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Finding Enterprise Adaptability Through Industrial Transformation

Caleb Finch

Between geopolitical constraints, workforce shortages, supply chain challenges and evolving consumer demand, working in manufacturing today can feel like playing a game of dodgeball; just when you think you’re in the clear, another disruptive event comes flying your way. 


If only there was a referee to call a timeout so everyone could catch their breath! Unfortunately, taking to the bench isn’t an option in manufacturing, and leaders are under constant pressure to build resilience against the next major challenge without necessarily knowing what that might be. 


Complicating matters further, research indicates manufacturing productivity in the US has stagnated since 2008 and decades of underinvestment are driving up operating margins for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). McKinsey & Co. estimates the US sector will need to invest $15 billion to $25 billion annually for nearly 10 years to catch up with global leaders.

As ERP Today shared in a recent three-part series, the key to not only surviving, but thriving, in today’s business landscape is to build an Adaptive Enterprise that can respond to change with speed and agility. However, building a future-proof organization requires more than surface-level adjustments – it demands a foundational alignment of people, processes and systems. Here’s why..


People, Processes and Systems: The Building Blocks of an Adaptive Enterprise


Think of your organization’s people, processes and systems as the three legs of a stool; without one, the whole operation wobbles. Each is critical for creating agility and resilience in a world where disruption is the new normal. 


  • People: The skills gap is a major concern, with Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute forecasting as many as 2.1 million manufacturing jobs could sit empty by 2030 in the US alone. Manufacturers need processes and systems that maximize productivity, increase efficiency and empower workers, enabling them to adapt to changes quickly.


  • Processes: Traditional workflows weren’t designed for today’s dynamic market conditions and complex environments. Flexibility is key for responding effectively to rapid changes like shifting demand and supply chain constraints, creating a need for new approaches that enable data-driven decision-making and process optimization.


  • Systems: Siloed or legacy systems limit visibility, exacerbate bottlenecks and make it difficult to respond to changes quickly. Modern enterprise systems like QAD ERP O³ provide a centralized platform that streamlines operations, improves decision-making and provides access to critical data in real time.


When people, processes and systems are aligned, they form the foundation for adaptive manufacturing. This alignment provides businesses with the ability to not only respond to change quickly, but also to anticipate and prepare for future uncertainties.


ERP Today’s three-part series shares critical insights into how manufacturers can bring people, processes and systems together to create a truly adaptive enterprise. Here’s an overview of each component and how they work together to facilitate an ERP-enabled transformation.


1. Optimizing Processes for Adaptive Manufacturing

As ERP Today explains in the first article of its three-part series, the world in which we operate is constantly changing, and your processes need to be able to keep up. Traditional approaches, or relying on outdated processes simply because that’s the way things have always been done, no longer cut it. Instead, manufacturers must continually optimize their processes for flexibility and efficiency. This journey begins with an understanding of:

  • Process Discovery: Analyzing current workflows to identify opportunities for improvement

  • Process Monitoring: Continually tracking processes across your operations to identify issues early and enable a proactive response

  • Process Enhancement: Refining processes with a focus on agility, resilience and scalability to meet evolving business needs

Manufacturers also need the right tools to support process optimization, including a robust multi-level capability framework that can provide predictive analytics and real-time insights. QAD ERP O³ accomplishes this with AI-enabled process intelligence capabilities that are built into the solution, giving users the ability to design and implement processes that align with their strategic goals. 


Selecting an ERP solution that has AI built into it can be beneficial in many other ways. With QAD ERP O³, for example, users can leverage AI and AI-based apps for self-service administration or to monitor and continually improve process parameters in response to evolving business requirements. 


2. Transforming Systems for a Future-Proof Foundation

Manufacturers always seek systems that are secure, adaptive and supportive as their business needs evolve and grow, but this stability is more important than ever in a landscape characterized by constant disruption, shares ERP Today in the second article of its three-part series. 


As organizations work to optimize their processes, they must also ensure they have systems in place that support continuous improvement, provide employees with the right information at the right time and can intelligently streamline decision-making. In short, adaptive enterprises need systems that are flexible and adaptive, support the business, and increase its value. 


Your ERP is the backbone of your operations – is it up to the task? QAD ERP O³ was built with these three criteria in mind, making it easy for users to optimize their systems through a combination of data and analytics, mobility, an intuitive user interface and integration capabilities. 


The solution leverages Boomi and Kafka for analytics and integration, Amazon RDS (MariaDB) as the core database and Cassandra for data processing. Its web-based UI, meanwhile, eliminates the need for a VPN, and WalkMe functionality provides in-app guidance, maximizing productivity. These technical components are key because they enable: 

  • An integrated platform

  • Streamlined future upgrades

  • Advanced security


QAD ERP O³ was released for early adoption last year and will be generally available in 2025. 


3. Empowering People for Increased Productivity

The workforce challenge in manufacturing is two-fold: The US is already facing a shortage of skilled talent and hiring and training workers is becoming increasingly difficult, but manufacturers are also under constant pressure to retain existing talent and prepare them for an influx of new technologies. Technology presents a massive opportunity to improve productivity, yet research shows many manufacturers are struggling with topline and bottom-line growth due to worker performance. 


To become truly adaptive, asserts ERP Today in the third article of its three-part series, manufacturers need to find the right balance between people-focused strategies and AI-enabled solutions. The result is a workforce that can efficiently focus on core tasks while minimizing reliance on time-consuming functions and IT resources. The right ERP solution can make a big difference. 


QAD ERP O³ includes a suite of tools to transform workforce productivity and engagement. Users also benefit from the Industrial Transformation Platform, which is what QAD offers to take manufacturers from where they are today to where they need to be. Inside QAD ERP O³, leaders will find:

  • Self-Service Administration: IT tickets for support with seemingly simple tasks like modifying reports can be a major drag on productivity for everyone involved. QAD ERP O³’s self-service features use embedded analytics to help users manage common tasks quickly and accurately. 

  • Contextual Decision-Making: This feature documents the context behind certain decisions, making it easy for users to look back, understand why that decision was made, and collaborate across departments to ensure consistency for internal users and customers. Wondering, for example, why a customer received a discount in the past? QAD ERP O³ has an answer for that. 

  • Task Assistance: Wouldn’t it be great if you had someone to quickly guide you through onboarding new employees or to instantly tell users what needs to be done in the system without pouring through documentation? Now you do, thanks to QAD ERP O³’s GuideMe technology. The feature accelerates onboarding and streamlines daily tasks to boost productivity.  

  • Pragmatic AI: Built to empower, not replace, employees, QAD’s AI solutions help users get to the root cause of issues fast and enables them to solve problems more effectively. The results? Increased job satisfaction and improved productivity. 


Embracing an Adaptive Mindset with QAD ERP O³

When you don’t know what tomorrow will look like but know it’ll be different than today, the best thing you can do is to set your business up to be as adaptive as possible, one that can respond to change with speed and agility and still find success. That means bringing your people, processes and systems into alignment to build an organization that can turn reactive responses into proactive strategies, transforming disruptions into opportunities. 


Manufacturing may feel like a never-ending game of dodgeball but with QAD ERP O³, leaders are no longer just dodging—they’re leaning in, ready to catch whatever comes their way and throw it right back.


By By Caleb Finch - January 7, 2025


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