Overview
The chemical industry includes companies that are involved in the production of chemicals with high economic impact.  According to modern chemistry, the structure of matter at the atomic scale is what determines the nature of any given matter. Chemical industries involve the processing of raw materials obtained by mining and agriculture, among other supply sources, into other useful materials and substances. These include petrochemicals, agrochemicals, paints, pharmaceuticals, polymers and oleochemicals.  Chemical processes are used to transform the atoms of the raw materials into chemical polymers.  These chemical processes include chemical reactions to form new substances, separations based on properties such as solubility or ionic charge and distillations and transformations by heating and other methods. 

Industry Challenges

• Inconsistent quality of raw materials
• Products cannot be reduced back to their original state once they are processed
• Product is normally manufactured in bulk and then packed according to requirements
• Conformance to control of hazardous materials necessitates storage of backup certificates of approval
• In a number of industries, every order represents a new product depending on the formula used and the substitutions made.

How SYSPRO Can Help

Forecasting
The Forecasting module provides a simple, easy to use forecasting management tool. Based on the available history, it suggests future stock replenishment with the option of removing 'outliers' and enables manual adjustment to the history.  Manual adjustments might be needed in terms of market intelligence or unusual demand. Users can choose from a number of predefined algorithms or a competition method can be chosen in which the system will select the best algorithm based on the ability of each of the algorithms to forecast the most recent period(s). The system will choose the mathematical formula best suited to an item's historical sales and from that predict future sales. Some of the algorithms can be tuned by the user by changing parameters such as smoothing factors. A comprehensive Pareto (A, B, C) analyzer is built-in together with a degree of forecast approval workflow. In addition a set of reports, both tabular and graphical in format, allow for easy reference and the ability to delve into the forecast detail.

Requirements Planning
The Requirements Planning module is the focus of the manufacturing and material resource planning system. The objective of requirements planning is to create realistic purchasing and production schedules, optimize stock holdings and identify capacity constraints in a multi-site, multi-warehouse environment. The module assists with the planning of materials and production capacity required to meet demand and identifies levels of usage of critical resources for rough-cut capacity planning.  It allows for the easy creation of build schedules from Master Production Schedule (MPS) suggestions and the shop floor, and it suggests purchasing, production and transfer schedules to satisfy demand. Features of this module include variable planning horizons, dynamic capacity profiling and load leveling. This is a bucketless system. The calculation is regenerative and infinite, and can be fed into Forward Finite Scheduling.

Planning Bill
A Planning Bill of Material is an artificial grouping of items and/or events in a bill of material format, used to facilitate master scheduling and/or material planning. It is sometimes called a pseudo bill of material. Basically, a planning bill is an aggregate forecast tool for forecasting families of products with a similar sales profile. A planning bill is defined as a non-MPS item. It cannot be stocked, sold or bought and is used to forecast a family of products as one entry while generating gross requirements into the Master Production Schedule (MPS) or Material Requirements Planning (MRP) for each member of the family independently. Each member (the first level component) is defined as an MPS item.

The percentage spread does not have to add up to 100%.  For example, a company manufactures bicycle helmets in different colors.  Past history is used to determine the percentage spread of the colors of the helmets sold.  A fictitious stock code called HELMETS is created and flagged as a planning bill (part category on the inventory master file) with a buying rule of A (lot for lot).  To this part you attach the stock codes for the different colored helmets and convert the quantity per to represent the percentage sales spread for each color helmet.  The total quantity forecast is entered as a forecast against the planning bill item.

Lot Traceability
The SYSPRO Lot Traceability module is designed to provide full traceability at transactional level for items which could cause loss of life or limb if conformance to quality standards is not adhered to. Companies in industries such as electronics, aeronautics, defense, food, pharmaceutical, motor vehicles and building would typically require the Lot Traceability module. This module records material movement through the receiving, manufacturing, assembly, inspection, stocking and final dispatch stages. The integration with SYSPRO's other modules permits full upward and downward traceability through all inventory transactions. The module traces product life cycle from raw materials to final products.

Finite Scheduling
SYSPRO has very strong, real-time finite capacity scheduling capability. In order to stay competitive, manufacturers must operate Lean operations. The finite capacity capability enables manufacturers to use flexible, short-run, short-horizon scheduling resulting in cost effective jobs. Finite Capacity Scheduling creates realistic schedules and promise dates for customers, which increases profits by improving productivity and customer satisfaction while reducing costs.

The Cell Scheduler allows each manufacturing cell to be scheduled independently with user-defined rules for optimizing and viewing work in the cell. Gantt charts show a time-based view of scheduled operations for the machines in each cell. Additional requirements for resources such as operators, setters and tools are shown in parallel with the Gantt chart when calculating the schedule. The Cell Scheduler aims to achieve the optimum utilization of resources (labor, machine and tools) and create achievable work-to lists.

Quality Data Collection
The Quality module integrates the recording of quality parameters with the recording of progress data. The quality data items to be recorded are user-defined. They may be related to a machine, a product or a customer or they could be manually selected. The collected data is stored in a database, which can be queried directly or via an analysis tool.  APS provides instant checks for trends and "blips" in the collected data and can be configured to provide warnings when processes reach an out-of-tolerance range.

Engineering Change Control
Engineering Change Control (ECC) enables you to improve your management of engineering changes to your products. It achieves this through various features that make up the Engineering Change Order process (ECO) process. The Engineering Change Order process is a workflow type subsystem that is intended to replace the paper trail that typically accompanies any changes to product design data. If a product is under the control of ECC, then any maintenance to a Bill of Material and/or routing of the product can be accomplished only by means of a current ECO. Engineering Change Orders provide the following mechanisms:

• Assigning product design tasks to particular users (or groups of users)
• Transferring tasks between users (or groups of users)
• Notifying users of new tasks
• Reminding users of outstanding tasks
• Electronic sign-off

Work in Progress
The Work in Progress module enables you to accurately control costs of work orders currently in progress. Material usage and labor can be posted in real time and in batch mode. It also enables variance reporting to be produced between estimated costs and actual costs of each job. Work orders may be added for stocked items (with a Bill of Materials), stocked items without a bill of materials or non-stocked items. These work orders can create a bill of jobs for all relevant sub-assemblies down the BOM chain. Labor transactions can be posted through kit issues, manually or imported into the system from a data collection interface. Material allocations can be issued to a job through kit issues or manually and optionally allow for the substitution of a material allocation when performing kit issues.

Multiple Units of Measure
The SYSPRO inventory module enables process manufacturers to calculate multiple units of measure (dual units of measure) and variable or catch weights providing two separate physical measurements for an inventory lot.  For example, a fish manufacturing company may calculate the number of fish pieces or the price of fish per weight. This measurement flexibility will enable accurate pricing of products.

Multi-Site Warehouses
Within SYSPRO, multiple warehouses can be used to allow for stock to be stored and recorded at multiple sites. The various quantities on hand or on order are stored per warehouse. In addition, minimum, maximum, safety re-order and pallet quantities are held per warehouse.

Dangerous Goods Text
In industries where customers need to be notified of potential hazardous materials, the Dangerous Goods Text can be very useful. Within SYSPRO, Dangerous Goods Text can be associated with the potentially hazardous Inventory items and optionally printed/attached to the Sales Order documentation.

Blanket Purchase Orders
The Blanket Purchase Order facility within the Purchase Order module allows the user to create, maintain and use contract purchase orders as well as to monitor purchase order receipts against a supplier’s contract. The purpose of these contracts is to allow a fixed price to be recorded for a specified period and/or volume, plus an agreed upon delivery schedule. With extensive querying and reporting capabilities, you can centrally manage anticipated deliveries and review supplier delivery performance.

Requirements Planning
The Requirements Planning module is the focus of the manufacturing and material resource planning system. It consists of four sections: Master Production Scheduling facilities, Rough-Cut Capacity and Resource Planning Net Requirements planning facilities for materials together with capacity planning for work centers and labor, Work orders and purchase order action. Features of this module include variable planning horizons, dynamic capacity profiling and load leveling. This is a bucketless system. The calculation is regenerative and infinite. This can be fed into Forward Finite Scheduling.

Factory Documentation
The Factory Documentation program allows one to define multiple formats for printing Work in Progress documentation. Up to four document formats can be defined.

Backflushing
The Backflushing function in Inventory Movements is designed to record the manufacture of items without using a Work in Progress job. By using the manufactured item's Bill of Materials to determine the material and labor charges, backflushing enables you, in one process, to issue the materials from inventory, apply standard labor costs and receive the finished goods back into stock. This function is particularly relevant in situations where the benefits derived from creating a job to track the activity on the job floor do not justify the cost of processing all the data normally required for a job. Companies manufacturing items which use a production line to transform the raw material into a finished product in an extremely short time, such as manufacturing electrical components, plastic ware, steel nails and fencing, would typically use backflushing The integration with the SYSPRO Bill of Materials module permits full visibility through all inventory transactions.

Variable Bills of Material
Process manufacturers have significant variance in their products from one raw material receipt to another up to the final product. SYSPRO is flexible and can capture material variability, on a lot-by-lot basis, easily adjusting formulas and recipes while ensuring excellent overall quality. This flexibility will enable the manufacturer to use materials in the most effective manner enabling considerable cost savings.

Distribution Requirements Planning
Distribution Requirements Planning in SYSPRO is designed to optimize the movement of inventory in a supply chain environment so that demands can be met effectively and efficiently without relying on excessive stock holdings. If the Material Requirements Planning module is installed, a comprehensive view of the supply chain for each item is available. Companies in either the wholesale or manufacturing sectors, which have regional demand fed by one or more supply warehouses, or manufacturing plants would typically use Distribution Requirements Planning. The integration between the SYSPRO Inventory, Purchase Orders, Sales Orders, Bills of Materials, Work in Progress and Material Requirements Planning modules provides a comprehensive view up and down the supply chain.

Distribution Requirements Planning allows for the Requirements Planning module to suggest Supply Chain Transfers from one warehouse to another, instead of suggesting a Purchase Order or a Works Order. This is done by setting up a chain of Supplying Warehouses, so that the suggested transfer will be from the closest warehouse, resulting in stock being moved from oversupplied warehouses to those with a demand.

Goods in Transit
The Goods in Transit system provides a mechanism for greater management control over stock items that are in the process of being transferred between warehouses. It achieves this by monitoring warehouse transfers and supply chain transfers. Warehouse transfers are generated using the Inventory Movements program, where the transfer of an item from a source warehouse generates a detailed record of the transaction. Stock is depleted from the source warehouse at the time of confirming each line of the transfer. At the receiving warehouse, a review process with extensive selection criteria enables you to control the receipt of this stock. Supply chain transfers are generated using the S/O Entry program. The capture of a supply chain transfer order enables you to reserve stock for transfer at a later point in time (as opposed to an immediate transfer out catered for by Inventory Movements). The primary purpose of the Goods in Transit system is to manage the regular transfer of stock between multiple warehouses.

Co and By-Products
This feature enables you to manufacture multiple parts from one job, whether unplanned (by-products) or by design (co-products). With planned co-products, whenever we manufacture A, we get B and C and, depending on the machinery/equipment and materials used, we could end up with variable quantities of A, B and C. With unplanned by-products, whenever we manufacture A, we may end up with B and/or C in fixed or variable quantities.