The intense competition in global manufacturing and the reshaping of supply chains have led to domestic demand and export growth in China's manufacturing industry falling short of expectations. At the same time, consumer demand is constantly changing, with a surge in personalized needs and shorter update cycles, presenting new challenges for China's manufacturing sector. In this context, the traditional MTS (Make-To-Stock) inventory-based manufacturing model is no longer suitable, and issues such as inventory risk and forecasting risk have become a Damocles sword hanging over manufacturing enterprises.

As a result, the MTO (Make-To-Order) order-based manufacturing model has been recognized and adopted by more domestic manufacturing enterprises due to its high responsiveness, low inventory characteristics, and flexible orientation.

In the MTO model, orders can be regarded as independent projects. However, manufacturing enterprises often face situations where multiple projects are carried out simultaneously, involving centralized management and coordination of multiple related projects. This includes resource coordination between different projects, as well as specifics like manpower, materials, production time, and scheduling. This necessitates the introduction of a project portfolio management approach (characteristics of project portfolios: multiple projects running simultaneously, with interrelations), which raises higher requirements for production management in manufacturing enterprises.

The MTS model is equivalent to single project management. Manufacturing enterprises can manage production effectively through traditional ERP systems. However, when upgrading to the MTO production model and introducing project portfolio management concepts, they face challenges such as an increase in product categories, significant and frequent demand fluctuations, complex production processes, and an increase in temporary projects. Traditional ERP systems struggle to perfectly resolve conflict management and coordination for multiple projects and cannot keep pace with project portfolio management concepts. Since the old system is inadequate, if enterprises wish to develop a new customized system, they first face high initial development costs and ongoing costs for added functionalities and daily maintenance, along with significant time consumption. In this dilemma, manufacturing enterprises urgently need a suitable solution.

Mofang Web Table provides a unique solution to meet the new needs of project portfolio management for manufacturing enterprises. Mofang Web Table is a configurable software platform that empowers users to flexibly build personalized usage scenarios and quickly adjust according to market and enterprise changes. This platform is fully applicable to multi-project coordination management in the MTO production model. Through digital capabilities, it comprehensively enhances the production delivery capacity of manufacturing enterprises, controls overall product quality, and builds unique core competitiveness.

Advantages of the MTO project portfolio management system based on Mofang Web Table

Flexible customization of order production plans and piecework rules: In the MTO model with multiple projects running in parallel, processes and raw materials vary. Enterprises can use the rich configuration modules built into Mofang Web Table to formulate order plans that meet their needs and customize piecework rules to accurately reflect production costs and profits.

Flexible production processes that achieve standardization and automation: Changes in orders under project portfolio management are difficult to predict. Mofang Web Table provides flexible production processes that allow enterprises to conveniently plan and adjust production tasks based on real-time changes in orders and newly added orders. The modularization of processes enables automated adjustments of business processes while automatically reminding relevant personnel to ensure orderly production.

Real-time tracking of production progress and control of product quality: With multiple projects running in parallel, controlling production progress and product quality is particularly important. Through Mofang Web Table, personnel in manufacturing enterprises can track order production progress in real-time and obtain product records instantly to ensure timely delivery of orders and guarantee product quality.

Seamless integration with external systems provides decision support and control capabilities: Project portfolio management is advanced management for senior executives dealing with strategic projects and organizational multi-projects. Mofang Web Table features the industry's first 'external field group' function that enables seamless integration with various external systems within the enterprise, allowing managers to have real-time control over key information such as personnel, finance, materials, production, supply, and sales while providing comprehensive statistical analysis and accurate data support for decision-making.

Automated data analysis and raw material procurement forecasting: Demand forecasting for manufacturing enterprises under the MTO model is challenging due to required production cycles; some inventory may be necessary if needed. Mofang Web Table provides users with customizable material analysis reports for production managers to view as needed. It presents material changes at various stages more intuitively while automatically generating procurement forecasts with a one-click pre-purchase submission feature.

Years of persistent research and continuous improvement have allowed Mofang Web Table to amass over 150,000 loyal users, including many medium-to-large domestic and international manufacturing enterprises. Let's take a look at how they achieve production management through Mofang Web Table.

Huawei UAE Representative Office

The Huawei UAE Representative Office uses Mofang Web Table as a development platform to create a project portfolio management system supporting the MTO production model. It took only one month from demand gathering to launch. The new system comprehensively incorporates base station surveying, design requirements for materials into management; it can summarize materials based on base station orders to guide production planning and transportation planning. After going live, the UAE Representative Office continued optimizing the new system based on the flexible scalability of Mofang Web Table according to actual situations and needs for rapid functional changes and additions so that the new system could fully support all project requirements. The use of the new system not only improved overall work efficiency but also enhanced managers' ability to control project progress while closely connecting various stages accelerated project advancement.

Wade Crane

Wade Crane is a specialized manufacturer of non-standard European cranes operating under a typical MTO production model where each order represents a project; usually operating in a multi-project parallel mode. They customized a system application that fits Wade's entire process using Mofang Web Table. Through its unique integration features, it synchronizes SAP data bidirectionally with applications helping various departments track data related to production, shipping, installation progress promptly replacing Oracle P6 project management tasks. The use of the new system significantly improved work efficiency while enhancing managers' overall control over project progress enabling close cooperation among various processes accelerating production pace. After launching the system, Wade continued utilizing the flexible scalability of Mofang Web Table for ongoing functional enhancements to adapt to changing management needs at different stages of enterprise development greatly supporting Wade's innovative enterprise management demands.