How Genius ERP Streamlines ETO Jobs

Engineer-to-Order (ETO) manufacturing is true custom manufacturing. In stark contrast to more conventional types of manufacturing, where items are mass-produced based on demand forecasting, ETO manufacturing creates products tailored precisely to individual customer specifications. 

As the desire for one-of-a-kind designs and custom jobs continues to increase, ERPs are not just keeping step but are even driving this change. These specialized ERPs are tailored to meet the distinct requirements of custom manufacturers, empowering them to navigate the intricate challenges inherent in ETO manufacturing. 

Understanding ETO Manufacturing

Whether it’s an intricate piece of machinery, a specialized aerospace or defense item, or any other product designed to meet particular client needs, the ETO manufacturing process begins with a customer’s order. ETO manufacturers design and engineer unique products to fulfill unique customer requirements. 

Several features set ETO manufacturing apart from other types of manufacturing:

Customization: ETO products are meticulously designed to meet the distinct needs of individual customers. This often necessitates extensive engineering and design efforts to ensure the final product aligns perfectly with the client’s specifications.

Engineering: Engineering and design assume a central role in ETO manufacturing. Projects often involve intricate calculations, Computer-Aided Design (CAD) work and collaboration between engineers and production teams.

Project-Based: ETO manufacturing jobs are typically organized as distinct projects, each with its own set of tasks, timelines and resource requirements. This project-based structure adds complexity to project management and monitoring.

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Diverse Components: ETO products may encompass a wide array of components and materials, some standard and others custom-made. Coordinating the procurement and assembly of these components can be challenging and requires meticulous planning.

Genius ERP Knows ETO Manufacturing

The unique needs of ETO manufacturers mean they need unique solutions. 

ERP software built for ETO manufacturers needs to be specialized to give ETO manufacturers a complete solution that consolidates various business functions, including project management, engineering, procurement, inventory management and financials, into one integrated system. Using an ERP built for ETO manufacturing eliminates reliance on spreadsheets, manual data entry and disjointed information systems, ensuring a more streamlined and efficient operation.

Genius ERP: With you every step of the way

Genius ERP is designed exclusively for custom manufacturers and includes the features and functionality you need to streamline complex processes and enhance collaboration.

Genius recognizes the unique requirements of Engineer-to-Order (ETO) manufacturers and gives you seamless coordination between product development, purchasing, production planning, sales and accounting. We provide a centralized platform where manufacturers can store and manage all the necessary information for ETO projects, including details about open orders, prices, preferred vendors, inventory counts, CAD models and multi-level BOMs.

Take a Virtual Tour of a manufacturing shop to show you how Genius ERP is built to handle ETO manufacturing.

Engineering

The engineering department is the heart of an ETO manufacturer, but too often, it is disconnected from the rest of your shop. Genius ERP is built specifically for ETO manufacturers and has robust features, including our industry-leading CAD2BOM, that connect your engineering department to the rest of your operations.

With Genius ERP, your engineers can track project progress, share design files and communicate with other key departments to speed up production.

Did you know that in a typical custom shop, up to 20% of engineering time — time that should be devoted to other, more important tasks — is taken up by manually transferring a BOM from a CAD system to an ERP?

Genius ERP’s CAD2BOM (Computer-Aided Design to Bill of Materials) automatically converts 3D CAD models into a bill of materials (BOM), providing an accurate list of all the components required to manufacture a product, including the quantities, part numbers and suppliers.

CAD2BOM provides a direct link between the product design and the manufacturing process to reduce errors and speed up production. It also allows your team to easily track and monitor the status of each component.

Purchasing

Purchasing is a complicated task in ETO manufacturing environments. Unlike in more standardized manufacturing, raw materials and parts aren’t required consistently or straightforwardly. This complexity is further compounded by the necessity to source items with extended lead times, often requiring orders to be placed before the product’s full design and engineering are completed.

Genius ERP streamlines purchasing by automating purchasing processes, providing accurate checklists of items to be procured, automatically monitoring inventory levels and managing vendor relationships.

You can manage all your interactions with suppliers in a single system — including quote requests, purchase orders, receiving, and invoicing — to better control costs. Easily create and send RFQs to multiple vendors, allowing you to evaluate vendors on several factors like on-time delivery, quality and price, guaranteeing that you always choose the right supplier for every job.

Genius ERP’s powerful purchasing features are also synced with our robust engineering features, like CAD2BOM, giving your purchasing department time to track down long-lead items during the design phase of a job.

Inventory Management

Good inventory management goes hand-in-hand with purchasing. You need to know what you have on hand before you can know what you need to purchase.

Genius ERP is in sync with the rest of your business, allowing you to set up good inventory management processes in your shop. Not only will you get precise inventory counts in real-time — so you can accurately assign parts to jobs and always know what you have available — but you can also take advantage of advanced features like automated re-order functions that will alert you when stock is low and automatically place an order for those parts for you. 

Genius ERP lets you keep tabs on your inventory down to the serial number, preventing production interruptions by eliminating unexpected material shortages. Bar code scanning and other built-in features and tools make it easy to track inventory with little effort to ensure your inventory counts are always accurate. Plus, everyone in your shop will always know what’s in stock and where to find it, saving time and improving shop floor efficiency.

The Importance of Choosing the Right Solution

Selecting the right ERP software is a decision that can profoundly impact your business’s efficiency, competitiveness and profitability. Conversely, choosing the wrong solution can lead to costly errors, delays and frustration. ETO manufacturing, marked by its custom approach and intricate structure, demands specialized tools to ensure efficiency, accuracy and seamless coordination between various departments.

Opting for a specialized system like Genius ERP ensures that ETO manufacturers can confidently navigate their industry’s complexities, leading to enhanced productivity, cost control and overall business success. With Genius ERP, manufacturers are supported every step of the way, enabling them to meet the unique challenges of Engineer-to-Order manufacturing head-on to optimize operational efficiency and deliver exceptional customer satisfaction.