A manufacturing ERP is made of modules: sales, purchase, inventory, bill of materials (BOM), material planning (MRP), production, quality, costing, maintenance, accounts, HR and reports. Each module should share data with the others, so one order flows from sale to purchase to production to delivery without retyping.
This page is a practical checklist. For each module, you will see what it does, which features are basic and which are advanced, and what to test in a demo. For the big picture, start with our guide to ERP software for the manufacturing industry.
How to read this checklist
Not every factory needs every feature. Use three levels.
- Core: you need this from day one.
- Growth: you will want this as you scale.
- Advanced: useful for complex or large plants.
Mark each line for your factory before you talk to vendors. It keeps demos honest and focused.
Module 1: Sales and order management
What it does. Records customer orders, prices, delivery dates and customer ledgers. Orders drive production and purchase.
- Core: quotations, sales orders, invoices, delivery challans, customer ledger, price lists.
- Growth: credit limit checks, discount approvals, order status tracking, returns.
- Advanced: available-to-promise dates based on stock and capacity, blanket orders, dealer and route sales. See sales and distribution software.
Demo test. Create an order for an item with no stock. Does the system show shortage and suggest production or purchase?
Module 2: Item master and BOM
What it does. The BOM lists every material, quantity and process needed to make one unit. It is the base for planning, purchase and costing.
- Core: single-level BOM, units of measure, scrap allowance.
- Growth: multi-level BOM, BOM versions, alternate materials, by-products.
- Advanced: size-wise or color-wise BOM, formula-based quantities, co-products and recipe scaling. For footwear and garments, this matters a lot. See footwear ERP and garments ERP.
Demo test. Change one material in a BOM. Does the cost and the next plan update? Is the old version kept?
Module 3: Material requirement planning (MRP)
What it does. From orders and BOMs, it calculates what to buy and when, after checking stock and open purchase orders.
- Core: requirement from sales orders, shortage list.
- Growth: lead time and safety stock, reorder suggestions, purchase request creation.
- Advanced: demand forecast, planned production orders, multi-plant planning.
Demo test. Enter three orders that share a material. Does the system add the demand and show one clear purchase need?
Module 4: Purchase and supplier management
What it does. Controls buying from request to payment.
- Core: requisitions, purchase orders, goods receipt, supplier ledger.
- Growth: supplier comparison, approval flow, three-way matching of PO, receipt and bill.
- Advanced: import and LC link, landed cost, supplier scorecards. See LC management ERP and supply chain management software.
Demo test. Receive a partial delivery. Does the system keep the open balance and match the bill?
Module 5: Inventory and warehouse
What it does. Tracks raw material, packing material, spare parts, work in progress (WIP) and finished goods across stores.
- Core: stock by item and store, stock ledger, transfers, reorder levels.
- Growth: batch and lot, expiry, barcode, stock counts with variance reports.
- Advanced: bin locations, FEFO, serial tracking, subcontract stock at vendor. See inventory management software and warehouse management software.
Demo test. Issue material to production, then return the unused part. Is stock correct in all stores?
Module 6: Production planning and control
What it does. Turns orders into production orders and tracks them on the shop floor.
- Core: production orders from BOM, material issue, finished goods receipt.
- Growth: stage-wise routing, work centers, shift and line records, WIP view.
- Advanced: finite capacity scheduling, machine loading, job card and barcode tracking. See production planning ERP for factories.
Demo test. Open a production order halfway. Can you see what is done, what is in WIP and what is late?
Module 7: Shop floor data entry
What it does. Captures what happens on the line: quantity produced, rejects, downtime and time worked.
- Core: simple entry by supervisor, output and reject counts.
- Growth: mobile or tablet entry, hourly output, downtime reasons.
- Advanced: machine counters, barcode scanning per bundle or lot, operator-level records.
Demo test. Ask a real supervisor to enter one shift. If it feels slow, data will be late.
Module 8: Quality control
What it does. Records checks and decides if goods pass, fail or need rework.
- Core: incoming and final inspection, reject reasons.
- Growth: in-process checks, hold and release status, defect trends by line.
- Advanced: test specifications and certificates, supplier quality scores, corrective action tracking.
Demo test. Reject a batch. Does the stock become blocked, and is the reason visible in reports?
Module 9: Costing
What it does. Shows what each product or order really costs.
- Core: material cost from BOM, labor and overhead rates.
- Growth: actual versus standard cost, wastage and yield cost, order-wise cost.
- Advanced: by-product costing, process costing, energy and utility allocation, variance analysis.
Demo test. Change a raw material price. Does product cost update, and can you see the margin effect?
Module 10: Maintenance
What it does. Keeps machines running.
- Core: machine list, maintenance schedule, breakdown log.
- Growth: work orders, spare parts use, downtime cost.
- Advanced: usage-based maintenance, mean time between failures, asset history. See asset management software.
Module 11: Accounts and finance
What it does. Records money from every other module without double entry.
- Core: ledgers, vouchers, bank and cash, VAT, financial statements.
- Growth: budgets, cost centers, fixed assets, multi-currency.
- Advanced: multi-company consolidation, bonded and export-linked records where relevant.
See accounting software in Bangladesh.
Module 12: HR, attendance and payroll
What it does. Manages staff, shifts, overtime and salary.
- Core: employee records, attendance, leave, salary sheet.
- Growth: biometric device link, overtime rules, bank salary files.
- Advanced: line-wise labor cost, piece-rate pay, contract worker handling. See biometric attendance and payroll and HR and payroll solutions.
Module 13: Reports and dashboards
What it does. Turns data into decisions.
Ask to see these live, not on slides:
- Order status and late orders
- Material shortage
- Production versus plan
- Wastage and yield
- Stock value and aging
- Cost and margin per product
- Receivables and payables aging
- Machine downtime
Features across all modules
These are not modules, but they decide how the system feels every day.
- Approvals and workflow: purchase, discount and payment approvals by amount.
- Audit trail: who changed what.
- Role-based access: each person sees what they need.
- Mobile access: owners and supervisors on phone.
- Integrations: biometric devices, barcode scanners, weighbridge, SMS.
- Multi-plant and multi-branch: one company view.
- Data import and export: you own your data.
- Bangladesh fit: VAT and Mushak records, BDT, local bank formats and Bangla-friendly screens.
Which modules first?
A safe rollout order for most factories:
- Inventory, purchase, sales and accounts
- BOM and production orders
- Costing and quality
- MRP and planning
- Maintenance, HR integration and dashboards
Get stock and money right first. Planning on bad stock data gives bad plans. See ERP implementation steps.
A simple scorecard for vendors
Score each vendor from 1 to 5.
| Area | What to test |
|---|---|
| BOM depth | Versions, alternates, size-wise logic |
| MRP | Shortage list and purchase suggestion |
| Shop floor entry | Speed on a real shift |
| Costing | Order-wise margin, wastage |
| Quality | Hold and release, defect reports |
| Local fit | VAT, Mushak, BDT, Bangla |
| Industry fit | Client in your sector |
| Support | Response time, on-site help |
| Total cost | Three-year view |
For the full buying framework, read how to choose the right ERP software and ERP software price in Bangladesh.
Industry add-ons to look for
Some sectors need extra features on top of the core modules.
- Footwear and leather: size-wise BOM, leather area stock.
- Garments: size-color matrix, TNA, cutting and sewing lines. See garments sample management software.
- Plastic and recycling: stage-wise conversion, regrind. See plastic recycling ERP.
- Paper and steel: reel or weight-based tracking, energy per ton. See paper industry ERP and steel and aluminum ERP.
- Tiles and ceramics: shade, caliber, kiln records. See tiles and ceramics ERP.
- Food and pharma: batch, expiry, quality records. See food and beverage ERP and pharma ERP.
Mistakes to avoid
Buying the longest feature list. Fit beats length.
Skipping the shop floor test. If entry is slow, data will be late.
Turning on everything at once. Phase it.
Weak BOMs. Wrong BOM, wrong plan, wrong cost.
No owner for master data. Items and BOMs need a keeper.
Where PinCraft fits
PinCraft is our manufacturing ERP for Bangladeshi factories. [Add: mark each module above as live, partial or on request for PinCraft, and list the industries where you have clients. Add one named client and screenshots of a BOM, a production order and a cost report. Be honest about advanced features that need custom setup.]
To test the modules with your own product, request a demo and bring one BOM, one order and one shift of production data.
Quick checklist
- Sales, purchase and inventory linked
- BOM with versions and scrap
- MRP with lead times
- Production orders and stage tracking
- Shop floor entry that supervisors accept
- Quality hold and release
- Order-wise costing
- Maintenance schedule
- Accounts, VAT and payroll
- Reports owners actually use
FAQs
What are the main modules of manufacturing ERP? Sales, purchase, inventory, BOM, MRP, production, quality, costing, maintenance, accounts, HR and reports.
Which module matters most? BOM and inventory. Planning and costing depend on them.
Do small factories need MRP? Not always on day one. Start with stock, purchase and BOM, then add MRP.
How is BOM different from MRP? BOM lists what goes into one unit. MRP uses BOMs and orders to plan purchase.
Can I add modules later? Usually yes. Ask the vendor how, and at what cost.
How long does setup take? From weeks for core modules to months for multi-plant factories.
