Sage 50 and Sage 200 Manufacturing. What does the future hold?
If your business manufactures and you currently use Sage 50 or Sage 200 manufacturing, you’re probably assessing your options after Sage has announced an end-of-support date for Sage 50 on 30th September 2021, and for Sage 200, the manufacturing suite will no longer receive roadmap updates.
It is important to understand that Sage 50 and Sage 200 Manufacturing will continue to work, and you can use both suites for as long as you wish. However, in the case of Sage 50, it is important to know that numerous factions influence the day‐to‐day operation of any software, and if the software is no longer supported, such factors could impact your further use of the tool.
Sage 200 Manufacturing Suite will continue to be supported; however, the features and functionality will not be developed to meet the future needs of your business.
What are my options?
As mentioned, It’s important to understand that Sage 50 and Sage 200 Manufacturing won’t stop working, and you can continue to use the software if you wish. It is likely however that some manufacturers using Sage 50 and Sage 200 manufacturing will want to move to Sage’s new manufacturing solutions at some point in the future. Below we’ll take a look at the exciting new alternatives recommended by Sage for both Sage 50 and Sage 200 Manufacturing.
Manufacturing for Sage 50
Sage has announced Cim50 Manufacturing as their suggested future replacement for Sage 50 Manufacturing. With a combined 100+ years of experience in the manufacturing industry, the software provider has teamed up with Sage to develop a suite of modules perfectly tailored to the industry.
The Cim50 Manufacturing suite is modular, meaning manufacturers can take as little or as much as they need. Some manufacturers may simply need some advanced stock control whilst others may have complex manufacturing processes and need a full suite of software. The modules available within the Cim50 Manufacturing Suite are:
- Stock Control.
- Bill of Materials.
- Works Orders.
- Planning.
- Quotations.
- Shop Floor Data Capture.
Stock Control
Businesses can utilise traceability, amend sales order despatches and purchase order receipts and quarantine stock. Supplier and despatch performance can be monitored and with an additional 20 analysis codes, stock reporting capabilities are improved.
Bill of Materials
The module captures all costs of materials, labour and machine overheads in a multi-level bill of materials. It provides an ongoing cost history in detail which offers full visibility of all costs, and ensures profitability is maintained.
Works Orders
Works orders can be created manually or automatically from sales orders. The module looks at components required in order to schedule production. The module can also raise purchase orders for component parts, so they are only being ordered when required, reducing stock holding and improving cash flow.
Planning
The module is key to ensuring there is sufficient stock and resource to meet production deadlines. The module reads from works orders, sales orders, sales forecasts, and stock to assess total demand. Thye module will suggest works and sales orders to ensure production is kept on track.
Quotations
Allows quotations to be created for manufactured items, including non-stock items. Works orders, sales orders and purchase orders can be raised directly from within the quote. A detailed profit & loss gives full visibility of costs, revenue and expected profit. Multiple price breaks can be defined, with automatic cost calculation for pricing break quantities.
Shop Floor Data Capture
Works with stock control, works orders and bill of materials in real-time on the shop floor. Stock transactions and transfers can be actioned on handheld devices, and quarantine inspections can be carried out against stock. The module provides a live view of the manufacturing process.
Manufacturing for Sage 200
Moving forwards, Manufacturing in Sage 200 will be offered as a selection of additional modules by software developer and long term Sage partner Sicon. Sicon have been developing high quality and innovative modules alongside Sage for over 20 years and have provided particularly popular modules for the manufacturing and construction industries.
Similarly, to Cim50 Manufacturing, The Sicon Manufacturing Suite consists of a number of modules which can be taken individually or as a full suite. The Sicon Manufacturing modules sit directly within the Sage menu as a full integrated solution. The modules are as follows;
- Works Order Planning.
- Material Planning.
- Capacity Planning.
- Projects.
- Shop Floor Data Capture.
- Kitting
- Barcoding & Warehousing.
Works Order Processing
Either manually or from a sales order, works order planning references the Bill of Materials to assess all component parts required. It then creates a work order with a schedule for production and completion. If a works order contains parts which require sub-assembly, a sub-works order is also created.
Material Planning
Material planning looks at total current demand and makes inventory recommendations. It will look at all future works orders, sales orders, purchase orders and current stock position. From this it can suggest and create purchase orders for component parts or move purchase orders forward or back based on demand.
Capacity Planning
The module creates a rough-cut capacity plan at labour and machine level to complete works orders. It looks at things like employees, work patterns, holidays, and overdue work hours. Time sheets can also be imported into capacity planning. Capacity planning also looks at machine labour required to complete a works order.
Projects
The projects module can link multiple works orders into large complex jobs which material and capacity planning can better service. Stock and resources can be committed to specific projects. It is integrated with Sage Sales Order Management, Purchase Order Management, Purchase Ledger, Stock, Works Order Processing and Time Recording, giving full visibility of what stage a project is at and its ultimate profitability.
Shop Floor Data Capture
The module allows manufacturers to collect real-time data from the factory floor, giving a real-time view of operations. Stock transfers and transactions can be actioned, and inspections on quarantined inventory can be carried out. The module allows manufacturers to identify pieces of the process which are slowing production down and fix them, improving productivity and efficiencies.
Barcode & Warehousing
The module can be run on handheld Android devices, making it perfect for increasing accuracy and traceability of component parts and finished products on the factory floor. Incoming purchase orders can be recited into stock locations, sales orders can be picked and despatched, stock can be picked to satisfy works orders, stock can be written off and stocktakes can be completed.
Kitting
Kitting allows single level parts lists to be created consisting of all component parts required to manufacture a finished product. These lists can be created manually or can be automatically generated when a sales order or quote is created. Bill of materials can be complex and beyond manufacturers requirements, so kitting provides a less complex solution.
Sicon Manufacturing Vs Cim50
If you’re currently using Sage 50 or 200 Manufacturing suites, it’s likely that at some point in the future, you will want to make the move to Sage’s exciting new manufacturing offerings . For Sage 50 users, this could be as simple as using Cim50 modules recommended by Sage, however a move to Sage 200 warrants consideration.
Although Cim50 and Sicon Manufacturing offer similar modules, the real benefits of choosing to manufacture in Sage 200 with Sicon Manufacturing are the benefits of Sage 200 itself. If your manufacturing business is experiencing or planning growth, continuing to use Sage 50 could result in your business requirements outgrowing your systems, which could cause significant problems further down the line.
Sage 200 could be the perfect solution to navigate the growing pains caused by growth, setting you up for years to come. Here are some of the common reasons why manufacturers migrate from Sage 50 to Sage 200:
- The need for more named and concurrent users due to workforce expansion.
- Role-based access and tiered access levels to improve usability and security.
- Advanced batch traceability & serial numbers, with stock accurately tracked across multiple warehouses and locations.
- Advanced reporting with additional built in and customisable reports.
- Better software performance & speed as a powerful on-premise and cloud hybrid.
- Advanced handling of foreign currencies and taxes for expansion into new markets.
- Complete control over financial periods, not restricted purely by date.
- The need for increased customisation to better handle complex & unique processes.
- A more powerful nominal ledger and multiple cost centres.
- Up to 20 analysis codes compared with just 3 in Sage 50.
- Excel reporting, allowing users to export data for deeper analysis in Excel.
It’s worth noting at this point that there are two versions of Sage 200: Sage 200 Standard and Sage 200 Professional. Standard is entirely cloud-based whilst Professional has flexible deployment options including on-premise and cloud hosted. The Sicon Manufacturing Suite is only available for Sage 200 Professional, so if you’re considering moving to Sage 200 you would need to choose Sage 200 Professional. To learn more about the differences between the two version of Sage 200, please take a look at our article Sage 200 – Standard vs Professional Compared.
Conclusion
If any of the above points resonate with your manufacturing business, it might be time to start thinking about a migration to Sage 200 Professional and using Sicon Manufacturing as your chosen solution. Not only will Sicon Manufacturing for Sage 200 handle all your core manufacturing processes, but you’ll also reap all the benefits that Sage 200 Professional has to offer, future proofing your business long term.
If you’re considering a move from Sage 50 to Sage 200 we can help. The move needn’t be a hassle either, as we have the tools to migrate your existing Sage 50 data securely into Sage 200. We’ve helped countless manufacturing businesses migrate to new business systems and our team of experts can support you every step of the way. If you’d like to speak to one of our Sage migration experts, you can request a free call back here.
