ERP Systems Supporting Lean Manufacturing: A Literature Review

ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) and Lean manufacturing are two production control methodologies. ERP systems were once considered as hindrance to Lean manufacturing efforts. The explosive growth of e-business is forcing many companies to revisit where they stand in relation to these two methodologies. Vendors of ERP systems begin to recognize the power and advantages of Lean manufacturing and then explore ways to build Lean-related features into their ERP systems. The main objective of this paper is to answer the question “Can ERP and Lean co-exist?” To accomplish this, the paper first discusses the misconception about ERP and Lean and then summarizes the differences between the two methodologies that led to the misconception. The paper discusses the importance of linking ERP and Lean methods and summarizes some of the key Lean toolsets that are offered in some ERP systems. From a list of ERP vendors offering Lean enabled modules three vendors are discussed in details. They are Oracle, TTW WinMan and Pelion systems.