Growth may be unpredictable, but the demand for performance is ever-present. Manufacturers are asked to do more with less, manage complexity, and control costs. New technology is often seen as part of operations’ path forward. Supply Chain Execution Systems (SCES) like ERP, MES, WMS, and TMS promise better scheduling, improved throughput, faster decision-making, operational visibility, and tighter cost control. But while a SCES transformation may unlock these gains, it first exposes whether the business is truly ready.
Transformation Readiness means having the right foundation: people, processes, and data that are clear, organized, and aligned. It is the work that should happen before any new system is installed. Cleaning up data. Defining ownership. Mapping processes. Building alignment across teams.
Without readiness, even the best technology becomes a mirror and it can only reflect that actual state of the operation’s readiness for that technology. Systems expose disorganized processes, missing information, and operational gaps that no software can fix. If the groundwork is not done ahead of time, it must happen in the middle of the transformation stretching schedules, increasing costs, and overwhelming teams. Deadlines slip. Third-party support bills grow. Critical internal resources end up split between their day jobs and the transformation, doing neither as well as they should. What could have been a catalyst for improvement becomes a source of strain.
From the Front Office to the Floor: Being Data-Driven Requires Quality Data
Business systems like ERP, MES, WMS, and TMS are the connective tissue linking the front office to the shop floor. They support everything from order entry to scheduling, capacity planning, procurement, inventory management, and customer delivery. When systems are healthy, information flows clearly and operations stay aligned.
But systems do not create good processes or clean data; they depend on them. Issues in scheduling, capacity management, or procurement often trace back to inaccurate or incomplete information. Poor data hygiene, tribal knowledge, and unclear process ownership create risks that grow over time.
Take something as simple as bill of material (BOM) usage and scrap data used by procurement and planning. Over-procurement leads to crowded storage, expiring inventory, and precious working capital stuck. On the floor, production may choose to run out excess material while the line is set up, creating scheduling and capacity ripples. Was another material, one facing a global shortage, consumed in the overrun? Now a different order falls short. Meanwhile, under-procurement is more direct: customers get shorted, and revenue is missed.
Strong performance in Sales and Operations Execution (S&OE) and Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) depends on having data that is accurate, timely, and structured. Without that foundation, decisions slow down, execution falters, and firefighting becomes the daily norm. Transformation readiness begins by recognizing that better systems only work when the data behind them is dependable. Financial variances, operational gaps, and missed opportunities all trace back to the same source: the data.
The Importance of Transformational Readiness: Whether Transformation is Imminent or Not
Before considering new SCES, manufacturers should first consider their readiness. Success is not just about choosing the right platform. It is about whether the organization is prepared to use it well.
Clean data, clear processes, and defined ownership form the foundation of effective system transformation. Without them, even a perfectly implemented SCES will struggle to deliver value. SCES amplify the business as it actually operates, not as it hopes to operate. This is akin to the inclusion of quality as part of the Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) metric. Without quality high uptimes and impressive throughputs simply mean the organization is generating rejects at remarkable rates.
In manufacturing, readiness starts with the basics: Bills of Material (BOMs) that accurately reflect the materials and quantities used. Routings that define how work moves through the plant. Work Centers that are real, usable reflections of operational capabilities. Item Master data that is complete, current, and reliable. These are not glamorous projects. They are the grunt work that makes everything else possible.
Have you ever organized a room in your home and had that sense of relief come over you? After these clean-up or preparation efforts, organizations wished they had done it sooner and been operating with their current systems with clean data. The kicker is occasionally those efforts even enable postponing the considerable investment in a new, different, or additional SCES, stretching the lifespan of the current SCES.
Common Gaps in Manufacturing Operations
Most manufacturing environments have hidden gaps in their foundational data and processes. These gaps are often small at first but grow larger as systems evolve, new products launch, and tribal knowledge fills in missing pieces.
Common issues include:
- Data hygiene problems – Dirty BOMs, outdated routings, missing work centers, and incomplete Item Masters create confusion, mistakes, and inefficiency.
- Process gaps – Unwritten procedures and tribal workarounds disconnect what the system shows from what is happening in reality on the floor.
- Inconsistent units of measure – Such as switching between pounds, kilograms, eaches, and cases without clear rules are a prime example. Discrepancies show up as shortages, overruns, and financial variances.
- Siloed thinking – Manufacturing, planning, procurement, and supply chain each manage parts of the process, but without coordination, gaps form between them.
- Underutilized systems – Valuable features in ERP, MES, WMS, and other tools often sit idle because clean data and clear ownership are missing.
Addressing these issues requires focus, patience, and a willingness to dig into the details. It is the foundation work that prepares a business to succeed in system transformation and to maximize the value of the investment afterward.
Part two will explore what good data hygiene looks like and share two real-world examples where data quality improvements unlocked measurable results.
—Bob Swidarski, St. Onge Company
