ERP Software for Rubber and Plastic Manufacturers

Critical ERP Software Selection Considerations

ERP Software Selection Considerations for Plastic & Rubber Products Manufacturers

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Contents
Raw Materials ............................................................................................................................................... 3
Synthetic Raw Materials ............................................................................................................................... 4
Manufacturing Processes.............................................................................................................................. 6
Types of Products.......................................................................................................................................... 8
Industry Compliance ..................................................................................................................................... 8
ERP Software Industry .................................................................................................................................. 8
Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................................... 9

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Choosing the right ERP for rubber and plastics manufacturing is critical to the success of your project,
but its not easy. With so many variations of ERP systems available on the market today, there are many
ways you can make a mistake and wind up going through an expensive implementation only to have to
do it all again a few years later when a well selected and implemented system should really last
anywhere from 7-10 years. In this white paper we explore some of the most important factors of
selection to help you make the best choice for your organization.

Raw Materials
It may surprise some people to learn that both
plastic and rubber originated from naturallyoccurring materials. In fact, gutta-percha, shellac,
and the horns of animals were all used as plastic
material before the first synthetic plastics were
produced.
Gutta-percha is derived from the sap of certain
trees, and shellac is made from the secretions of
the tiny lac insect. Animal horns were also used to
make plastics after the horn was boiled and soaked
in an alkaline solution.

Harvesting sap from the gutta-percha tree. Gutta-percha was

commonly used in the production of plastic and rubber.

Further about 40% of rubber used today is natural rubber harvested as latex from a variety of trees such
as the Par rubber tree in a process similar to that of tapping trees to make maple syrup. Latex is a milky
fluid which is also found in 10 percent of all flowering plants such as the common dandelion and
milkweed.
The process of cultivating and harvesting naturally-occurring
raw materials for plastic and rubber production is not
dissimilar to the process of harvesting fruit and vegetables in
agricultural and farming industries.
Companies engaged in these early stages of harvesting
natural ingredients for rubber and plastics commonly use ERP
software designed for the farming and agricultural industry.
These systems include specialized capabilities to manage
their land and crops; irrigation, fertilization, and care for their
trees; planting of new trees; and cultivation of the harvest.
Larger producers typically use ERP software from Oracle or
SAP while smaller producers will typically use general
midmarket ERP solutions such as Sage ERP X3, Sage 100 ERP,
or Epicor ERP with add-on modules, small modifications, or
Secretions from the lac bug were used to create
shellac and some plastics for many years.

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integration to specialized third party operational systems to handle their unique agricultural
requirements.

Synthetic Raw Materials

The source for the majority of plastic and rubber products today is petroleum as it may be refined into
various raw materials through a variety of processes to convert raw crude oil into the basic plastic and
rubber materials used by manufacturers today.
The first synthetic plastics were made from cellulose plant material. In 1869, John Wesley Hyatt, an
American printer and inventor, found that cellulose nitrate could be used as a substitute for ivory. The
mixture could be plasticized with the addition of camphor.
Celluloid, as this new material was called, became the only plastic of commercial importance for 30
years. It wasnt until 1951 when chemists at the Phillips Petroleum Company discovered that plastic
could be made from petroleum creating polypropylene and polyethylene which are used in the vast
majority of plastic products manufactured today.
Synthetic rubber is made by polymerization of petroleum-based products. Gustave Bouchardat created
one form of synthetic rubber in 1879 producing a polymer of isoprene. In 1909, Fritz Hofmann working
with the Bayer laboratory succeeded in polymerizing methyl isoprene creating the first synthetic rubber.
Transforming petroleum to plastic or rubber takes several steps through a complex process as the
petroleum is transformed at a refinery into multiple products including motor oil, gasoline, and products
used in later in plastic and rubber processing.
A by-product of the refining process creates ethane and propane which can be transformed into
ethylene and propylene using high-temperature furnaces. From here, either material is combined with
one of many popular catalysts such as titanium chloride, a special catalyst prepared with chromium
oxide and silica, or other types of catalysts. The results of this process are a fluffy, powdered material
resembling laundry detergent used to make plastics.
Catalysts are then combined with additives in a blender and typically fed into an extruder where it is
melted into a raw plastic which then proceeds to a machine that cuts it into small pellets. Pellets are
shipped to customers where they are used in various manufacturing processes such as extrusion,
injection molding, and blow molding.
The most prevalent synthetic rubbers are styrene-butadiene rubbers (SBR) derived from
copolymerization (combination of multiple rubber raw materials) typically from styrene and a particular
type of butadiene. The process used to manufacture synthetic rubber and the type and quantity of

Plastic pellets are typically produced in various

colors which are used by manufacturers for
making finished goods such as containers, parts,
bags, and other products for both consumer and
industrial applications.

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ERP Software Selection Considerations for Plastic & Rubber Products Manufacturers

additives used have a tremendous impact on the physical properties of the finished rubber product
including its durability and elasticity.
Most companies engaged in the production of plastic resins and rubber use process ERP systems like
Sage ERP X3. Process manufacturing systems are vastly different than ERP software designed for
discrete industries. For example, chemical properties of the raw materials and the actual process of
manufacturing these into the finished product must be carefully controlled or the desired product will
not result from the manufacturing process.
The purity and chemical composition of the raw materials is vital to formulation of the product and the
environment conditions such as temperature, humidity, and other factors play an equally important role
in the process. As such, systems like Sage ERP X3 are desired as they allow process manufacturers to
track chemical properties of raw materials in inventory and provide quality control functionality to test
materials. Much of the products manufactured from rubber and plastic products are tracked by lot
number to identify the specific characteristics of the product traceable down to the characteristics of
the raw material lots as well as the manufacturing processes utilized in their production.
Further, process manufacturers may add different quantities of raw materials to change the chemical
composition of the finished goods they are making. These quantities are dependent on the properties of
other raw materials and additives used in the process. This is very different than simply tracking discrete
operations where raw materials are cut, formed, assembled, or otherwise transformed into common
discrete products such as furniture or metal shelving.

Process vs. Discrete Manufacturing

Process

Discrete

Operations

Mix, Blend, Chemical Reaction, etc.

Assemble, Cut, Bend, Drill, Weld, etc.

Properties

Typically liquids and gases

Typically solids

Disassembly

Typically cannot be returned to the

raw materials that created the
product. You cannot disassemble
grape juice to make grapes.

Typically can be disassembled to

create the raw material from which it
originated. You can disassemble a car
to get the tires, hood, and other parts
that make up the car itself.

Examples

Beverages, chemicals, food, paint and

adhesives, lubricants, etc.

Furniture, electronics, vehicles, metal

products, plastic containers, etc.

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Manufacturing Processes
Extrusion Molding is the primary process used to
form plastics and some rubber products
whereby the material is heated and forced
through a die to form it into a shape. This is
similar to the process you used as a child when
you forced Play-Doh through a hole.
The product is then cooled under fans or in
water where it hardens. The long rods, tubes,
sheets, or other shapes of the product are then
cut into the desired lengths and/or widths and
either stacked, coiled, or rolled for storage.

Sample part profiles manufactured by extruding softened

plastic pellets through dies. This process is common for
products such as plastic moldings.

In some extrusion processes, plastic fibers are

made by forcing the plastic through very small holes producing fine threads from which plastic fabrics
can be made through traditional weaving processes.

Injection molding is popular when creating more than one quantity of

a part at the same time or in cases where different parts are made at
the same time such as making a front and back from the same mold.

Injection Molding is another popular

process where plastic or rubber
compounds are heated and squirted into a
mold under great pressure where it
hardens fast. When the mold is opened,
the part is removed. This process can be
manual or often automated and repeated
to create large quantities of product.
Injection molding is common in producing
a wide variety of products including
plastic handles, cups, trays, mats, and
even chairs and larger products and parts.

Blow Molding is a process used to form plastic containers such as

bottles or bags and flexible rubber tubing and hoses. This is very
similar to the process of blowing a bubble where the air pressure
forces the plastic material outward into a hollow mold forming
the finished product.
Some plastic and rubber products are manufactured using a
combination of processes. For example, plastic films and sheets
such as plastic bags or plastic wrap can be manufactured through
a combination of extrusion and blow molding. Sometimes plastic
sheeting is rolled through a calendar or rollers similar to the way

Blow molding uses air to force softened plastic

resin against the sides of molds to form bottles,
containers, bags, toys, and other common
products we use in our everyday lives.

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many metal products are rolled to a desired thickness. This process makes the product smooth and
often removes small imperfections.
Some manufacturers fabricate products
from plastic and rubber raw materials
similar to the way that metal fabricators
convert bar stock to finished products or the
way that furniture manufacturers shape
wood into finished goods. In these cases,
the business can likely utilize a discrete
manufacturing ERP system since the
manufacturing process requires significantly
less process manufacturing features.
There are specific ERP systems such as DTR Plastics ERP by Aptean or IQMS ERP for Plastics that are
designed for companies that manufacture products from rubber and plastic raw materials. These
systems offer highly specialized features such as tracking byproducts and the number of times that scrap
material is reused in the production of new product; scheduling production based on the color of the
finished good being manufactured to reduce the amount of time spent cleaning dies and molds
(schedule lighter products before darker products); or tracking of costs and materials used in the
production of co-products where more than one unique part is produced in a specific manufacturing
operation (such as producing a left part and right part from a single mold).
While ERP software designed specifically for the plastic and rubber industry may be attractive due to
many of their industry-specific features, most of these systems offer very weak financial modules, are
difficult to modify or to integrate to other systems, have limited third party solutions to add-on to the
core product, and are implemented and supported only by the publisher directly leaving companies with
few service options when the publisher has limited implementation and training resources available.
Many companies utilize ERP products such as Syspro, Sage ERP X3, and Epicor ERP which handle the
majority of their industry-specific requirements but also offer a stronger financial system, broader tools
for modification and integration, and are sold through a reseller channel providing them with more
service options. This makes sense when you think about it rationally.
A software publisher selling to a small niche industry will focus on the common needs of their user
community. In the case of publishers that specialize in plastics and rubber the commonality is their
customers manufacturing processes, not their financial or technical requirements. Software publishers
that focus on a broader industry tend to focus on the needs of their diverse customers which have
greater needs in financial reporting and accounting as well as technical needs to extend their business
systems with third party modules and integrated solutions.
Some companies who work with rubber and plastic materials are mixed-mode meaning that they have
needs that resemble both process and discrete manufacturing industries. For example, a company that
makes plastic containers used for food storage will likely have very specific requirements to track

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product quality as any material that comes into contact with food products is highly regulated and
controlled. Further the process of making these products is dependent on temperature and other
factors that lend themselves to a process manufacturing solution. However, the manufacturing process
itself produces discrete finished goods which often have other, upstream manufacturing operations that
are more discrete in nature than process.
Only a handful of ERP systems like Syspro and Sage ERP X3 are available today for midmarket businesses
that need to manage both process and discrete manufacturing operations in a single system.

Types of Products
Rubber and plastic manufacturers make a variety of products that we rely on every day. These include
the tires we put on our cars to the flip-flops we wear to the beach. The process of manufacturing rubber
belts can be vastly different than manufacturing rubber gaskets and the way that companies make
plastic bottles is very different than manufacturing plastic film and sheeting.

Industry Compliance
To complicate matters further, the end-use of the product also has its own set of unique requirements.
For example, manufacturing plastic barrels for the food and beverage industry come with strict FDA
regulations while manufacturing similar barrels for transporting chemicals or other products may not be
regulated at all. Further, many rubber and plastic parts are used on automobiles which often require
companies to comply with quality assurance standards set forth by industry groups such as the
Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) and products used on airplanes or in the nuclear industry have
altogether different regulations.

ERP Software Industry

The ERP software market is still highly fragmented
despite years of consolidation by industry leaders.
Larger companies still rely on tier one solutions
primarily from Oracle and SAP.
In the midmarket, only a handful of niche ERP
products are still available for rubber and plastics
manufacturers and most of these have been acquired
by VC-funded companies like Aptean to capitalize on
the installed base of customers with little or
insignificant investment into further research and
development for the products.

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Conversely, midmarket stalwarts like Sage, Microsoft, and Epicor invest heavily in their core ERP
business applications extending their solutions to new technologies such as HTML 5 while introducing
new applications for social and mobile businesses. Further, these midmarket solutions attract third party
product developers who build extended vertical solutions within the product framework or integrate
their solutions to work with the core ERP system. For example, third party add-ons for Sage ERP X3 exist
for manufacturing execution systems (MES) shop floor control, transportation management,
preventative maintenance, product lifecycle management, production scheduling, and even a complete
vertical industry solution specifically designed for the mining, oil, and gas industry.

Conclusion
Not all ERP systems are alike and the needs of rubber and plastic manufacturers varies widely depending
on different stages in the supply chain, the nature of the products they make, and specific requirements
and regulations for the intended use of the products by industry. Many companies can utilize discrete
manufacturing ERP systems like Epicor ERP or Sage 100 ERP while others that require mixed-mode or
process manufacturing capabilities are best-suited with systems like Sage ERP X3 that are better suited
to their unique needs.
When evaluating ERP for rubber and plastic industries, it is important to consider your unique business
requirements and to evaluate ERP systems that meet the majority of your critical needs while paying
close attention to secondary needs, strength of the underlying technology and accounting system, and
ability to integrate or add-on to the product with best-in-class software for extended functionality.
At the end of the day, your success lies in your ability to select an appropriate product but more
importantly, in your choice of a technology provider who understands your needs and can effectively
implement the system. Selecting the right product is only a small part of the equation and many
companies have failed in their ERP implementations by utilizing a consultant that has little experience in
their industry and limited knowledge of the product.
e2b enterprise represents several ERP business applications including Sage ERP X3, Sage 100 ERP, and
Epicor ERP offering plastics and rubber manufacturers a choice of systems that each have their own
strengths and weaknesses depending on the needs of rubber and plastic products manufacturers. All of
these ERP systems have a solid accounting and technical foundation supported by a large number of
software consultants and third party application developers to extend the core business application.
Learn more about our ERP for rubber and plastics offerings here.

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