The best ERP systems for process manufacturing

Process manufacturers create their goods by combining ingredients and supplies using a formula or recipe.  These manufacturers often produce bulk products like petroleum, pharmaceuticals, food and beverages, chemicals and plastics. Tracking, compliance, and scheduling tools are critical to maintaining peak efficiency and ensuring safety and quality, especially in highly regulated industries. With such specific needs, ERP systems for process manufacturers must deliver highly specialized tools.

Because of the variety of process manufacturing businesses, many ERP systems are developed for specific niches, such as food and beverages, pharmaceuticals, or chemicals. This guide will help you explore the leading ERP options for process manufacturing.

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Best ERP systems for process manufacturing

Sage X3:

Sage X3 is a comprehensive ERP system designed to serve global process manufacturing operations. Available worldwide, Sage X3 offers complete global compliance, helping companies navigate complex laws and regulations across different currencies, regions and sectors.

With web-based access, you can use Sage on any connected device, anytime, anywhere. It helps ensure the consistent quality of products while maintaining the flexibility to act on any opportunity. For instance, food manufacturers can ensure batch consistency and safety through automated traceability, while chemical manufacturers can meet stringent regulatory requirements across multiple regions.

As a complete ERP, Sage X3 offers accounting and financials, purchasing, inventory, supply chain, sales and customer management tools. Notably, its focus on lot and batch traceability enables companies to trace raw materials from supplier to finished product. This is critical for food safety, compliance, and reducing waste in industries where spoilage is a concern, such as dairy or pharmaceuticals.

The software includes quality control features, managing batches, lot numbers, sub-batches and expiration dates. It also offers upstream and downstream traceability, allowing you to drill into quality inspections as needed.

Plex ERP:

Plex is another well-established ERP system that serves process manufacturing, particularly in the food and beverage industry. The system advertises end-to-end quality, instant traceability and industry-leading cost and inventory management.

For food and beverage manufacturers, Plex supports electronic HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) programs, ensuring regulatory compliance for safe food production.

Plex's real-time traceability helps companies rapidly manage product recalls. For instance, Dominion Liquid Technologies improved traceability, quality and inventory control using this system. It allows manufacturers to quickly track ingredients and products, enabling them to respond to recalls in minutes.

The ERP’s features support nonconformance, corrective action, preventative action and statistical process controls, all essential for process manufacturers aiming to maintain compliance and high production standards.

DELMIAWorks Manufacturing ERP:

DELMIAWorks Manufacturing ERP (formerly IQMS) provides a comprehensive set of tools for process manufacturers, including MES (Manufacturing Execution Systems) functionality. This ERP system supports every aspect of the business, from human resources and financial management to warehouse control and quality assurance. It offers "first expiry, first out" (FEFO) logic—crucial for food and beverage companies managing perishable goods, allowing them to minimize waste and prevent costly stock losses.

In the food and beverage industry, this manufacturing ERP system helps manage recipe flexibility and multiple units of measure, supporting variable production quantities based on customer demand. Lot tracking from the field to the grocery store shelf offers full transparency, enabling quick recalls if necessary.

DELMIAWorks is designed to enhance productivity and efficiency by connecting different business functions in a single platform, ensuring that all aspects of production are aligned, from quality control to financial reporting.

QAD ERP:

QAD has long provided ERP solutions to process manufacturers, particularly those in the food and beverage industry. QAD focuses on industries with complex forecasting requirements and strict regulations, such as distilleries, wineries and frozen food producers.

A global frozen food manufacturer implemented QAD's solutions to drive lean transformation, achieving an 8% increase in productivity and a 5% reduction in downtime. They also reduced energy costs by an average of $300,000 per facility through energy-saving Kaizen events. These improvements were part of a broader continuous improvement program across their 50 production sites, enhancing both operational efficiency and sustainability.

Aptean Food & Beverage ERP (JustFood Enterprise Edition):

Aptean Food & Beverage ERP, also known as JustFood is another ERP that serves process manufacturers including food and beverage companies.  Whether you co-pack, private label, or produce your own line of food or specialty items you have unique requirements in product development, production, inventory, costing, lot traceability, compliance, planning, scheduling, and warehousing. 

To dynamically adjust recipes for nutritional, physical, and cost targets, you need process manufacturing ERP software. Perhaps you need to adjust specs based on inventory or reserve products for a specific customer. Need role-based dashboards with drill-down capabilities? You need a process manufacturing ERP.

Maintaining quality amidst changing consumer demands

With the rise in health-conscious consumers, food and beverage businesses must adapt, and so must their ERP systems. The demand has shifted towards purchasing foods free from preservatives and GMOs. Organic food demands require ERP systems to ensure all ingredients and processes are organic. Businesses rely on ERP systems to adjust recipes amidst changing demands while maintaining product quality and nutritional benefits.

Ingredient transparency and labeling requirements

Consumers today want to know what goes into their food and meaning ingredient labeling is becoming an important factor in product packaging.  Those ingredients are unique to each batch and recipe and ERP systems supply the list for the needed label.

Food and beverage manufacturers along with many process manufacturers, are very stringently governed by regulations.  Organizations such as the FDA, EPA, OSHA, and FTC are rather diligent in enforcing norms related to the launch of healthy products, regulating food labels, and maintaining a clean, and hygienic environment.  ERP systems for process industries must provide business intelligence and reporting tools that make such compliance as simple and routine as possible ensuring no reporting errors.

The importance of inventory management in food safety

Inventory management is critical in the food industry and in other process-related businesses.  Food is susceptible to pathogens if not stored properly.  ERP inventory management is not just about quantity and money, but the quality of stores as well.

Process manufacturers must document and use current good manufacturing practices (cGMP). These should be integrated, not added on, to ERP systems for process businesses. Maintain a culture that prevents, rather than reacts to, issues. Electronic document management is an excellent way to meet cGMP using ERP.

Pharmaceutical Manufacturing and regulatory challenges

Food and beverage companies are only part of the process manufacturing world.  Pharmaceutical manufacturers also need to deal with extremely long development times for their products and then deal with the risk of constantly changing market environments.  Regulatory agencies almost dictate the production processes in this industry.

Formula management and traceability are as important as recipe management in food and beverage.  Non-conformance management is somewhat shared too.  Pharmaceuticals need to work with variable specifications depending on a particular customer or country where a product might be sold.  The same product might be sold in a variety of strengths, each with its own formulation.  Often pharmaceuticals need multiple billing processes.

Plastics manufacturing ERP

Plastics manufacturers deal with unique production processes, including managing by-products and co-products, and typically produce goods on a made-to-order basis. ERP systems tailored for plastics must handle these nuances by offering advanced production planning, quality management, and waste reduction tools.

Challenges and solutions with plastics manufacturing ERP:

• Inventory management: Plastics manufacturers often face volatile demand and short product life cycles. An ERP system helps optimize inventory management by forecasting demand, reducing overproduction, and minimizing the stock of expensive raw materials like resins.
• Regulatory compliance: Plastics manufacturing involves the use of hazardous materials that require strict adherence to environmental regulations. ERP systems provide the necessary tracking and reporting tools to comply with these standards.
• Real-time production data: An ERP system enables manufacturers to collect and analyze real-time production data, improving operational efficiency. This is critical in managing production lines that need to adapt quickly to order-specific requirements.

Chemical manufacturing ERP

Chemical manufacturers operate in one of the most regulated industries, dealing with hazardous materials, strict safety protocols, and extensive documentation requirements. In fact, 86% of US-based chemical manufacturers report an increased regulatory burden and expect more new regulations across all government levels next year. ERP systems in this sector must focus on compliance management, formula optimization and traceability.

Challenges and Solutions with chemical manufacturing software:

• Compliance and safety: Chemical manufacturers must comply with various international regulations, including those from OSHA, EPA, and REACH. ERP systems like Sage X3 offer robust compliance management tools, enabling real-time tracking of hazardous substances and simplifying regulatory reporting.
• Batch control: In chemical manufacturing, batch control is essential. ERP systems allow for precise formula management, including adjusting batch sizes dynamically and tracking every raw material throughout the production process.
• Waste reduction: Chemical manufacturing often produces by-products that need careful disposal. ERP systems help manage waste by ensuring proper documentation and scheduling of disposal procedures, reducing environmental impact and compliance risks.

Oil & Gas ERP

Oil & Gas companies operate globally and face constant volatility in market conditions, as well as complex logistical and regulatory challenges. ERP systems must provide tools for asset management, regulatory compliance, and real-time data analytics to help businesses remain competitive and agile.

Challenges and Solutions with oil & gas industry software:

• Asset management: Oil & gas companies manage large, expensive assets like pipelines, refineries, and drilling rigs. ERP systems such as QAD or Sage X3 provide real-time asset tracking and maintenance management tools, ensuring that equipment is operational and minimizing costly downtimes.
• Supply Chain Optimization: The industry operates on a global scale, with supply chains spanning multiple regions. Oil and gas ERP systems help optimize these supply chains by coordinating production schedules with transportation logistics, refining operations, and market demand.
• Compliance: The oil and gas industry faces some of the strictest regulations concerning environmental protection and operational safety. ERP systems can track environmental metrics, manage compliance documentation, and help with real-time reporting to ensure companies

Actionable advice for selecting a process manufacturing ERP

When selecting the best-fit ERP system for your process manufacturing business, it’s crucial to evaluate your specific needs. Start by creating a comprehensive list of your requirements, considering factors such as:

• Industry regulations: Does your ERP need to handle FDA, EPA, or HACCP compliance?
• Traceability and quality control: Do you need end-to-end traceability for recalls or quality assurance?
• Customization and integration: Can the ERP adjust to your production scale or recipe management needs?
• Real-time data: Does the system offer cloud access for real-time monitoring and decision-making?

Conclusion

The best ERP system for process manufacturing is the one that meets the unique needs of your business.  Devote the time and resources necessary to build your list of requirements and there will be at least one ERP provider to help.