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5 Common Problems Facing Manufacturing Industry & How To Solve Them

Chai
June 26, 2021 |

Despite all of the obstacles, the manufacturing business is anticipated to increase in the next years. Manufacturers encounter a variety of internal obstacles in addition to the uncertainty of national and international economic conditions. Here are some common problems in manufacturing industry and how to solve them. 

1) Demand Forecasting 

Many firms are still having trouble anticipating future demand today. The biggest issue is that they lack comprehensive reporting systems that would allow them to forecast how many goods they should sell in the coming months or years. As a result, their products fall short of client expectations, resulting in fewer sales. This is another common problem in the manufacturing industry. 

Solution: Manufacturers should employ reliable reporting systems that may help them target sales and predict how much and which products they should manufacture in the upcoming term to forecast client demand correctly as these are are some common problems in manufacturing industry. 

Manufacturers must consider external factors such as foreign exchange rates, rising fuel prices, current market trends, and so on in addition to using software such as smart, cloud-based ERPs to generate accurate forecasts. Ensuring that the marketing and advertising teams are regularly informed about these issues. You can use DCKAP Integrator iPaaS middleware to integrate any ERP into your whole distribution or manufacturing business. 

2) Inventory Management & Control 

Inventory management remains one of the most difficult tasks in the manufacturing business, but it has gotten much easier with the help of automated solutions. Nonetheless, many manufacturers, particularly small ones, continue to handle their inventories manually.

Inventory management is a time-consuming task that can be simplified with the use of the software. Manual stock checks are inefficient and prone to errors, which can result in inaccuracies, shortages, and excess, as well as unidentified losses. These very are common problems in manufacturing industry. 

Solution: Inventory management solutions are critical for avoiding needless purchases of raw materials and equipment that lead to consumer discontent. Inventory audits (both physical and cycle counts) should be performed regularly to identify inconsistencies between the numbers reported in the company’s books and the actual quantity of items on hand using barcode scanners.

Inventory managers must guarantee that there are enough raw materials for production and that all completed goods are ready to be delivered to customers. Using inventory management software is simple to accomplish. It enables inventory managers to maintain track of inventory levels at all times, receives notifications when inventory levels drop below a certain threshold, and replenish the correct items on time.

Inventory management software can be combined with barcode scanners to speed up inventory tracking, as well as other software systems like purchasing and accounting systems. Small-scale manufacturing companies do not need to be concerned about the cost of this software because there are economical cloud alternatives available. This would largely solve some common problems in manufacturing industry. 

Want to know about Key Future Trends in Multi-Warehouse Inventory Management? Read more here. 

3) Efficiency Issues At Manufacturing Plants

Manufacturers have been seeking for efficient solutions to decrease costs and increase efficiency at their operations up until now. Many of them prefer to minimize production costs by sacrificing product quality, but this will only reduce their profitability since disgruntled customers will quit buying from them. These very are common problems in manufacturing industry. 

Solution: Modernizing processes and systematizing workflows is one of the most effective strategies to increase efficiency in manufacturing operations. Manufacturers must decrease time-consuming and labor-intensive processes, reduce material waste, maximize equipment use by reducing damage, and streamline their supply networks. All of these can be aided by Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions. 

You can learn more about how ERPs can improve various aspects of your business here

4) Growing Your ROI

Every manufacturer would like to boost their return on investment. They would usually raise their prices or boost their sales. These methods, however, are ineffective, particularly when economic conditions are unpredictable, decreasing consumer purchasing power.

1) Growing Your Sales 

Stronger sales, more revenue, larger profitability, lower overhead or manufacturing expenses, higher staff retention, and better customer satisfaction are all examples of returns that manufacturers should be able to quantify. They must then create numerous benchmarks for their return objectives. Instead of making greater sales a goal, they might make it a goal to boost sales during specific months.

2) Targeted Marketing 

Digital marketing may also help companies modify their marketing strategy because it is less expensive than traditional approaches (including placing advertisements on TV, newspapers, or billboards). This may be accomplished through optimizing the content on their website, placing advertising on search engines and social media, and customizing email marketing efforts.

3) Crushing Costs

Manufacturers can cut manufacturing costs by altering the design of packaging materials without sacrificing product quality, and they can negotiate lower pricing with suppliers. These very are common problems in manufacturing industry. 

Manufacturers may use ERP software to decrease not only production costs, but also labor expenses, regulate procurement costs, and distribute resources correctly.

and lastly… 

5) Managing SQLs

Another issue that manufacturers frequently encounter is managing and prioritizing sales leads. Many of them approach their leads the same way, yet this isn’t the best approach. Because each sales lead is unique in terms of personality, interests, and needs, each must be addressed as such. 

Because identifying prospective leads is tough, they focus on unpromising prospects, overlooking high-potential leads. 

Solution: Manufacturers must have a thorough understanding of their sales prospects. This may be accomplished by diving deeper into their data and implementing a system that allows them to easily store, manage, and track prospect information. 

Through a consolidated customer database, the CRM system can help manufacturers better understand their sales leads, know the status of sales leads in real-time without having to ask the sales team, and distribute those leads to the right sales teams. 

You can learn more about connecting a CRM with your business here

To know more about how to thrive in the eCommerce industry as a manufacturer or a wholesale distributor check out DCKAP

Thanks for reading! 

Chai

Chai was a product marketer at Cloras (now DCKAP Integrator) ☁️ He is a coffee evangelist, a bibliophile, and constantly forgets to water his house plants.

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