Being an R&D manager for a process manufacturing industry, you and your team members need freedom and flexibility to bring up experimentation and develop innovative products. Moreover, in your leadership role, you are also responsible to collaborate with team individuals and at the same time document the entire process of product development. This may seem like a cake walk! However, it is NOT if executed without an ERP. ERP solution is the right catalyst to help an R&D Manager develop innovative products and generate increased revenue.
In point of fact, an ERP offers the robust foundation to manage formulas and perform experimentation- the key roles of R&D department.
Let’s see how:
1. ERP Manages Formulas & Recipes
The role of R&D manager demands dealing with complex recipes and formulas daily. And, an ERP software is designed keeping this point in mind. It offers secure recording of formulas, and allows intensive testing on experimental formulas- that includes quality monitoring and maintaining BOM revisions. This means the master formula remains safe and the R&D department can relish secure experimentation.
Features like: associating notes and maintaining documents allow real-time data throughout the organization to foster analyzation and make important business decisions. An ERP solution developed for batch manufacturers that address formulation helps meet your strategic needs for research and development.
2. ERP offers sandbox environment
The biggest benefit of R&D functionality within an ERP is its capability to involve in product testing and development without disturbing or interfering with the current production. Ensuring continuous production in this way, ERP not only saves money, but also the valuable time. Using such a sandbox environment, the R&D staff can develop and pilot new formulas and explore the improvement of its physical, chemical, and nutritional properties. And, when they are ready with the new formula and assured about its quality, they can easily convert it to live production environment in a single click.
3. ERP makes it possible to meet customers’ specific requirement
Sampling is a way to make small quantities of finished goods in accordance with the customers’ specific requirements. You very well know the intricacies involved- getting the specifications from the customer, giving the guidelines to R&D manager, re-tweaking the formulas/recipes to attain the target properties/characteristic, getting it manufactured, evaluating its cost, sending it to the customer for approval, if unproved, performing all the steps again and over again till it is approved. Phew! And not to forget the tedious task of documenting the entire communication with the customer.
Definitely, it’s not easy. But, the process can be handled much easily with an ERP. ERP offers Sample Management module that can help you define, design, manufacture, track, and approve the samples. Not only this, it also estimates the cost associated with that sample and maintains information like anticipated sales volume, current price, target price, and estimated time required to produce that sample. Additionally, it also tracks all the communication with the vendor for future reference purpose.
4. ERP ensures meeting targeted physical properties & cost
ERP’s capability of computerized calculations helps R&D manager achieve the targeted physical, nutritional or specific characteristic, cost, potency, specific packaging, etc. Moreover, its seamless integration with standard databases (like USDA, Genesis, etc.) generating precise and approved formats of nutritional labels, ingredient statements, allergen declarations and nutrient content and other standard industry reports.
Supporting another important factor- cost of the new product, ERP performs granular level accurate costing of product considering all the elements and as per various costing methods. Also, it allows what-if cost analysis to help R&D manager estimate the profitable scenarios based on different assumptions.
Long story short…
ERP managers formula securely and offer safe experimentation platform. Thus, the output of your Research and Development department becomes more efficient and streamlined with your business objectives. It supports safe and secure exploration of new products to enhance its value. Above all, it helps draw the new products that are affordable yet profitable.
So, what are you waiting for? Start using an ERP, break the cycle of monotony, and drive better, faster, and smarter innovation.