9 ERP Software Features for Manufacturing You Need To Look Out For

9 Manufacturing ERP Software Features You Need To Look Out For

Manufacturing ERP software is a powerful tool for streamlining your production processes and managing the complexities of modern manufacturing. With the right features in place, it can help you increase efficiency, reduce costs and make sure that everything runs smoothly from procurement to delivery.

In this guide, we’ll look at:

• Some of the key features to consider when selecting an ERP system for your manufacturing company so that you get maximum value out of your investment.
• How these manufacturing ERP features can benefit manufacturers across different industries, and why they should be considered essential components of any successful ERP implementation.

So, whether you’re a manufacturing business leader looking to improve your manufacturing facilities, or a systems analyst looking for your next move, here’s what you need to know about the must-have features for manufacturing ERP software.

Why use enterprise resource planning software in the manufacturing industry?

For manufacturing companies, great ERP solutions can streamline business processes, integrate crucial business intelligence and improve manufacturing operations across the whole organization.

From tracking inventory levels and production costs to quality control and raw materials management, ERP implementation can assist at all levels of your manufacturing process. Plus, by centralizing data, automating tedious tasks, and providing real-time insights into the progress of your production, ERP integration can give you a competitive edge in a busy manufacturing market.

Enterprise resource planning software works by combining processes into a single system, eliminating the need for multiple applications and making it easier to manage tasks and resources. This can have a number of procedural and organizational benefits for you and your manufacturing workforce.

The key benefits of a manufacturing ERP solution

Key benefits of ERP for manufacturing include:

• Allow your company to grow : For example, one of our clients grew from £250K to £2.5 million in 8 years using ERP.
• Keep promises to your customers: Always trust that people are working from the same page.
• Don’t delay in procurement: Use automated planning to know what to buy and when.
• Reduce administration and administrative costs : Automate as many processes as possible.
• “Learn” your processes : Produce what your customers need, when they need it, even in smaller quantities.



9 software features your manufacturing ERP system needs

It’s important to remember, however, that not all ERP systems are made equal.

Top-quality ERP software for manufacturers will include a range of key features specifically designed to help manufacturing companies succeed. It’s crucial that your system meets the needs of your business, so be sure to investigate the following features before making a purchase decision.

Key features to look out for include:

Stock control & inventory management

Stock control and inventory management are two core manufacturing processes that can be enhanced with the help of ERP.

From procurement to delivery, an effective inventory management system allows you to keep track of your resources and assets in real time. It also enables you to plan production more accurately and efficiently, ensuring that all materials needed for a job are there when they’re needed.

At Manu Online, our real-time planning engine was designed to accurately calculate your net requirements from sales and manufacturing, so you can easily manage procurement and production. With our ERP solution , crucial elements will never again be overlooked only to be remembered at the moment of shipment to the client.

Production scheduling

Production scheduling involves everything from creating a bill of materials to planning your orders, assigning resources, and allocating manufacturing facilities.

An efficient production scheduling system can help you better plan and organize resources so that projects are completed on time and in full. It should also incorporate comprehensive features such as cost control, resource forecasting, inventory management, and reporting capabilities.

An ERP platform can also support production capacity for your manufacturing business. By collating data from all areas of your organization, ERP systems can help you to more accurately forecast and plan production runs, allowing you to make better use of available capacity.

At Manu Online, our production scheduling features simplify the process of planning and managing both short and long-term production runs. Our timelines give you an overview of all ongoing projects, enabling you to quickly adjust schedule dates, assign resources, and manage inventory levels.

Traceability features

Traceability is key in the modern manufacturing landscape. It allows you to control the quality of your products, track their whereabouts from supply to delivery, and easily recall faulty items.

An effective traceability system should provide full visibility into all materials used in production, including item numbers, batches, expiry dates, and more. This enables manufacturers to quickly identify high-risk areas that require further investigation and take corrective action if required.

Manu Online’s ERP for manufacturing allows you to create a unique identification number that shows everything about the product. As regulated industries such as medical device manufacturing require every product to have a unique device number, this feature can be particularly useful for those industries.

Our platform enables tracking of the product back to its exact “as-built” structure and can include who of the individual employees have worked on the product, and at what time. This will give visibility across the individual devices for the manufacturer or other stakeholders such as service engineers.

Supply chain management

From raw materials to finished products, comprehensive supply chain management helps you maintain visibility and control over all of your suppliers. It enables you to plan for resources, anticipates customer demand, and track the end-to-end status of orders.

Manu Online’s ERP platform integrates with suppliers so they can be informed in real-time when orders need to be fulfilled. This helps you reduce lead times, save money and better manage the flow of materials into your production operation.

Our system also allows you to closely monitor supplier performance, so you can ensure quality standards are met at all times. Through tracking and analysis of supplier performance data, you can identify which suppliers need attention and make informed decisions about which suppliers are best suited for your business.

Serial number tracking

Serial numbering features can help speed up transactional processes in your manufacturing and inventory control. Especially for high-value products with multiple components, it can be difficult to succeed without serial number tracking in place.

Nearly always, serial numbers are labelled on products with barcodes or RFID, and these can be read by scanners on the product’s journey through production, warehousing, and on to the customer.

Manu Online’s serial number tracking solution simplifies the process of monitoring, tracking, and tracing products. It can be used to track individual components or finished goods across different sites or supply chains. This ensures every product is uniquely identified and traceable at all times.

Lot tracking features

Lot tracking capabilities help manufacturers trace and filter products by usage, expiration dates, or production dates. Lot tracking is often multi-level, so parts or ingredients can be tracked through different levels of subassemblies to the original manufacturer.

Manu Online’s lot tracking feature allows you to create and assign lots, set expiration dates, and quickly recall any products associated with those lots. This helps you guarantee the quality of your goods by ensuring they are always up-to-date and compliant with industry standards.

It also enables you to manage stocks efficiently while meeting customer demands, as you can quickly and accurately identify the locations of items and automatically alert warehouse personnel to replenish stock. This helps ensure that you never miss a sale and that your customers are always satisfied with the quality of the goods they receive.

Quality management

High quality standards are essential in the manufacturing industry, and a comprehensive ERP solution should be able to track and monitor any quality defects, giving you full visibility over your production.

At Manu Online, we offer a range of quality assurance features that allow you to plan inspections and audits at each stage of the production process. We also provide real-time visualization of your quality data so you can rapidly identify and address any potential issues.

This feature helps ensure compliance with industry regulations and customer requirements while saving you time and money by eliminating costly rework. Additionally, it enables you to provide detailed reports of your quality metrics to customers, vendors, and manufacturing staff.

Consistency of record keeping

Instead of pulling everything back to check all the parts on faulty product reports, which will result in a lot of time lost, complete everything with a few clicks. Find out immediately everything about warranties and repairs for specific products, all within your manufacturing ERP system.

These features are available through Manu Online’s ERP and provide you with the necessary information to keep your production running smoothly. By having all your records in one place, you can quickly and easily identify where problems are occurring and how to address them.

This helps ensure consistency in record keeping and reduces manual labor when it comes to tracing items or providing customers with detailed product information.

Regulations & compliance 

As you probably already know, compliance is crucial for any manufacturer. With product safety laws and a number of other regulations for organuizations to comply with, compliance features should be a key consideration when choosing your ERP.

Secure databases, accessible anywhere with an internet connection, make it easier for you to adhere to international standards such as ISO and regulations such as GDPR.

Manu Online’s ERP system helps you comply with a variety of regulations, allowing you to manage customer data securely and identify any compliance risks in your production processes. It provides a secure, GDPR-compliant database that stores customer information safely and is accessible anywhere with an internet connection.

It also includes automated checks to ensure all employees have the right access rights, helping you protect personal data and prevent unauthorized access or misuse.

Your manufacturing ERP software features checklist

1. Stock control & inventory management
2. Production scheduling
3. Traceability features
4. Supply chain management
5. Serial number tracking
6. Lot tracking features
7. Quality management
8. Consistency of record keeping
9. Regulations & compliance 

ERP features for different manufacturing industries

From process manufacturing to cosmetic manufacturing, every manufacturing sector has its own unique requirements. Manu Online provides tailored ERP features to meet the specific needs of different industries.

For example, if you’re a medical device manufacturer, compliance and regulation are going to be top prioritties. Manu Online offers a range of specific features that help you adhere to international standards and regulations, including secure databases, automated checks for employee access rights, and quality assurance features.

On the other hand, if you’re in the apparel industry, efficiency is key. Manu Online provides features such as customizable reports and dashboards to give you real-time visibility over your performance, automation to streamline processes and reduce human error, and inventory tracking features to help you accurately identify stock levels.



No matter what industry you work in, Manu Online has a set of tailored ERP features that can help improve your operations and make sure you’re always compliant with relevant regulations. With our ERP system, you’ll have the tools you need to stay ahead of the competition, whatever it is you produce.

Meet Manu Online: An ERP system designed for manufacturers

Gone are the days of making your tech fit your processes. Manu Online’s manufacturing ERP solutions are designed with the manufacturer in mind, offering a range of tailored features that make it easy to manage operations and ensure you’re always compliant.

By providing you with the tools, integrations, and features you need to streamline production and track customer requirements, Manu Online helps you stay competitive in an ever-changing industry. With our ERP system, you can rest assured that your operations are running smoothly and efficiently at all times.

So if you’re looking for an ERP system that has been designed specifically for manufacturers, try Manu Online today. You won’t be disappointed.