Solution 14 · ERP & Operations Management Systems
One operational record from purchase order to shipment
An operations system where purchasing, stock, production and fulfillment share one set of records — so a sales order reserves materials, a delay shows up before it becomes a missed date, and finance sees costs as they happen.
- Purchasing & suppliers
- Inventory control
- Production planning
- Sales order processing
The problem it solves
When every department keeps its own version
As businesses grow, purchasing runs from email, inventory from a spreadsheet, production from a whiteboard and finance from the accounting package. Each team re-keys the same order into its own tool, counts drift apart, and planners only learn materials are short when a job is due to start. Month-end becomes an exercise in reconciling numbers that should have agreed.
An operations system built around your processes puts purchasing, stock, production and orders on shared records. Each department works from its own screens, but every action updates the same data everyone else plans from.
Who uses it
Operations manager
Watches open orders, production schedules and stock positions across sites, and spots bottlenecks before they delay a customer shipment.
Purchasing lead
Raises purchase orders from reorder suggestions, compares supplier quotes and tracks deliveries against what was ordered and invoiced.
Warehouse staff
Receives goods, moves stock between locations, picks orders and records counts from a scanner or tablet on the floor.
Supplier
Uses a portal to confirm purchase orders, update delivery dates, upload documents and see payment status for their invoices.
The blueprint
Building blocks in this system
- 01
Accounts & roles
Roles for purchasing, warehouse, production, finance and management, with approval limits and site-level access where needed.
- 02
Inventory & stock
Stock by item, batch and location, with receiving, transfers, cycle counts, reservations against orders and reorder points.
- 03
Admin console
The operations console for items, bills of materials, suppliers, work orders, approval rules and master data maintenance.
- 04
Dashboards & reports
Stock value, supplier lead times, order backlog, production output and margin by product, refreshed from live operational data.
- 05
Integrations & API
Connections to accounting, ecommerce and sales channels, shipping carriers, barcode scanners and existing systems you keep running.
- 06
Customer portal
A supplier and customer portal for confirming orders, sharing delivery dates and documents, and checking status without phone calls.
- 07
Notifications
Alerts for stock below reorder point, late supplier deliveries, approvals waiting and orders at risk of missing dates.
It can also include
How it works
From customer order to delivered goods
- 01
Order received
A sales order arrives from a sales channel or rep, and the system checks stock and capacity before it is confirmed.
- 02
Materials planned
Required materials are reserved, shortfalls become suggested purchase orders, and work orders are scheduled for production where needed.
- 03
Purchased and received
Approved purchase orders go to suppliers, deliveries are received against them, and stock levels update by location.
- 04
Made and picked
Production records the materials used and output completed, then the warehouse picks and packs the finished order.
- 05
Shipped and costed
Shipment triggers the invoice in accounting, the customer is notified, and actual costs feed margin reporting.
Connects & grows
Integrations and a roadmap
Typically connects to
- Accounting software
- Ecommerce and sales channels
- Shipping carriers
- Barcode scanning and label printing
- Business intelligence tools
- Supplier data exchange
- Single sign-on
- Phase 1
Launch
Items, suppliers and stock by location, purchase orders with approvals, receiving and sales orders on shared records, with an accounting connection and dashboards for stock and open orders at one site.
- Phase 2
Expand
Production planning with bills of materials and work orders, barcode scanning in the warehouse, a supplier portal, reorder suggestions and connections to your sales channels and shipping carriers.
- Phase 3
Scale
Multiple sites and warehouses, batch and lot traceability, demand forecasting from order history, customer self-service for order status, and detailed margin and cost reporting across product lines and locations.
Where it fits
Sectors and services
Sectors that run on it
FAQ
Questions about operations systems
Something else? Ask us directly.
Packaged ERP suites suit many businesses, and we will say so when your processes match them. A custom or extended system makes sense when your operations are distinctive — unusual production steps, a mix of make-to-order and stock items, or several systems that must keep running. We can also customize or integrate an existing ERP rather than replace it.
Let’s work together
Map your operations system with us.
Tell us how your business runs today. We’ll map the building blocks and give you a fixed quote before anything is built.