Web Wood Works! newsletter and magazine article reprints

Topics are arbitrary and slosh over into many areas. "People" topic is  about management and motivation. (Yes, you know a better staff will improve productivity, but how about you? Are you a motivator for a better future?)  "Equipment" category includes layout, methods, selection, etc.

Ratings range from ***** "must read" (Only used once - and for an article that you might not even understand today.) to * (for a couple of ads.). 

Here's some manufacturing help:

 

---

Manufacturing business software to help your company prosper:

Complete MRP / ERP software solutions customized  for your exact needs

Please double-click either button for download!

These are completely free!  They are not just demos. They are complete systems  without time limits or other restrictions for single user systems. Our only charges are for networked installations.  click  here for more information.

 

 

SIM*plicity tutorials:

(Click  any underlined item for more details.)

Features that help your company	Examples from SIM*plicity	Discussion and Features
Customer Orders
	Order Entry Overview	<<< Please read this introductory overview first.
	Customer Details: shipping information, history, etc.	The utmost in options and feature controls. Automatic pricing with more than 400 variables (size, color, add-on's etc.)  Simple to set-up and easy  to use.  More than an "Order Configurator": these variables interact with dynamic (parametric) bills of materials to create complete manufacturing documentation.
	Item Details	Options to enter and display product information.
	Order Entry Tools	Because we automatically transfer all pricing variables and "engineering limits" to  Order Entry,  SIM*plicity eliminates the typical delay for orders to first go to Engineering and Pricing prior to Order Entry.
	Batch Order Entry	Input Customer Order details directly  from Excel.
	Order-Project Costing	Display actual costs during Order Entry or during  "material takeoff" -Quotations.
	Order Progress (status)	Graphics display with real-time visibility of all in-process orders.
	Product Entry Instructions	Guidance to the operator in entering complex items .
	New Product Entry	Add new customers and products on the fly.
	Zip and Postal Code Tutorial	Factors in entering address data for uniformity and to ensure automatic freight calculation
	Sales Discounts and Commissions	Information on entering discounts and sales commissions.
	SPEED-UP	Tips to increase order entry productivity.
	Invoice Details - Setting Variables Order Entry Display Variables	Variables for printing (and exporting to accounting software) invoices  Order Entry variables for display and printing
	Deposits and Payments	Record and display deposits and partial payments
MRP2/ERP  Planning and Shop Floor Control	Advance Plan	Customer and factory (internal) orders create inventory and labor demand for specific days.  SIM*plicity schedules individual machines within each work station/cell and generates material requisitions.
	Workstation Control	Planners can control and balance workload at every machine.
	Production Planner/Scheduler	Shifting production (date or workcenter) automatically updates all related processes. Graphics displays with drill-down" information effectively links Planning to Shop Floor Control.
	MRP2/ERP Tutorial	Workstation Control allows supervisors to fine tune schedules and report production.
Purchasing and Inventory Control	Requisition/Purchasing	New orders automatically updates long-term material plans. Shop floor control module interacts with purchasing to automatically flag needs that won't be met and adjusts schedules accordingly. Buy-out items are  purchased as soon as customer  order is processed - including automatic pricing of options and features.
	Inventory Details	Knowing the materials "on hand" and what they cost is not enough! SIM*plicity calculates the exact date needed, where it should be stored and details of its physical characteristics.
	Vendor Information	Access complete contact information on vendors and their employees.
	Purchasing Messages Inventory Adjustments	Adding Standard and Text Messages to an individual item Requisition or to an entire Purchase Order Tools to record and adjust physical invnetories.
Accounting and Cost Control	Product Cost Summary Options & Features Overview Order/Project Costing	Know the true cost of every item that you build! Automatically calculate the cost of "work -in-process" inventory. Instantly estimate the complete cost of every Order and Quotation. Change an option or feature and the cost is automatically updated! Please  also read ABC Cost Control
Product Engineering	Bill of Material Flow Chart Dynamic Bills of Material Static Bill Display Glossary	Bills of Materials  are the core of true manufacturing systems. They link together customer orders, manufacturing instructions with  material and labor requirements. Dynamic (parametric) Bills of Material are used for entire families of products eliminating the need at most companies for 90% of individual Bills of Material. However, Static (Conventional) Bills of Material are still valuable and our system incorporates them with a full range of Options and Features
Plan and Perform	Project Takeoff Project and/or Product Estimate	Estimate and control complex projects.
Sales Management	Sales by Customer and Product Line Marketing Program Formats	Cost of Goods Sold report for every order. Volume and margin reports for each sales rep. For each customer select default discount programs, special product discounts and choose from multiple selling companies (OEM, etc.)
SUPPORT	Getting Started FAQ's - SIM*plicity Support Why Systems Fail Favorite Story	Training, customization and 24/7 real-time support by the developers of this software.  A commitment to excellence - today, tomorrow and for the past 30 years.