Project-based Manufacturing is uniquely different than Manufacturing to Stock. In a build to stock environment, the end item product is built to satisfy forecasted requirements and the customer’s order is either shipped from, or configured from, a ready make stock inventory. In a project-based manufacturing environment, the requirements to satisfy the customer order are not “considered” until the sales order is entered into the ERP system. Except for the common inventory that is used to satisfy multiple project requirements, all purchased and sub-assembled items are bought and built specifically for a project. Planning, purchasing, and production costing are done at the project/item level, and the recognition of revenue and determinations of profit are accomplished at the project level.

What is the expected profit or loss for each project in process at your company? In order to obtain that information, the ERP system as designed must have readily available information in all aspects of project control. What’s more, the information you are working with had better be right, and if it is to have any real value, it must be real time.

Relevant software was architected from the bottom up for maximum efficiency in project-oriented environments, including capabilities that enable superior estimating, measuring, controlling, and reporting by department, project, and, if required for some projects, at the task/work breakdown levels.

Key Relevant Project-based Manufacturing capabilities enable:

• Project workbench, with one-click access to specific project costs and status in real time
• High level business planning by project
• MRP by project
• Costing by Project (either actual cost or standard cost)
• Estimating that can establish project budget baselines, especially useful in an Engineer to Order environment
• Discrete pegging of supply and demand by project
• Earned Value management support, if desired, for those long running as well as highly engineered projects, with all Financial, Cost, Project, and Earned Value (EV) impacts provided from a single point of entry
• Full lot, serial, and revision control

These capabilities are delivered via Relevant modules with project-orientation designed in. Key modules include:

Costing: Work Breakdown Structure, Earned Value Management

Engineering: Design Engineering, Production Engineering, Engineering Change Control, Estimating, Quoting

Manufacturing: Project Control, Shop Floor Control

Materials: Material Requirements Planning, Lot/Serial Control, Inventory Control

System: Multi-Division/Multi-Plant/Multi-Company

Other Relevant modules smoothly integrate with Relevant’s project-oriented modules and together, provide full enterprise support geared to deliver superior performance for Project-based Manufacturing companies.

Relevant software is scalable and extremely reliable, and backs its promises with 23 years of experience and satisfied customers.