3 Steps to Tackling Material Issuance and Backflushing
The path to inventory accuracy and cost control isn’t as far out of reach as manufacturing leaders might think.
Material issuance involves allocating raw materials for production while backflushing automates the process of updating inventory by deducting materials based on the finished goods produced. For manufacturers that want to scale, managing material consumption is a critical challenge.
The solution? Mastering the essential practices of material issuance and backflushing can help keep operations running smoothly, especially as production grows. By systematizing these processes, manufacturing leaders can strengthen operations and achieve sustained growth for long-term success.
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Why material issuances and backflushing matter
Manufacturers frequently face challenges related to material consumption accuracy such as inaccurate inventory records and reduced production efficiency. When material use is not tracked accurately, the impact extends beyond the shop floor and affects operations, supply chain performance, and financial planning.
These issues often stem from a combination of factors including discrepancies in bills of materials, insufficient staff training, inconsistent processes across teams, timing gaps, and unaddressed exceptions.
How can manufacturing leaders overcome these challenges?
To overcome these challenges, manufacturers are increasingly systematizing and automating material issuances and backflushing. Embedded intelligence can verify material consumption data in real time, detect deviations from bills of materials, and surface recommended corrective actions as exceptions occur. These automated checks improve accuracy, reduce waste, and establish a single source of truth for inventory movement, which creates a stronger foundation for cost control and production efficiency.
3 steps to confidently tackling material issuance and backflushing
Addressing common material issuance and backflushing issues starts with a commitment to consolidating processes. This consolidation process includes improving training, standardizing procedures, and implementing error-proofing measures to overcome obstacles.
Today, manufacturers can further strengthen these efforts with enterprise resource planning (ERP)-driven intelligent automation. Advanced capabilities can simulate production runs, anticipate material shortages, and help generate optimized issuance schedules that support more proactive and efficient material management.
The following practical steps can help manufacturing leaders get started.
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 1
Analyze existing processes
Step 2
Develop clear process descriptions
Step 3
Implement technology solutions
The value of systematizing material issuances and backflushing
A systematized, structured approach to material issuance and backflushing provides manufacturing leaders with better visibility into inventory and raw material use, which is essential for accurate cost recognition and maintaining margins.
This approach offers several key benefits:
- Inventory accuracy
Streamlined material issuances and backflushing help create standardized data for more accurate inventory tracking. With clearer insights into how materials are consumed, teams can minimize errors, prevent shortages, and avoid overstocking. - Cost control
Having systematized processes in place helps manufacturers better understand the cost of production in real time. By improving accuracy in material consumption, businesses gain better control over expenses, which helps reduce waste and improve overall profitability. - Enhanced visibility
Visibility is critical, especially as manufacturing operations grow. Systematized material issuances and backflushing create a clearer view of production activity and help teams identify bottlenecks or inefficiencies early.
When enhanced with AI-driven process automation, these benefits extend even further. Predictive material use models can anticipate shortages while automated backflushing updates inventory records immediately after each production cycle. Together, these capabilities improve reporting accuracy, reduce downtime, and support more scalable, sustainable growth.
Benefit from technology made from for manufacturing with Crowe
Crowe combines process expertise and technology integration to help manufacturers optimize material issuance and backflushing. Crowe specialists have extensive expertise with the NetSuite platform, and they help organizations implement NetSuite advanced manufacturing solutions to streamline operations, reduce errors, and provide real-time visibility into material use. NetSuite solutions can also automate tasks like material tracking and backflushing and help manufacturers improve accuracy, control costs, and boost efficiency.
From initial training and process refinement to full system integration and ongoing support, Crowe delivers the skills manufacturers need to maximize technology investments and achieve long-term success.
This article was originally published on Nov. 11, 2024, and was reviewed and updated.
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