Industrial engineering & ERP | Match or Mismatch

Industrial engineering is concerned with improving the methods of working, the workers and the technology used to perform it. It differs from mechanical and other engineering fields in that it does not invent the ways of working or establishes the guiding principles or theories, neither it tells you the standard operating procedures of work. Rather the main task of industrial engineers is to improve the integrated systems of men, material, money and machines so that it performs better and yield an enhanced output with a reduced input, the common term for all this is ‘Productivity improvement’.

The ERP systems which from the very outlook of them seem to be complicated sets of software logic designed to perform transactions electronically and automatically, are designed off the shelf on established business best practices followed worldwide to perform certain tasks, such as inventory receiving, purchasing & dispatch of outbound material etc. Since these systems are not built for a specific industry or business, the use of the same system differs in various industries. There hence is a serious need for someone who understands the business processes and knows where the improvements are needed to re-engineer the process so as to transform the business for better.

Industrial engineers, having a deep knowledge of businesses across the industry and knowing the norms of physical processes can prove to be truly handy for bridging between the business process and software logic to decide a critical intersection for both where the synchronisation between the business and software be the optimal. An ERP system is a massive investment for improvements but if the ERP change is not brought in the line of business needs, the whole change activity will en up on nothing, no matter how sophisticated, integrated and intelligent the ERP is.

The era of technology has now begun, automation is replacing the old -manually governed processes and industries are ceasing to need a man with manual skills, ERP systems integrated with advanced automation technologies deliver a robust control and an intelligent organisation and hence it is essential for Industrial engineers to make a move proactively towards technology by leaving to replace the mechanical engineers and operating machines or supervising ones doing so.

Industrial engineering and ERP can be a super match while the IEs are used to understand the processes and re-engineer them to help ERP replace the legacy systems in the most desirable fashion for the business owners. Hence if you are an industrial engineer and switching to ERP, future holds a glaring success for you !