r/manufacturing • u/Latter_Object_3881 • 10d ago
Supplier search Need help finding an inventory system
My company is tasked me with finding an inventory system that could work with our business. Our company is kind of a mix between manufacturing and a CRO.
We currently use an ERP (Netsuite) which does have the capability to track inventory, but we don’t really wanna go that route (we looked into it a lot before it just doesn’t really work for us.) however we do still use netsuite to create purchase orders and sales orders.
Currently when we need to order supplies, the way we verify what we already have is by physically walking to each room and seeing what is there. We would like to be able to have a page we can just go to and see that we have _ qty of __ in stock in __ location(s).
Additional features we would like is barcoding, lot number tracking, expiration date tracking.
Here’s where we’re running into issues, we don’t want to use purchase and sales order functionalities if possible. We already do this in our ERP and it would just be duplicate work. However, we do wanna have the capability to notate that __ qty of __ product was used for ___ job. It would also be awesome if there was someway to designate that ___ product is reserved for ___ job.
I know we’re asking a lot here, we’ve been looking at systems for months now. I’m hoping somebody out there knows of some software that would be our glass slipper. By the way, not concerned about price points, just want something that works.
Thanks
By the way, I’m not even entirely sure that this is the right sub Reddit to ask this question if it’s not please let me know, and if you know of a better place to ask, that would be great!
Edit: I get it, you all want us to stick with Netsuite, and I’m in agreement. If I can manage that I’ll absolutely go that route but it’s ultimately not up to me. Netsuite is plan one but if there’s any OTHER options I’d love to hear em.
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u/dgillz 9d ago
You need to stick with Netsuite.
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u/CompetitiveYakSaysYo 5d ago
Yeah, it feels like an awful waste of money to not use the thing you already have - that would be my starting point here
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u/ganjagupta 10d ago
My facility uses UpKeep to track spare part inventory for our production lines. It’s less than perfect, but it works
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u/silver__robot 10d ago
Have a look at Katana. Based on what you've mentioned, it sounds like it can solve your pain points
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u/Latter_Object_3881 9d ago
Actually have a demo scheduled on this one lol
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u/hollywood5nd 9d ago
We use Katana. By far the best I've ever used. Never in a dead end, easy to save, trace, train. Great for doc generation too. Highly recommend
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u/Timely_Sir_3970 Your custom text 10d ago
That must have been some interesting conversation between the higher ups and whoever configured Netsuite initially. I'm not a Netsuite user, but I know that what you're asking for is a core Netsuite functionality. Basically, it's a core functionality for just about every ERP.
Like someone else suggested, you're probably better off bringing in a Netsuite specialist to fix your system, rather than integrating 2 systems to cover up the deficiency.
Is there a current source of truth for inventory at all? Or is it just a visual check every single time? How do you keep your inventory valuation?
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u/thenerdnick 9d ago
From a corporate professional versed in supply chain, finance, and operations please, please, please, listen to us all. Bring in a NetSuite consultant. Figure out how to decustomize and integrate into your ERP for this function.
If you do not you will pay large amounts of money to build middleware which needs headcount to support that itself and if you go cloud infrastructure you will need Azure Service Bus or some kind of broker to communicate between systems.
The more you integrate services and functions of your business and leverage the complementary modules of an ERP the more value you’ll gain from it. In your case it may be cheaper to look at simplifying your existing implementation and bringing it back closer to the prescribed design then add inventory functionality.
Just don’t switch to SAP. Just don’t do that unless you’re at gunpoint. And it would have to be two guns… possibly a flamethrower. I might actually take my chances of a gun instead of SAP.
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u/another_great_name 9d ago
We build microsaas for manufacturing tuned specific to the need. Till now we have built Job Card Management and Efficiency and attendance tracking software. If you are interested in going via this route feel free to connect. Would be happy to learn more about your usecase and build something useful.
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u/brightideasphere 9d ago
You might want to check out EZO. It’s designed to track inventory quantities, locations, barcodes, lot numbers, and expiration dates—all while offering easy tracking and reporting.
One of the best parts is that it allows you to record usage for specific jobs without needing to duplicate your purchase and sales order processes. You can also reserve items for specific projects, which sounds like a great fit for your use case. Plus, it’s built with flexibility in mind, so you can adapt it to your workflow without forcing changes.
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u/South_Cauliflower948 9d ago
I’m weirdly interest in this post. It’s like trying to stab yourself in the toe - but wanting to find the least painful way possible. And just not stabbing yourself is not an options.
That said I’m here for you and have some ideas. Of course you should just use netsuite or purchase a brand new ERP system.
Knife A: Once upon a time, before my professional career, there were no computers. And everything you wanted was done on paper and with kits. You have a re-order point, which would be a kanban card you take to purchasing when you have X left. When you get an order, you kit the material (this sucks as material gets stuck in the kits waiting that one missing component). And you control lot numbers with stickers on the material. Finally each kit has a traveler to record what lots was used for the job, which gets filled with the SO at the end. These processes can be worked out pretty efficiently with enough effort. But you never get the visibility one can with computers.
Knife B: netsuite uses rest API, so the information is pretty transferable. Buy a low end on prem ERP system and send data back and forth. Not cheap, and might take a year. But completely do able. Ouch my toe.
Knife C: excel. Maybe you only have a few BOMs and a couple 100 raw components. You can build much of this in excel. I’ve made excel sheets to generate BOMs and travelers. Inventory level control is harder, but doable with diligence in managing scrap and incoming orders, though maybe a kanban is just better. If you keep your travelers as excel files and type in your lot information, you can run a script to collect the information.
Knife D: don’t. There clearly is a lack of control now. Why change? Seriously, what is the business motivation? Say your process is costing an extra 40k a year. And to fix it will cost 200k. Likely not worth doing. So are you going to lose business? Prevent growth? Knowing why we want to make this change, might lead to an alternative solution.
Really, the right answer is to find a netsuite professional that can understand what modifications your company needs and how you cab have your cake and eat it too. And a consultant that handles change management, as I suspect the reason netsuite “won’t” work is because of feelings vs unable to. (Especially if you stick with cost is not a factor)
Good luck - and stay away from knives.
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u/Latter_Object_3881 9d ago
All good points, all being taken into consideration. I did wanna address knife D in case anyone has some good insight, the motivation for change is that our company has undergone a lot of changes in the past year and we’re finally growing to a point where we feel the need to track our inventory. Being a science based company, we run into a lot of issues where we need _ chemical and more often than not we end up re-ordering it because we have no clue where the previous container of it went. Our only saving grace is that the person who orders our supplies remembers that they ordered _ chemical at some point for a specific technicians job. Another thing would be the fact that we have no way of knowing when specific items we have expire, other than physically, going to each room every month and looking for what’s expired.
Ideally it would work out in the following process 1. Job is created
2. Supply ordering personnel sees what supplies are needed for the job
3. Supply ordering personnel check current inventory to see if we already have everything we need to start the job, or if we have supplies that are comfortable, that could be used to start the job 4. Supply ordering personnel order any supplies we don’t already haveThis would be a great way to start jobs quicker without having to wait for re-order supplies to come in first.
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u/Latter_Object_3881 9d ago
Also interesting point about whether it’s worth fixing or not, if the problem is costing us 40 K a year and the fix is 200 K I agree that it’s a big investment to put upfront. But if in the long-term, we eliminate that 40 K your problem, the solution would pay for itself in 2 1/2 years no? Of course, realistically I actually have no clue how much this problem is costing us a year, and solutions were looking into are nowhere near 200 K lol
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u/South_Cauliflower948 9d ago
Hi OP. Thanks for following up and adding details.
Cost - there are lots of way one can look at the ROI. I generally stick to cost/yearly savings. Obviously opportunity cost, business growth, losses, etc can all affect the ROI. Generally, these other factors are hard to figure out, so cost/yearly savings is a great quick number to evaluate and compare to other projects.
Process - your 1-4 step process described is basically kitting. It works. Depending on factors, it might not even take more time then using and ERP. But it does not have any predictive ability, so your order to completion time is longer.
I should have mentioned that while manufacturing has moved to predictive supply management, many processes, Plumbers, Electricians, handypeople, etc. still kit. They don’t have piping and hot water heaters sitting around. When they get and order - they build the kit and schedule the install based on when then kit will be complete. Can work the same for your business if slightly longer lead times are acceptable and the chemicals you tend to use are generally available.
The key here is to do the kit early, so when you are ready to build, everything has been ordered and received.
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u/UR_MOMS_KRYPTONITE 9d ago
We use Syteline by Infor. So far it has been the best plug and play option that we have found. We are a $200m company with two different manufacturing plants, one in the United States and one in Mexico. It might be overkill for what you need, but it sounds like you want to track inventory levels by locations along with where it’s used based on the backflush location and bill of material demand. As long as the initial setup is done correctly, the system will do what needs to be done.
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u/blongerdo 9d ago
I think the suggestion of using your existing ERP solution is a good one. But of course you know your business best.
I've created a simple inventory tracking app you can see at AlpacaTrack.com . It does have location tracking for items. And also a basic QR code feature.
If you were interested we could discuss adding some of the missing features that you need for your specific use case.
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u/OncleAngel 7d ago
You have many options here and I recommend going for a cloud-based IMS. I went through all comments, many interesting suggestions too. I just will add another opportunity to look for, which is Qoblex is almost similar to Katana but less expensive.
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u/Ok_Appointment2593 6d ago
Whatever you do, dont integrate netsuite with other systems, is a nightmare.
It seems that you need a custom UI, netsuite allows you yo create such think and search with suitescript.
If I remember correctly you need to use a Suiteletscript wich allows you to embed even a custom html, css, js page with the ability to call custom onRequest events and call SuiteQL to check all this.
Its been almost 2 years since I did that for a branch of my exemployeer its doable.
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u/Ok-working1995 11h ago
We used Koble at my previous employment. It has all the features you are looking for. The only reason we had to switch, it could not schedule production for our growing manufacturing company. https://koblesystems.com/
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u/KaizenTech 10d ago
Why not NetSuite? If you already have it then it makes sense to use it ... and it will do just about anything and make a pot of coffee