Which project management software for manufacturing? Jira or Manufacturo

Many, if not most, hi-tech emergent manufacturers start as small start-ups or relatively small spin-offs. Initially, they lean into Jira to manage their projects and organize work because of familiarity with the tool, low cost, easy configuration, and great flexibility. 

Hoping to effectively manage and control manufacturing processes, these companies start using Jira for: 

• Work order management: Jira is used as an enterprise resources planning (ERP) system to generate work order numbers.
• Shop floor execution: Jira tickets are used as work orders and then dragged between the statuses of production on kanban  boards.
• Nonconformance management: Jira tickets are used as nonconformance tickets, with their progress and changes to statuses tracked on kanban boards.

Jira: Overly Customized Can Pose a Risk in Complex Industries

As manufacturing companies start maturing, and their processes become increasingly intricate, they find themselves stretching the limits of Jira. All the attempts to fine-tune the solution to a specific production model leave manufacturers with a heavily customized version that doesn't meet their requirements and is hard to maintain.

Once Jira becomes overly modified, manufacturing companies quickly realize that workflow and process issues start hurting their operations. They vividly notice the risk to their products due to data inconsistencies between systems, potentially leading to errors and nonconformances. It’s because Jira cannot – and will not – provide the level of operational  control, tracking, and integration similar to that of dedicated project management software for manufacturing like manufacturing execution systems (MES), warehouse management systems (WMS), and quality management solutions.

Flexible to the Point of Counterproductivity

Jira, at its core, is a project management tool created to help both business teams and software teams track and manage projects. As with every solution, Jira has its great advantages – when used as intended – but falls short in several areas of complex manufacturing project management.

Advantages:

• Highly flexible for software and business project management.
• Quick and easy table sorting.
• Ability to link related tasks.
• Extensive customization and integration options.
• Task-level security to allow only authorized users to view sensitive information.

Limitations:

• Not designed as dedicated project management software for manufacturing industry like MES: Falls flat for data-intensive, processing-heavy, intertwined transactions required in manufacturing project management. 
• Not optimized for an enterprise scale MES: Cannot support the decision-making process that requires exhaustive data integration, workflow control, and the ability to cross-reference tens or hundreds of thousands of different records.
• Not rigorous enough: Too flexible for standardized manufacturing processes.
• Vulnerable to errors: Manual input for work orders, delay in data input, and no validation checks can lead to costly mistakes.
• No real-time integration: Lacks connection with inventory data, product lifecycle management (PLM), labor tracking, tools tracking, and BOM management.
• Limited reporting capabilities: Not intended to be a system of record for manufacturing project management and does not allow for as-built configuration.
• Poor shop floor visibility: The UI/UX design not optimized for the shop floor personnel who require real-time visibility through digital dashboards and mobile applications to be efficient.
• Cost of customization: Extensive modifications to adapt Jira to manufacturing requirements can be cost-prohibitive and may introduce ongoing maintenance challenges.

Manufacturo MES: Geared to the Needs of Hi-Tech Emergent Manufacturers

While Jira excels in its domain – project management – it is simply not designed as project management software for manufacturing processes in complex manufacturing, where precision, compliance, and efficiency are paramount. The intricacies of high-tech emergent industries require a holistic approach and features far beyond ticket tracking. They demand deep cross-functional integration, native interfaces with ERP systems, and the ability to manage and cross-reference massive datasets like part numbers, work orders, and more.

Designed to Mold into Your Manufacturing Model

Created by SpaceX alumni who know the ins and outs of complex manufacturing operations, Manufacturo MES was designed to build upon the advantages of Jira and fill the void where this tool falls short. The challenges of high-tech emergent industries require a solution that molds into your existing manufacturing model, not the other way around. Manufacturo MES can be implemented in phases, by slowly starting to use new modules, ensuring you deploy applications and integrate with external software like ERP or PLM at your own pace. This approach to MES implementation empowers you to get the most out of the available capabilities and fine-tune features to best support your manufacturing model.

The following flowcharts will help you better visualize how Manufacturo MES streamlines processes and drives your productivity by reducing the total number of required steps, controlling the flow to ensure the procedure is followed and all necessary data have been provided, eliminating room for human error, effectively tracking the history of changes, and sending notifications that an action is required from the user.

Work order release process

Process plan release process

Why Manufacturo MES Is the Right Manufacturing Project Management Software for Complex Industries

In complex manufacturing, precision, compliance, and operational efficiency are non-negotiable. Organizations operating in this realm need much more than a great project management tool. You need dedicated manufacturing project management software – a solution that provides a comprehensive view across all operations, deep cross-functional integration, and tools tailored specifically to the industry's demands.

Key Manufacturing Project Management Features That Drive Your Manufacturing Excellence

• Industry-specific features:
  Tailored to become a single source of truth and provide a holistic real-time view of production processes, shop floor operations, quality control, and inventory management.
• Compliance-centric:
  Designed with complex manufacturing regulations in mind.
• Seamless integration:
  Effectively facilitates third-party system integration and directly connects with PLM and ERP software to make an ERP system the main source of truth for all manufacturing operations. 
• Enhanced traceability:  
  As-built reports easily and quickly generated in just a few clicks.
• Purpose-built:
  Minimizes the need for extensive customizations, ensuring reliability and efficiency.

Manufacturo MES – A Single Solution for Your Diverse Needs, Numerous Processes, and Unlimited Growth

Whether Jira or Manufacturo MES (Jira vs Mes) is better is not really up for debate as they are both effective. They are simply different, designed for different purposes, and built for different users. 

Jira is a very handy multitool that is great for business teams and software teams to track various tasks and manage projects. Manufacturo MES is built by former SpaceX product leaders who not only know hi-tech and innovative industries through and through but also have extensive, hands-on experience in using Jira. 

Manufacturo is a specialist project management software for manufacturing processes designed to meet the unique challenges of complex industries, ensuring consistency, quality, and operational excellence at every turn. Leveraging our experience with Jira, we've successfully guided numerous clients through a smooth transition to Manufacturo, and we're confident we can do the same for you. Manufacturo can be deployed within weeks, not months, compared to other market solutions, and offers seamless data integration capabilities with Jira.