and Sales. Industry experience includes electronics, defense, textiles, food processing, rubber, metals, heavy machinery, distribution, printing, chemical processing, biotech, high-performance ceramics, packaging, insurance, toys and games, sporting goods, medical, and fiber optics.

He has a BSBA from Clark University. In addition, he is a graduate from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute School of Industrial Management and the Emery School of Computer Science. Also, Mr. Abair is a Certified Practitioner in the field of Production and Inventory Management.

For over thirty-five years, he has been an active member of APICS. He, also, served for eighteen years on the Worcester County Chapter Board of Directors, serving as President in 1981. He has been a frequent speaker and educator on the local, national and international level. In addition to local workshops and seminars, his speaking experience includes: keynote speaker at National Agility Conferences, National IBM Manufacturing Conference, the APICS International Conferences, APICS Regional Seminars, Motorola University, Six-Sigma Quality Symposium, International AME/Lean Conferences, as well as frequent international speaking engagements and seminars. He is, also, a past Six-Sigma instructor at Motorola University.

1995, Bob also received the APICS International Award for "Best Advanced Skill Speaker".

He is known as an industry leader, in his field, working with companies from entrepreneurial start-ups to Fortune 500 Companies such as IBM, Norton, St. Gobain, Friendly Ice Cream, Dupont, Malden Mills, GE, AT&T, Lucent, Raytheon, Titleist, Eastman Kodak, Hasbro, Bemis, Gerber, Speedline, Necco, Lego, Teradyne, Philips, Smith & Nephew, Southworth, Savage Sports, Lenox, Canberra, and Bayer Corporation.