ERP For Plastic Manufacturers
Need A Top-Quality Plastics Manufacturing ERP?
Make Sure You Contact Us!
Keeping a manufacturing business running smoothly depends on having reliable information available when it is needed.
For plastic injection moulders, there are plenty of moving parts to manage. Tooling, materials, production schedules, quality checks, purchasing and customer orders all need to work together. General-purpose ERP systems can struggle to accommodate these requirements without extensive customisation, which can make implementation more time-consuming and leave staff working around the software rather than with it.
At Moulders Consulting, our ERP software has been developed specifically for the plastic injection moulding sector. Instead of taking a generic manufacturing system and modifying it to suit moulders, we have built our solution around the processes, terminology and challenges that injection moulding businesses deal with every day.
Our goal is straightforward: to give manufacturers better visibility across the business, cut down on avoidable inefficiencies and provide accurate, real-time information that supports better decisions.
A Plastics Manufacturing ERP Designed For Injection Moulding Companies
A Specifically Designed ERP For Plastic Manufacturers
Our ERP and MRP software has been built exclusively for injection moulding businesses. With more than 40 years of combined industry experience, our team has worked across production, sales, operations, management and manufacturing. This hands-on experience has given us a clear understanding of the issues moulding companies face and has directly influenced how our software has been designed.
From introducing a new product to planning production, ordering materials, managing quality and raising invoices, the system brings the key areas of the business together in one integrated platform. Information can move between departments without relying on separate spreadsheets or repeated manual data entry.
Supporting Every Stage Of Production
There is a lot more involved in injection moulding than simply running components through a machine. Materials need to be sourced, tooling needs to be monitored, jobs need to be planned, quality needs to be checked and customer delivery dates need to be kept on track.
Our software is designed to support all of these activities. It includes functionality for quotations, new product introduction (NPI), production planning, purchasing, shop floor operations, quality control, traceability and delivery.
With these areas connected, manufacturers can get a much clearer picture of what is happening across the factory. Information entered or updated in one part of the system can also feed into other areas, helping teams work with the same current information.
Production Planning And Scheduling
Good production planning can make a significant difference to machine utilisation, available capacity and your ability to meet customer deadlines.
Our software includes visual production planning tools that make it easier to organise schedules by week, day or hour. Production managers can adjust plans as priorities change, machines become unavailable or customer requirements shift.
Having a clearer view of the production schedule makes it easier to allocate people and machinery effectively, reduce avoidable downtime and keep work moving through the factory.
Materials Planning Built Around Injection Moulding
Material planning for injection moulding comes with its own set of considerations. Resin blends, masterbatch, additives and recycled content can all affect both how a job is planned and how much it costs to produce.
Our Bills of Material use material percentages rather than relying solely on fixed quantities. This reflects how many injection moulding businesses actually calculate material requirements.
If product weights, shot sizes or process settings change, material calculations can adjust accordingly. This reduces the need for repeated manual calculations and helps improve the accuracy of purchasing, stock control and production planning.
Improved Traceability Across Manufacturing
Quality Management And Compliance
Consistent quality is essential for any injection moulding operation. Keeping quality information connected to production data can make it easier to understand where problems are occurring and how they are being addressed.
Our software includes features for managing non-conformance reports, corrective actions and inspection records alongside other production information. Rather than keeping quality information in a separate system, manufacturers can manage it as part of their wider workflow.
For companies manufacturing plastic packaging, the ERP platform also includes a Plastics Packaging Tax calculator. This helps users assess potential liabilities based on factors such as material composition and recycled content, providing useful information during quoting, product development and manufacturing.
Being able to trace materials and production history is increasingly important, particularly for manufacturers supplying regulated sectors or customers with strict quality requirements.
Our software provides end-to-end traceability, allowing materials to be followed from the original purchase order through production and into the finished component. Tooling information, production batches, secondary operations and quality records can all be connected within the system.
This makes it easier to investigate problems, maintain accurate records and meet relevant compliance requirements. Detailed traceability information can also help manufacturers spot recurring issues and act quickly when corrective action is needed.
Real-Time Shop Floor Visibility
Having access to current production information can make it much easier for managers to respond to issues while they are happening rather than after the fact.
Our ERP solution supports shop floor data capture and provides dashboards giving a real-time view of business performance. Production progress, sales, purchasing, deliveries and quality information can be brought together in one place.
This gives management teams a clearer understanding of what is happening across the operation and can help highlight potential problems before they have a bigger impact on production or customer deliveries.
Managing Tooling, Purchasing, And Inventory
Tooling can represent a considerable investment for an injection moulding business, while effective management of raw materials and purchased components is equally important.
Our ERP software includes a dedicated tooling register where businesses can keep track of tooling ownership, location and status. Purchasing functionality is linked to production demand and stock allocations, helping businesses order materials when they are needed without unnecessarily building up excess stock.
Connecting purchasing and production planning provides a more joined-up approach to inventory management and can make scheduling more efficient.
Integrated Business Management
An injection moulding business has many responsibilities outside the factory itself. Sales, customers, suppliers, purchasing, invoicing and accounts all form part of the day-to-day operation.
Our ERP software brings these functions together through customer and supplier management, quotations, invoicing, purchasing and CRM functionality. It can also integrate with accounting platforms including Sage, Xero, and QuickBooks.
Having this information within one connected system reduces the need to switch between different applications and helps keep data consistent across the business.
Implementation Backed By Industry Experience
Choosing and introducing a new ERP system is a major undertaking, particularly for a manufacturing company where the software needs to fit around established production processes.
At Moulders Consulting, we support customers throughout implementation using our practical experience within the plastic injection moulding industry. Our team has worked directly within moulding businesses, so we understand the realities of production, planning, management and ongoing improvement.
Our support does not stop at software implementation. We also offer consultancy covering manufacturing efficiency, Industry 4.0, Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES), scheduling and process improvement. This allows us to help businesses get more value from their systems and identify opportunities for longer-term operational improvements.
Why Choose Moulders Consulting For Your Plastics Manufacturing ERP?
Our ERP software has been developed specifically around the needs of plastic injection moulding businesses. Rather than expecting manufacturers to adapt their processes to a generic system, we provide functionality designed around the way injection moulders actually operate.
ERP, MRP, production scheduling, quality management, traceability, purchasing and production planning are brought together within one integrated platform. This gives businesses a clearer view of their operations and helps reduce the inefficiencies that can arise when information is spread across separate systems.
With more than 40 years of combined industry experience behind us, we understand the challenges faced by injection moulders because our team has experienced them first-hand. Whether you need to move away from outdated systems, improve production planning, strengthen traceability or introduce an integrated ERP solution, we can work with you to put software in place that supports ongoing improvement and sustainable growth.
Contact Us If You Need A Top-Quality ERP For Plastic Manufacturers!
Our Software - Key Features
DASHBOARD – designed to give an overview of your facility – broken down into sections to include
Sales | Quotes | Purchasing | Production | Quality | Delivery
Navigate easily from your dashboard to access all ERP / MRP info – even through to production planning.
PARTS – see all of the information you need to about any manufactured or bought in part on one simple to use screen. Here you will have an overview of the following:
Part Details | Activity | Files | Suppliers | Allocations | Options
BOMS – easy to navigate and populate – able to select multiple items easily on the Bill of Material in a variety of units, including percentages to jobs which may include Masterbatch, UV Stabaliser, Powders, Anti-Microbial agents etc.
Add files, quality documents, C of C’s, and tooling data to ensure all relevant detail can be accessed in one clear and concise location.
BOMS – You then delve deeper into the detail of the specified machine best suited for the manufacture of this component and add on any ancillaries required including robots, conveyors, dryers, and even the human resources required for production.
Add notes that are relevant to the job, and the additional bonus of the costing calculator gives you the ability to track profitability, and calculate price breaks by relating the part cost, to various quantities, and your required margin.
JOB CARD – All of the right information, all in the right place. The MCL Job Card clearly shows the following:
Work Order No. | Part Number | Description | Job Quantity | Drawing
Customer | P/O Ref No | Order Line | Date | Notes
BOM details, to include quantities, weights, units of measure, locations, and type of product
Tool information, including location, change inserts, and cavities are provided
Allocation of machines and any ancillaries required to complete production
And finally, the image of the part itself to help the production personnel to keep on track.
Our Software - Key Features
Tooling Register
Incorporating a full tooling register, maintaining your clients tooling status and location
BOM's
Multi-level Bill Of Materials, to include sub-assemblies, and final assemblies
Production Planning
Visual Capacity planning and scheduling, by the Week, Day and even Hour
Job Cards / Works Orders
A clear visual document for shop floor use - including BOMs for Injection Moulding
Contacts
Full customer and Supplier data capture with CRM Traceability and email capabilities throughout
Traceability
Ability to trace material from Purchase Order through WIP to final moulded component
Second Operations
Ability to track manufacturing flow to clearly identify secondary operations and manual operations
Purchasing
Full purchase planning auto updated customer sales order demand, and stock allocations
NCR / Quality
Track all non-conformance reports and corrective actions, integrated with part record
Shop Floor Data Capture
Real time data collection from production - tracking all processes and works orders / job cards
Dashboard
Snapshot insight into daily business expectations, monitoring progress in real time
Invoicing
Raise invoices using our invoicing module, integrated directly with Sage, Xero & Quickbooks
Working With The Best
Members of
Our Directors
About Mark Amphlett
With over 20 years of experience in the plastics industry, Mark Amphlett played a pivotal role in the growth of Amtek Plastics, Newton Abbot, as General Manager.
Under his leadership, the company’s annual turnover surged from £650k to over £3M in less than 6 years. Mark’s effective branding strategies positioned Amtek Plastics as a leading provider of Plastic Injection Moulding services in the UK, resulting in a significant increase in inbound inquiries, from an average of 3 or 4 per month up to a typical monthly total of well over 60.
These outcomes showcase Mark’s exceptional marketing skills, unwavering dedication to fostering growth, and remarkable talent for strategically positioning businesses to achieve success.
About Andy Jewell
Andy Jewell entered the plastics industry in 1989, with an Honours Degree in Chemistry with Business Administration.
During his early career, Andy gained invaluable experience in sales, developing his technical knowledge of material handling, drying, and dosing systems, as well as real-time Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) for the Plastics sector.
As his expertise in the Plastic Injection Moulding industry developed, Andy transitioned into the promotion and sale of real-time Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) for the Plastics sector.
Working closely with a renowned US-based supplier of MES/SFDC/i4.0 solutions, Andy played a crucial role in establishing them as a leading provider across the globe. His dedication and contributions helped to drive the company’s success and solidify its reputation within the industry.
As an Independent Sales Consultant since 2017, Andy’s deep understanding of the plastics industry and expertise in MES solutions make him a trusted advisor and consultant.
His commitment to excellence and delivering tangible results has helped numerous customers achieve enhanced productivity and profitability.
