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by QT9 MRP Software on Jun 10, 2025 8:33:25 AM
Whether it’s the struggle to find skilled labor or maintain a reliable supply chain, hurdles abound in the manufacturing industry. This can be especially true for small manufacturers who often operate with fewer resources, tighter margins and less flexibility than larger competitors.
Automation is one bright light for small manufacturers, and material requirements planning tools like MRP software meet the criteria. By creating efficiencies and promoting accuracy, MRP software helps ensure small manufacturers are can meet challenges with greater agility.
Designed to streamline and automate the production planning process, MRP software helps small manufacturers gain better control over their materials, scheduling and inventory. In this beginner’s guide, we’ll break down what MRP software is, how it works and why it’s an essential tool for small manufacturers looking to stay competitive in a demanding market.
Contents
Benefits of MRP software for small manufacturers
When to invest in MRP software
Small manufacturers get the most out of QT9 MRP
What is MRP software?
Material requirements planning, or MRP, is the process of determining the appropriate types and amounts of materials needed to produce a good, and ensuring those materials are available when they are needed for production. The process consists of three primary steps: inventorying materials on hand, identifying what additional materials are needed, and then scheduling their production or purchase so that they arrive on time and in the right place so operations can proceed smoothly. For small manufacturers asking, "What is MRP software?" this process forms the foundation of efficient, data-driven production planning.
MRP software calculates the materials needed to meet production and customer demand using data from lead times, sales forecasts and production plans to determine the optimal stock levels. With MRP software, companies can easily view production requirements, stock on hand and purchasing or production needs, as well as historical purchasing and production data.
Many MRP software solutions include additional related processes, such as initiating purchase orders, managing warehousing and manufacturing, and managing suppliers. These types of MRP software are considered enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions.
How does MRP software work?
An MRP system can be used in different manners depending on the type of business, its products and its fulfillment approach – make to order or make to stock. For manufacturing, MRP software almost always utilizes a bill of materials (BOM) to determine the parts and components a business will need to purchase or manufacture to create a product.
Developed by product engineers, a BOM is the ultimate record of the materials, components and processes used to build a product. It gives manufacturers and inventory control experts a plan by which to begin gathering materials. It includes details such as part names and numbers, descriptions, quantities required and the order in which they will be needed.
MRP software compares resource requirements outlined in the BOM with stock on hand and determines the materials that will need to be purchased or produced to coordinate with the timeframe determined by the master production schedule, often referred to as the MPS.
MRP software calculates the ideal dates for acquisitions or production by analyzing demand forecasts and lead times. This information is then used by the purchasing or production departments to begin their roles in the materials fulfillment process.
Key functions of MRP software
Purchase planning
MRP software purchasing applications support the original mandate of material requirements planning (MRP) – calculating material acquisitions needed to meet production plans and customer demand. Modern MRP purchasing applications can also evaluate costs, track suppliers, automate purchase orders and create quality records, among many other capabilities.
Production scheduling
MRP software is designed to support manufacturing production by ensuring materials needed in production are available closest to the when they are needed in the production schedule. This is designed to minimize costs yet maintain efficiency and meet demand and delivery deadlines.
Inventory control
Inventory management works in conjunction with production scheduling to track the location of materials, ensure there is enough on hand for production and facilitate getting that inventory where it needs to be at the right time. Inventory control applications can auto-allocate inventory, synchronize inventory across multiple locations and create automatic reorder points.
Real-time data and reporting
Since all business functions are interconnected within the ERP platform, information from different departments is consolidated and updated in real time. This gives management a comprehensive view of business performance, enabling better decision-making based on more accurate data.
Financial reports, inventory levels and production schedules can be accessed instantly, providing companies with insights that help them respond quickly to market changes or operational challenges.
Bill of Materials (BOM) management
MRP software incorporates the BOM into its material acquisition or production processes, using data from the BOM to ensure the right materials are available at the right quantities and in the correct order. The digital environment allows manufacturers to easily make changes to the BOM if needed and improves accuracy for complex products.
Benefits of MRP software for small manufacturers
Like so much in the realm of business planning, there is a lot to consider for effective material requirements planning, especially at higher production volumes or for products that are more complex. MRP software seamlessly and systematically evaluates material requirements, production schedules, sales forecasts, customer orders and inventory to calculate the optimal supply of product inputs. This leads to:
Improved production efficiency
Using a centralized database and integrations between production functions, such as purchasing and shop floor management, MRP software is able to simplify the process of ensuring that materials are where they need to be at the optimal time, so that production can proceed on time, in the correct sequence, with minimal interruptions.
Reduced costs
MRP software reduces the cost of purchases by determining the most cost-effective materials and components. It can also reduce inventory carrying costs and waste through better alignment of production and demand, and help manufacturers avoid employee overtime through more efficient scheduling and fewer bottlenecks.
Optimized inventory
MRP software’s helps companies reach optimal inventory levels by using real-time and historical data to accurately forecast material needs. The software gives immediate insight into inventory locations and quantities, so you always know what’s on hand and what needs to be ordered or reordered. Inventory capabilities enable the software to automatically update inventory data when shipments arrive or leave the warehouse.
Reduced lead times
With the more accurate forecasting capabilities of MRP software, it becomes easier for manufacturers to schedule production for optimal efficiency, which keeps order-to-delivery times low and makes customers happy.
Traceability and compliance
Many manufacturers must keep detailed records of product materials. Some MRP systems enable easy traceability using barcoding for lot or serial number traceability, satisfying regulatory mandates and making it easier to track products in the event of a recall.
Improved customer satisfaction
Greater production efficiency means manufacturers are able to get their products to market more quickly, improving customer satisfaction and market position.
Cloud MRP software
Cloud MRP software is an MRP solution that is delivered over the internet via a third-party provider. The benefits of cloud MRP software are numerous for businesses, since they are not responsible for maintaining the software on their own servers. This not only eliminates the need for staff and space to maintain the software, it also makes installing system updates simple.
What’s more, cloud-based software enables businesses to easily access their MRP data and production information from anywhere, at any time as long as they have an internet connection.
Additional advantages to cloud-based MRP software include:
- The ability to scale use according to needs
- Lower costs, since delivery is usually based on subscriptions, so businesses only pay for what they use
- Ability to access anytime, anywhere
- Vendor-provided maintenance, security and backup
MRP vs ERP
MRP is often considered a function of an ERP system, however ERP software grew from MRP software. Widespread use of MRP as a formalized business process came about in the late 1960s/early 1970s, and an extension of it, dubbed material resource planning (MRP II), was introduced in 1980. MRP II broadened the MRP scope to include related operations within an organization, such as product design, capacity planning and financial management.
In the 1990s, the analyst firm, Gartner, began using the term “enterprise resource planning (ERP)” to describe systems that combined MRP and MRP II with additional related processes from across a manufacturing “enterprise,” all of it managed in a centralized platform. When people talk about MRP software today, they are generally referring to ERP software.
When to invest in MRP software
If you’re experiencing any of the following, it may be time to switch to MRP software:
- Struggling to meet production deadlines
- Constantly putting out inventory management fires
- Spending hours on manual planning
- Relying on spreadsheets for inventory control
- Dealing with frequent miscommunications between sales, purchasing and production
Even if you're a small shop, implementing MRP software early can set the foundation for smoother growth and improved operations.
Final thoughts
Understanding what MRP software is and how it supports manufacturing workflows is essential for small businesses looking to remain competitive. From managing inventory more accurately to streamlining production planning, MRP software gives manufacturers the tools they need to run smarter and scale faster.
Whether you’re just getting started or looking to upgrade from a manual process, investing in a system that offers real-time visibility and automation can transform your operations. With modern, affordable solutions now available, small manufacturers don’t have to stay stuck in reactive mode—they can take control with the right tools in place.
Small manufacturers get the most out of QT9 MRP
QT9 MRP is a robust materials requirements planning software system giving small manufacturers an intuitive and cost-effective operations solution. QT9 MRP works for any industry, improving efficiency and accuracy through integrated data and automated operations.
With QT9 MRP, you get:
- Unlimited Bill of Materials
- Tailored customer support
- Customer, compliance, supplier and physical inventory web portals
- Lot and serial number inventory control and traceability
- Real-time data that supports better business intelligence
- Seamless integration with QT9 QMS
QT9 MRP offers an easy integration with the most popular accounting applications: QuickBooks, Xero and Sage, which makes it easy to incorporate current financials into the system.
What’s more, a simple integration with QT9 QMS quality management software offers a broad yet unified platform for incorporating quality management into business processes, including nonconformance management, supplier and vendor management, document control and quality assurance.
Our MRP software lets you configure processes to best meet your needs and is highly scalable, so you can implement at your own pace.
Reach out today for more information.