Managing a factory is not an easy task. There will be hundreds of orders to fullfil, workers to manage, and resources to keep track of. It is not a one-man job handling all the operations. A lot of assistance is required to ensure everything is going smoothly. Hiring employees to oversee all the operations can take a toll on the factory budget. So instead of hiring supervisors for each and every operation, you can invest in a factory management tool.

Factory management tools will help you understand what is happening in each and every operation. These tools will help streamline your work, manage your inventory, and maintain your factory.

Factory management tools are extremely beneficial, which is why we have listed the top tools for you to choose from.

1. Katana

Katana is a factory management tool that gives a live view of your business. The tool is easy to use and helps in making better decisions.

It provides a streamlined order management channel. You can sync all sales channels for better fulfillment of orders.

Key Features:

• Live and total inventory control over raw materials and finished products.

• Provides production planning and real-time master planning along with sales order insights..

• Insight over inventory beyond the warehouse.

Cost:

• Essential: $99

• Advanced: $299

• Professional: $599

2. Prodsmart

Prodsmart is a factory management tool that helps from planning to manufacturing without hassle.

The inventory management and workflow visualizations features help with easy performance tracking and worker scheduling. The tool also has a mobile application.

Key Features:

• Real-time tracking and analyzing of orders, workers, machines, materials, cost, waste, time, and maintenance.

• Real-time dashboard for connected manufacturing.

• Integrated quality module and simple quality management.

• Machines management and maintenance.

• Real-time generation of production reports.

Cost:

$9.925/year. For more details, you can check their website.

3. Striven

Striven is a cloud-based factory management tool that provides full transparency regarding your firm for better growth.

Along with custom department reporting and dashboard customization, you'll also get a 360-degree view of financial data from different segments of your factory.

Key Features:

• Inventory management to control the supply chain.

• Provides CRM and detailed sales tracking.

• Task and ticketing system to handle complex workloads.

Cost:

• Free trial: 7 days

• Up to 20 users: $20/user + $99 monthly hosting

• Up to 50 users: $15/user + $299 monthly hosting

• Unlimited users: $10/user + $499 monthly hosting

4. Aquilon ERP Software

Aquilon ERP software is a factory management tool suitable for mid-sized factories and firms.

The streamlined ERP system provided by this tool will help the firms cut down on their operational costs, along with improving customer services, profits and sales.

Key Features:

• It provides financial management services: CRM, SRM.

• Inventory management services and sales analysis

• Production planning and scheduling.

• Landed cost tracking.

Cost:

Subscription per user: Starting at $120 per month.

5. Netsuite

Netsuite is a factory management tool that helps coordinate, control, and manages operations.

The tools also helps in controlling and monitoring different aspects of the outsourced manufacturing processes, such as packaging, order maintainence, and down-time.

Key Features:

• Order management with optimization of inventory.

• Planning and scheduling to balance demand and supply.

• CRM and quality management.

• Real-time cash flow analysis

• Tax management along with general ledgers feature.

Cost:

Request a quote on their website.

6. Fishbowl

Fishbowl is a factory management tool that provides full visibility over your operations.

The tool provides vendor and order management services andenables easy integration with third-party systems.

Key Features:

• Tracking and managing inventory from anywhere and anytime.

• Custom reports to track details.

• Landed cost and stock management.

Cost:

Request a quote on their website.

7. Acumatica

Acumatica is a factory management tool that integrates easily with your existing systems. It has an easy-to-use interface.

It provides material requirement planning along with production management to meet customer needs. Other important functionalities provided include inventory management and CRM services.

Key Features:

• Sales order management to boost sales.

• Finance management feature to manage assets, expenses, and income.

• Purchase order and service management.

• Warehouse management to reduce errors.

Cost:

You can schedule a demo and request a quote on their website.

8. Quickbase

Quickbase is a factory management tool that can streamline workflow across all manufacturing teams.

It enhances visibility and accessibility through status updates, task lists, project plans, and notifications.

Key Features:

• Manage manufacturing process by creating real-time ERP dashboards.

• Identification of inefficiencies on the plant floor.

• Combine workflow, people, and information on one dashboard.

Cost:

• Team: $30/user/mo

• Business: $50/user/mo

• Enterprise: Customizable

9. Brahmin Solutions

Brahmin Solutions is a factory management tool that helps manage all factory manufacturing operations from production to sales from one location.

It porvides inventory management across warehouses and control of raw materials and finished goods.

Key Features:

• Production planning by configuring complex bills of materials and tracking the availability of needed raw materials.

• Purchasing missing raw materials and tracking purchase costs.

• Real-time order management overview.

Cost:

• Founder: $99/month

• Growth: $249/month

• Established: $499/month

10. Holded

Holded is a factory management tool that solves your day-to-day problems and provides assistance for all your needs. The tool provides real-time monitoring of inventory, production and stock orders. With this tool, you can also easily create factory invoices with a single click.

Key Features:

• Automated accounting through charts, balance sheet reports, daily ledgers, and more.

• Handling complex projects through kanban board, task management, Gantt diagram, time tracking, and project templates.

• CRM through reports, meeting planners, and personalized pipelines.

• Organization of team with HR tools.

Cost:

Contact through their website for cost details.

11. Thebluebox

The blue box is a factory management tool that integrates all your business needs in one place to facilitate them easily.

The tool provides transactional modules like manufacturing, sales and inventory along with specialised modules such as reporting, task management and HR services.

Key Features:

• Track, manage, and automate inventory.

• Track, capture, and optimize billing workflow and sales.

• Management of suppliers and orders.

Cost:

Contact their website for cost details.

12. Ramco

Ramco is a factory management tool that helps keep up with industrial innovations, and manage overall operations of the factory.

The tool provides overall business visibility by providing comprehensive features like contract workforce management, warehouse management, asset management and transport management.

Key Features:

• Manage and optimize inventories by synchronizing supply with demand.

• Plan and manage all assets on a cloud and mobile platform.

• Finance and accounting services.

• Sophisticated and automated production schedule for easy workflow.

Cost:

Request cost details on their website.

13. DEAR Systems

DEAR systems is a one-stop factory management tool you can invest in for better workflow and growth.

It provides efficient and seamless inventory management through instant visibility of stocks and order status.

Key Features:

• Management of orders across sales channels.

• Creation of product families for better wholesale management.

• Easy multi-channel integration with accounting software.

• Tracking inventory across warehouses in multiple states and cities.

Cost:

• Standard:$325/mo

• Retailing: $550/mo

• Manufacturing: $650/mo

You can customize plans.

14. Redzone

Redzone is a factory management tool for beverage, food, and consumer-packed goods.

The tool helps with monitoring and improvement of manufacturing processes in real-time to reduce errors or production losses.

Key Features:

• Management of product manufacture by regulating shop floor and inventory.

• Automated tracking systems of manufactured goods.

Cost:

For the cost details, contact through their website.

Things to Consider When Choosing a Factory Management Tool

Factory Needs

Each factory has different needs. When choosing a factory management tool, you must ensure that it meets your factory's needs. For example, if you run a factory that produces food-related products, you must ensure that the tool you pick and manage the operations you run. The tool should enhance your work and help your firm grow.

Easy Integration

The tool must be compatible and easily integrated with your existing systems. The tool must integrate with your business services or third-party systems to be able to use the tool effectively. Check compatibility before investing.

Easy to Use

Factory management tools play a huge role in enhancing and streamlining your workflow. If you cannot use the tool perfectly, your investment will go in vain. The tool must be easy to understand and use by your team to make the most out of it.

Conclusion

Factory management tools provide various features, from inventory management to sales management. When implemented and used properly, they can make a huge difference in how you run your operations. It does not matter how big your firm or factory is; these tools can be used in any type of factory. From the above-mentioned, pick the best one that suits your needs and use it effectively. You will be able to see the difference it makes in your operations.

FAQs

What Are Factory Management Tools?

Factory management tools are designed to assist factory or business owners and supervisors in tracking industrial operations. These tools have features that help streamline and optimize industrial operations. These features can be used to monitor various tasks and the status of products throughout the manufacturing process. Factory management tools are used primarily for real-time tracking, labor cost reduction, data analysis, inventory control, machine usage optimization, and other tasks. Overall, factory management tools help provide an overview of all the operations and needs of a firm or factory.

When Should I Use Factory Management Tools?

Running a factory or a firm is not an easy task, especially when you have to keep track of the status of the product and see what is happening all around the workplace. Using factory management will help you streamline all your work and have a clear understanding of all the aspects of the operations. Implementing factory management tools when you have a lot of workload and workflow will be beneficial. You will know the status of each product without any hassle, and these tools will provide better data analysis.

What Are the Benefits of Using Factory Management Tools?

These are the benefits of using factory management tools:

• Help in reducing mistakes

• Provide a better analysis of the factory

• Increase operational efficiency

• Improve the quality of products

• Higher customer satisfaction

• Reduce labor costs

• Enhance employee performance.

What Are the Different Types of Factory Management Tools?

Factory management tools can be divided into two categories. A basic factory management tool has scheduling, reporting, and inventory control features. Advanced factory management tools have features such as document archiving, CRM, finance and accounting, quality control, manufacturing processes, warehousing operations, and many more.

You can pick the tool or package you like depending on your factory needs.

Do I Need Factory Management Tools?

If you are running a small or big-scale factory, implementing factory management tools will be highly beneficial to you. As technology advances, these tools will also advance. In the future, factory management tools will be incorporated with machine learning and artificial intelligence. The analysis and data collection capabilities of the tool will improve, which will help you make better decisions. Overall, factory management tools will only get better as technology advances. Investing in or using one will make your firm better.