We have been developing Small Manufacturing Management Software for over a decade. In fact, we also develop software features for Field Service Business, Job Shop Manufacturing Business, restoration job management, etc. As a result, we have extensive knowledge of what works and what doesn’t work, concerning management for small business. The main reason our target market is small business is, large companies, i.e. 2,000 plus employees, usually develop and program their own software.
You see, we know small business, because we’ve owned small businesses; that’s our experience, our calling, for over a decade.
Small Manufacturing Management Software | R.I.P.
Due to competition, many Small Manufacturing Management Software companies have expired, AND may they rest in peace. The reason for their demise is, they didn’t keep up with merging technologies i.e. new programing languages more suited for mobile phones, tablets, etc. Moreover, they did not continually improve. Therefore, opening the doors and their windows to competitors.
As a result, more aggressive and forward-thinking companies have come into the market with innovative ideas for small business. More competition is good for buyers, and it also pushes software developers to be more customer conscience.
BUT, BUYER BEWARE!
To clarify, some of these new aggressive companies have cornered the market through acquisition of other software companies, for the sole purpose of eliminating competition. As a result, once the acquisition is complete, the acquiring company then forces the acquired company’s customer to upgrade the new company’s software. Of course, upgrading comes with a hefty price, in most cases. The acquiring company forces upgrading by informing the old company’s clients, they will NO LONGER SUPPORT the old software.
Consequently, the customer can either keep their current software with NO support, or upgrade to the new supported software. The problem with this type acquisition is, the new company WINS and the old customer LOSES. Sadly, gone is the acquired client software investment.
Small Manufacturing Management Software | W.I.P.
All small business manufacturing companies know the acronym W.I.P. stands for Work in Progress.
W.I.P. definition: In manufacturing, it’s the total volume of work that has begun the manufacturing process on an item/widget. However,, the delivery of the item/widget has not yet occurred. In the service industry, for example, it’s a project/task that has begun, but not yet delivered to the customer via email, fax, videos, SAAS, etc.
There are many process steps in manufacturing and service businesses. For this reason, top companies write down every production process, step by step, and compile them into an operations manual. But, that’s for another blog!
The point of giving the definition for W.I.P (Work in Progress) is twofold.
One is, that most processes for building or servicing product have a beginning and an end. For example, after a refrigerator goes through all stages of manufacturing, and is delivered to the end user, the process is complete. In other words, after completion, it’s not brought back to the manufacture every few months for an overhaul/update; therefore, maintenance is up to the end user.
However, in SAAS software, i.e. Small Manufacturing Management Software, the W.I.P. should never be complete. Therefore, it’s a continual Work in Progress.
That’s the benefit of using SAAS (Software as a Service) companies. However, again, BUYER BEWARE!
Small Business Management Software | Average vs. Great
We’ve written extensively on what separates AVERAGE companies from the GREAT; however, it bears repeating.
ALL GREAT companies organize via systemization. In other words, they use the power of systems to guarantee quality and service; whereby, quality and service is not a slogan used for marketing, it’s who they are.
Here are some ingredients to a “secret sauce” for separating Average management software from Great management software.
Specifically, a GREAT Small Manufacturing Management Software should have as one of its features, quality control and service control systems. In addition, it should have a system for tracking all non-conformance plus the root cause of non-conformance. As a result, it provides the software client with the necessary tools—systems for quality and service control and the continual improvement of their business.
To summarize: A Small Manufacturing Management Software should contain all the tools necessary for their clients to become GREAT companies.
Did I mention? Great systems work!