Frontier ERP Supply Chain Management Solution

Supply Chain Management (SCM)

Supply chain management is part of daily operations for all manufacturers. That’s why an efficient ERP supply chain management solution is vital for optimizing your manufacturing operations. SCM provides companies with a seamless flow of materials and resources from sourcing raw materials to delivering the finished product. By streamlining processes and minimizing waste, SCM also helps manufacturers cut costs and enhance productivity. In essence, supply chain management is the backbone of manufacturing, enabling companies to navigate the complexities of production and distribution with precision and skill.

The Frontier ERP Supply Chain Management Solution

Frontier’s manufacturing ERP system plays a pivotal role in fostering efficient supply chain management for high-volume and make-to-order manufacturers. As an integrated ERP solution, Frontier facilitates various aspects of the manufacturing process, from procurement and production to distribution and customer service. Its comprehensive suite of modules provides end-to-end visibility and control over the entire supply chain. This enables you to enhance supply chain operations and drive growth. Frontier ERP centralizes real-time data and automates workflows. This removes data silos and inefficiencies across departments. Real-time visibility into inventory levels, production schedules, and supplier performance allows you to make informed decisions to optimize resource allocation and minimize disruptions. Frontier’s ERP supply chain management solution serves as a strategic choice for manufacturers seeking to improve productivity, reduce costs, and deliver superior customer experiences.

Procurement Management

Frontier ERP supply chain management also includes features for efficient Procurement Management. Utilize Frontier’s integrated modules to identify cost-saving strategies for managing supplier relationships and mitigating supply chain risks. Frontier procurement management aligns procurement practices with organizational goals to drive efficiency, innovation, and continual improvement in supply chain planning.

Purchasing and Receiving

The included Purchasing and Receiving tools will streamline your procurement management, quality control processes, and vendor management tasks. This core functionality seamlessly integrates with other Frontier ERP modules to automate material requests and vendor payments. iPurchasing, Frontier’s intranet-based inquiry application, offers enhanced visibility and detailed insights into purchases, requisitions, and past performance. Frontier ERP’s Purchasing and Receiving tools help custom manufacturers improve the procurement process and streamline ERP supply chain management. Improve efficiency and transparency for informed decision-making across your organization with Frontier’s one-source solution.

Distribution Requirements Planning (DRP)

Frontier DRP helps optimize the flow of finished goods from production to the customer in a systematic way. Frontier DRP improves inventory management and balances stock levels across distribution channels to meet customer demand. This is a key ERP supply chain management feature. At its core, our DRP incorporates three main steps:

1. Forecasting Demand Planning: Frontier DRP’s robust report generation tools enable you to forecast customer demand based on historical sales data, market trends, and other relevant factors.
2. Inventory Requirements: Once demand is forecasted, Frontier calculates the inventory needed at each distribution point to meet customer demand. Lead times, transportation constraints, and safety stock requirements are all taken into consideration.
3. Distribution Planning: Frontier DRP works in tandem with the Material Requirements Planning (MRP) module to plan distribution activities. These include transportation scheduling (MPS), warehouse operations, and order fulfillment. This ensures that products are delivered to customers on time and in the most cost-effective manner.

In a multiple-plant or distribution environment, material demand is often driven from one plant or DC to another. This planned/forecasted demand is controlled within the DRP module of Frontier. It runs first to create all of the planned, inter-plant demand. The supplying plant runs MRP or MPS to generate the necessary planned orders to satisfy the demand. Frontier DRP then supports plan execution with full management and control of the interplant shipments. This includes managing any transfer of ownership and/or gain and loss accounting.

Advanced Warehousing

Frontier WMS offers a complete advanced warehousing solution, seamlessly integrated with our manufacturing ERP software. This provides you with a unified platform for streamlined ERP supply chain management. Frontier WMS grants visibility across all warehouse areas to track orders, check inventory levels, view invoices, and more. Key WMS features like RFID technology, barcode scanning, and automated picking and packing processes are also included. Frontier’s Warehouse Management System features can be customized for your warehouse’s individual needs. This alone makes it the perfect choice for businesses wanting a more efficient supply chain management solution. The power of the best manufacturing ERP and advanced WMS system allows you to unlock the full potential of your warehouse operations.

Dispatch Truckload Planning

Dispatch Truckload Planning uses Frontier ERP data to plan truckloads according to user-defined rules, integrating sales, production, and configuration information. Frontier Dispatch is fully integrated with the ERP production scheduling and barcode reporting modules. It also integrates easily with third-party route planning and optimization products such as PC*MILER.

iDispatch Load Execution

Frontier iDispatch Execution is a customizable application that allows ‘point-and-click’ execution of the truck loading process. Users can load, close, and ship iDispatch-planned truckloads. Invoicing is also created through these user-friendly screens. iDispatch supports the generation of necessary shipping process documents as well as ASN details required for EDI transmission.

Shipping

Getting your products to the dealer, job site, or end customer is often the final step in the supply chain. Whether you have a private fleet or use common carriers to ship full- or less-than truckload (FTL, LTL) and parcels, wouldn’t it be great if you could manage all of your shipping within your ERP? You can, thanks to our seamless integration with Varsity Logistics. From rate shopping, to automated business rules, to invoice auditing, one unified platform lets you access it all within Frontier. Learn more about our partnership with Varsity Logistics for your advanced shipping requirements. To learn how Frontier ERP supply chain management can help your company optimize operations, contact us for a demo today.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does Frontier’s supply chain management handle the unpredictability of make-to-order production?

Make-to-order manufacturing creates supply chain challenges that standard inventory-driven systems aren’t built for — every order potentially has a unique BOM, material requirements aren’t predictable from historical stock levels alone, and demand arrives as confirmed orders rather than forecasts. Frontier’s Material Requirements Planning (MRP) and Master Production Scheduling (MPS) modules work from actual order data and the configured BOM generated for each order, so material planning reflects what’s actually been sold rather than what’s been forecast. For manufacturers with a mix of make-to-order and make-to-stock production, Frontier handles both modes within the same planning framework.

What does Frontier’s Distribution Requirements Planning (DRP) module do?

DRP manages the flow of finished goods from production to the customer in multi-plant or multi-location distribution environments. When demand originates at one plant or distribution center and needs to be supplied from another, DRP controls that inter-plant demand — running first to create all planned inter-plant demand before MRP processes the supplying plant’s requirements. DRP incorporates demand forecasting based on historical sales data, calculates inventory requirements at each distribution point taking lead times and safety stock into account, and plans distribution activities in tandem with MRP and MPS. For manufacturers with complex distribution networks, DRP provides the systematic visibility to balance stock levels across locations and meet customer demand efficiently.

How does Frontier’s warehouse management system work?

Frontier WMS provides a complete advanced warehousing solution integrated with the manufacturing ERP — giving visibility across all warehouse areas to track orders, check inventory levels, view invoices, and manage inbound and outbound material flow. Key capabilities include RFID technology, barcode scanning, and automated picking and packing processes. The WMS can be customized to the specific layout and workflow requirements of each warehouse, which is particularly relevant for custom manufacturers whose warehouses often handle both raw material storage and finished goods staging for configured products. Integration with Frontier’s production scheduling means the warehouse always knows what’s being built and when it needs to ship.

How does Frontier handle shipping and carrier management?

Frontier integrates with Varsity Logistics for advanced shipping management — covering rate shopping across carriers, automated shipping rules, invoice auditing, and support for both private fleet and common carrier shipping including full truckload (FTL), less-than-truckload (LTL), and parcel. The iDispatch module handles truckload planning using Frontier ERP data — integrating sales, production, and configuration information to plan loads according to user-defined rules. iDispatch also integrates with third-party route planning tools like PC*MILER for optimization. For manufacturers managing complex outbound logistics, this gives them carrier management, route optimization, and shipping documentation within the ERP rather than in a standalone logistics tool.

How does Frontier’s purchasing and receiving module connect to the rest of the supply chain?

Frontier’s purchasing and receiving module is fully integrated with the rest of the ERP — material requests are generated automatically from MRP, purchase orders flow into the receiving workflow, and received purchase orders interface directly to accounts payable to eliminate manual vendor invoice entry. iPurchasing, Frontier’s intranet-based inquiry application, provides enhanced visibility into purchases, requisitions, and vendor performance history. For custom manufacturers where material procurement is driven by specific order requirements rather than standard reorder points, having purchasing connected directly to configured BOM data means the right materials are ordered for the right jobs without manual interpretation between the order and the purchase.

How does Frontier support inventory management across multiple locations?

Frontier’s inventory management provides real-time visibility across warehouse locations, tracks stock by location and lot, and supports automated replenishment. For multi-plant manufacturers, the DRP module manages inter-location inventory movement so stock levels are balanced across the network rather than managed in isolation per location. RF reporting provides real-time inventory tracking through barcode and RFID scanning — material movement is captured at the point of activity rather than entered after the fact. For custom manufacturers where raw material inventory is tied to specific job requirements and finished goods are often built to order, having accurate, real-time inventory data connected to production scheduling is essential for reliable order promising and on-time delivery.