ERP Software for Manufacturing Businesses Connect every stage of your manufacturing operation.
Bring production planning, materials, inventory, purchasing and quality records into one connected workflow, so every department works from the same information.
Step 01 of 06
Sales Order / Forecast
Demand to plan against
- Team
- Planning
- Comes from
- Start of flow
- Leads to
- Production Plan
Overview
In most factories, the production plan, the stores register, purchasing and the quality log are kept by different people in different files. When they disagree, the shop floor waits for materials, buyers order without knowing what is already in stock, and nobody can say with confidence what a finished unit actually cost.
Spiralcode implements ERPNext so that production, materials, inventory, purchasing and quality records are linked to one another. A work order draws on a bill of materials, consumes stock from a named warehouse, and posts finished goods back to inventory, so each department works from the same records.
Common challenges
Where manufacturing operations lose visibility
These problems rarely come from a single department. They appear where one team's records stop and the next team's records begin.
Production planning disconnected from material availability
Plans are made from orders or forecasts, but the planner cannot see whether the required raw materials and components are in stock, already reserved, or still on order. Shortages surface only when the job reaches the floor.
Limited visibility into work in progress
Once materials leave the store, it is hard to tell which jobs have started, how far they have progressed and how much material is sitting between operations.
Manual tracking of consumption and finished goods
Material issued and finished quantities produced are written on paper or entered later into a spreadsheet, so stock figures lag behind what actually happened.
Purchasing without reliable stock information
Buyers raise orders based on requests from the floor or past habits rather than on current stock, open orders and planned requirements, leading to both shortages and excess stock.
Quality records disconnected from production
Inspection results sit in a separate register, so it is difficult to link a quality issue back to the batch, work order or incoming material that caused it.
Difficulty understanding production costs
Without linked records for materials consumed, operations performed and additional costs, the cost of a finished item is estimated rather than calculated.
Connected workflow
How the production and inventory workflow connects
The value of manufacturing ERP is not in the individual modules but in the hand-offs between them. Each step below creates or updates a record that the next step depends on.
Step 01
Start from confirmed sales orders, a forecast or a stock replenishment requirement. A production plan groups this demand and calculates what needs to be produced.
- Sales Order
- Production Plan
Next: Define or review bills of materials
Step 02
The bill of materials (BOM) lists the raw materials, sub-assemblies and, where used, the operations and workstations needed for each finished item. Multi-level BOMs let sub-assemblies be planned as their own production step.
- Bill of Materials
- Item
Next: Check material availability and purchasing needs
Step 03
The production plan compares BOM requirements with available stock and open orders. Shortfalls become material requests, which purchasing converts into supplier purchase orders.
- Production Plan
- Material Request
- Purchase Order
Next: Create work orders
Step 04
Work orders tell the floor what to make, in what quantity and from which warehouse to draw materials. Where operations are tracked, job cards record time and progress at each workstation.
- Work Order
- Job Card
Next: Record material consumption and output
Step 05
Stock entries transfer materials to work in progress and then record the manufacture: raw materials are consumed and finished goods are added to stock in a single linked transaction.
- Stock Entry
- Stock Ledger
Next: Capture quality checks
Step 06
Quality inspections can be recorded against incoming materials, in-process stages or finished goods, using inspection templates that list the parameters to check.
- Quality Inspection
Next: Update stock and review production information
Step 07
Because every step is linked, stock balances, work order status and production cost reports reflect what has actually been recorded rather than what was planned.
- Stock Ledger
- Reports
ERP capabilities
Manufacturing ERP capabilities, grouped by business need
The capabilities below are standard in ERPNext. How each one is used, and which ones you need at all, is decided during implementation based on how you actually manufacture.
01
Define what you make
Structured product and process definitions that planning and costing rely on.
- Single and multi-level bills of materials
- Operations, routings and workstations, where you track them
- Item variants for products made in multiple sizes or specifications
02
Plan and run production
Turn demand into production instructions and track their progress.
- Production plans built from sales orders or material requests
- Work orders with source and work-in-progress warehouses
- Job cards for operation-level time and progress, where applicable
- Subcontracting orders and receipts for work done by outside parties
03
Control materials and purchasing
Keep material availability and purchasing tied to real requirements.
- Material requirements calculated from the production plan
- Material requests, supplier quotations and purchase orders
- Multi-warehouse inventory with batch and serial number tracking where configured
- Reorder levels for regularly used materials
04
Check quality
Record inspections where they happen in the process.
- Quality inspection templates with defined parameters
- Inspections on incoming, in-process and finished goods
- Quality procedures, goals and reviews for recurring checks
05
Understand cost and output
Reports built from the transactions recorded on the floor.
- BOM cost based on valuation rate, price list or last purchase rate
- Work order and production analytics
- Stock balance, stock ledger and stock ageing reports
- Accounting entries posted from stock and manufacturing transactions
Industry focus
Where production meets inventory
Production and inventory are often managed as two systems that are reconciled at month end. In ERPNext they share the same records, which changes what each team can see day to day.
What production sees from inventory
- Available, reserved and ordered quantities of each material before a work order is released
- Which warehouse a material will be drawn from
- Batch or serial numbers of the materials issued, where tracked
What inventory sees from production
- Materials transferred to work in progress and still to be consumed
- Finished goods added to stock as each manufacture entry is recorded
- Upcoming material requirements from planned work orders
The accuracy of this view depends on transactions being recorded when they happen. Implementation includes agreeing who records what, and at which point on the floor.
Implementation
Our implementation approach for manufacturers
Manufacturing implementations succeed when the system is configured around how your plant actually runs, not around a generic template. Before configuring anything, we work through your production process with the people who run it.
- 1
Map the production process
We document how orders become production jobs, how materials are requested and issued, where quality is checked and how finished goods are recorded today.
- 2
Review existing records
Item masters, bills of materials, opening stock and supplier lists are reviewed for completeness and consistency before migration.
- 3
Configure and test with real jobs
Warehouses, BOMs, workstations and inspection templates are set up, then tested by running representative production jobs end to end.
- 4
Train teams and go live
Planners, stores, purchasing, supervisors and accounts are trained on their part of the workflow, followed by support after go-live.
What we assess before scoping
These answers shape the scope, the configuration and any integration or custom work.
- Make-to-stock, make-to-order or a mix of both
- Number of BOM levels and how often BOMs change
- Whether operations and workstation time need to be tracked
- Subcontracted processes and how materials move to and from subcontractors
- Quality checkpoints and the records you need to keep
- Costing and reporting requirements from management and accounts
- Existing systems or machines that may need an integration
Frequently Asked Questions
ERPNext includes a standard manufacturing module covering bills of materials, production planning, work orders, job cards, subcontracting and quality inspection, alongside inventory, purchasing and accounting. It is used for discrete and batch manufacturing. Whether it fits your operation depends on your process, so we assess your production workflow before recommending it.
Yes. In ERPNext, work orders draw materials from defined warehouses and stock entries record both the materials consumed and the finished goods produced. Stock levels, work in progress and production status are therefore based on the same transactions.
ERPNext has standard subcontracting workflows, including subcontracting orders, transfer of raw materials to the subcontractor and subcontracting receipts for the finished items. We review how your subcontracting works in practice to confirm whether the standard flow fits or needs configuration.
Item masters, bills of materials, opening stock, customers, suppliers and opening balances can usually be imported. The effort depends on how consistent the existing data is, so we review it during discovery and agree what will be migrated.
We start with process mapping sessions covering planning, materials, production, quality, costing and reporting. From this we identify what standard ERPNext covers, what needs configuration, and anything that may require custom development or integration, and define the scope from there.
Start with a conversation
Talk through your production workflow with us
Tell us how your plant plans, issues materials and records output today. We will explain how ERPNext could connect those steps and what an implementation would involve for your operation.
Or call +91 8590041414