Break it down

A lot of manufacturers create assemblies. They have parts and they put them together into a new thing. The inventory of the parts and the inventory of the created thing both need to be tracked. Most systems do this pretty well.

What if you are a manufacturer who starts with something big and then break it down into its smaller pieces? What if those pieces are not always exactly the same?

I worked with a meat processor and reseller. They had trouble finding a solution that would allow them to take a beef primal and process it into steaks, roasts, chops, and hamburger. Every piece of that primal was turned into something else. Even the fat and trimmings were used for something.

Most systems have trouble with processes that don't involve exact quantities or weights or amounts. Not every primal is the same size. They don't always produce the exact same number of ribeye steaks. 

Does your operation have areas that need flexibility?

​- Chad