Manufacturing companies need to digitise and automate 

Every two years, Exact surveys the challenges and opportunities for SMEs in the Netherlands and Belgium. In the survey, Exact concludes:  

"The ever-increasing costs and tight labour market increase the need to work efficiently. Digitalisation and automation can help. The SME Barometer survey shows that manufacturing companies are therefore indeed mainly looking at digitalisation to automate processes." Source: Exact 

How digitisation can contribute to more efficient working 

How can digitalisation contribute to more efficient working within manufacturing companies?  

In the survey, 62% of the 60 manufacturing companies surveyed indicated that digitalisation is a high priority within the company. Most of the remaining percentage disagrees and a small proportion does not know.  

The majority of those surveyed (59%) use digitisation and automation to automate tasks in order to work more efficiently. In addition, 35% say they save time and increase the quality of their work by automating tasks. And 23% say they can make better business decisions because digitisation and automation provides more numerical insight.  

Of course, that is where vPlan can be of great help. For instance, our tool offers extensive functionalities to digitise your processes and work more efficiently.  

• Optimised planning 
  In vPlan, you always have an overview of orders, deadlines and production volumes. This allows production companies to better plan their production processes and resources, set priorities and identify bottlenecks.  
• Workflow automation
  vPlan helps automate routine tasks, such as sending notifications and updating the status of orders, among others. This reduces the need for manual intervention, making the production process run more smoothly.
• Integration with other systems
  vPlan can often be integrated with other software tools used by manufacturing companies, such as ERP systems, CRM software or inventory management programmes. This means that information can be exchanged automatically between systems, saving time and reducing errors.
• Real-time communication and collaboration
  vPlan provides opportunities for real-time communication between team members, which is important for fast and efficient production. Employees can give immediate feedback, report problems, and receive updates without wasting time on physical meetings or manual emails.
• Reporting and analysis
  vPlan provides an analysis view that allows you to easily analyse progress, pre- and post-calculations. This enables manufacturing companies to gain insights into their efficiency, lead times and other key KPIs. With this data, companies can identify areas for improvement and further optimise their processes.
• Improved flexibility and adaptability
  Manufacturing companies can adjust and improve their processes based on changes in demand or resource availability. vPlan makes it easy to make changes to schedules without disrupting the entire process. 

Want to experience the above benefits in real life? Then create an account here and try vPlan today. 

Software for manufacturing companies 

Manufacturing companies can therefore benefit greatly from production software. Exact's survey shows that 49% of the companies surveyed only look for new software when the current software is outdated. Another part (30%) is only interested in new software when an improved version of the existing software comes onto the market.  

So trying out new software does not yet seem to be very popular. However, we see from the experiences of our customers that they have been able to make considerable efficiency gains by using software like vPlan for their production process. Wastoren, for instance, spends 45% less time on manual actions and PPD Instore uses 50% less paper. Curious about more experiences? Read our customer stories here.  

Conclusion 

Exact's research shows that manufacturing companies are under pressure due to rising costs and a tight labour market. Automation and digitalisation are seen as the main solutions for working more efficiently. This saves time, reduces costs and increases efficiency in the production process. 

If you want to work more efficiently as a manufacturing company, consider automation and digitisation with tools like vPlan. Try it today and discover the benefits for your business.