If your metals fabrication business is drowning in spreadsheets and governed by manual tasks, it’s time for a change. Manufacturers around the world are increasingly turning to machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) to automate key processes, thus freeing up vital resources.
It’s not just about cutting down on payroll costs and removing manual workers from the equation. It’s about automating menial tasks that are prone to human error and ensuring that skilled workers are used properly and not resigned to mere stock checkers and administrators.
If you want efficiency, you need automation, and if automation is the goal, enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are the solution.
Automation for Steel Service Centers and Metal Manufacturers
ERP systems are complete, integrated software suites designed to connect all departments and employees to a single source of information. Everyone is reading off the same page, and data is tracked in real time and then sent to the appropriate department.
ERP systems boost efficiency and optimization, and while automation is just one part of that, it can be a game-changer.
Here are just a few of the ways an ERP system can automate your business operations:
Inventory Management
Traditionally, inventory management was a laborious, hands-on process. Employees checked all incoming materials, recorded them, added them to stock lists, and adjusted those lists when materials were sent for processing.
ERP automates this process by monitoring all stock in real time. The inventory is updated as soon as new materials arrive, and these updates continue as operations progress. This ERP solution can also track the quality of the materials, making sure the supplier is holding up their end of the bargain and that the quality of stored materials doesn’t degrade.
If more materials are needed, the ERP system will order them. If it predicts an increase in demand, whether because of market changes or seasonal trends, it will order additional stock to cover the shortfall.
In this way, inventory management helps companies avoid the expense of overstocking and the chaos of understocking.
Order Fulfillment
Automated order processing and fulfillment is used across all industries. It’s an essential part of global commerce, as it combines state-of-the-art verification to validate customers and payment details.
Suspicious payments are flagged, and fraudulent transactions are rejected, thus mitigating the company’s financial risk.
The system will also check that the ordered product is in stock before creating picking lists and packing slips and then printing shipping labels. Everything happens in real time, expediting processing and avoiding stock shortages by requesting more supplies as and when needed.
Human Resources
ERP solutions include various human resource (HR) tools to assist employees with recruitment, onboarding, payroll, and performance evaluations. It can find suitable candidates for open positions, help with allocation and training, track employee performance, and ensure they are paid promptly and in full, with taxes and deductions calculated as per the local tax and labor laws.
As with other aspects of ERP automation, the goal isn’t just to reduce employee workload and utilize skilled workers more effectively. It also reduces human error and oversights. This is an issue in every department and every industry, but the fallout from human error is often much greater in human resources, where it could lead to costly overpayments that strain company accounts or underpayments that frustrate hard-working employees.
Financial Reporting
ERP accounting solutions automatically create sales orders, invoices, and balance sheets. It generates various reports and ensures that invoices are paid in a timely manner, reducing the need for manual input and keeping clients happy.
The software compares all information with connected bank accounts and statements, looking for inconsistencies that warrant further attention. If it finds a discrepancy, it will raise a red flag and call for manual input.
Customer Relationship Management
Customer relationship management (CRM) tools track the entire customer journey and provide solutions that benefit both the company and the consumer. Not only is ordering easier and quicker, but sales teams can use CRM to interact with customers for the purposes of upselling, providing product support, or simply building long-term relationships.
It can create support systems that provide users with automated responses to commonly asked questions and then encourage them to send a message if their issue has not been addressed. A support ticket is then created and sent to the relevant department. If the assigned agent is unable to help, they can merely hand the request to another agent, with the ticket only closing when the customer is happy.
CRM implementations may improve customer lifetime value, which means that customers spend more money over the long term. The longer they stay with the company, the more they spend, increasing the return on advertising spend (ROIS) with every order and every dollar.
Conclusion: Automation in the Steel and Metal Industry
The metal fabrication industry is particularly susceptible to inventory management and supply chain issue. It also necessitates the building of strong relationships with both suppliers and customers, and processes vast amounts of data, all of which needs to be collected, processed, and analyzed.
It’s a lot of work and would be impossible without the help of an ERP system. At RealSTEEL, we offer tailored ERP solutions for all companies in this sector, including metal service centers and manufacturers. Our cloud-based solutions are fully customizable, so you can adapt them to meet the specific needs of your company, including the integration of key processes like:
- Steel nesting software
- Inventory management
- Metal framing software
- Coil slitting software
- Plate processing software
- Human resource management
- Multi-line processing software
- Customer relationship management
- Flat rolled software
Click here to arrange a demo of our software and see what RealSTEEL can do for you. If you need more information or have any questions about our software or service, contact our sales team.
