Tolera/Degefa

Case study · manufacturing ERP architecture

Designing a textile ERP for real factory workflows when machines are not digitally connected.

A practical manufacturing ERP must work with the plant that exists today. When machines do not expose PLC/SCADA/IoT interfaces, the system still needs trustworthy production data without pretending automatic telemetry exists.

Manual and operator-entered production capture
File import, barcode/QR and terminal workflows
Cross-functional flows from demand to finance
Architecture kept ready for future equipment integration

Deep evidence / MANUFACTURING ERP

Follow the engineering decisions.

What the system must do, what happens when inputs fail, and how much can actually be concluded.

REFERENCE ARCHITECTUREIllustrative / not a live client screenshot
  1. 01

    Demand

    Orders, planning and authorized work

  2. 02

    Materials

    Stock receipts, issues and movement records

  3. 03

    Production

    Operator entry, imports and barcode/QR

  4. 04

    Quality

    Inspections, traceability and exception review

  5. 05

    Reconcile

    Finished goods, costing and finance

Illustrative cross-functional design. Current machines are not represented as IoT/PLC/SCADA-enabled.

Failure cases and controls

Designed for imperfect inputs.

  • Machines lack telemetry: operator-entered readings remain first-class system inputs.
  • Handoffs across departments: trace the responsible person, source and approval.
  • Corrections after production: preserve an audit trail rather than overwrite history.

Evidence, with limits

What this case demonstrates.

  • The requirements distinguish current manual capture from optional future integration.
  • The architecture connects production and inventory with downstream reconciliation.
  • No live deployment or throughput gain is claimed for the proposed MES.
Planning something similar?

Start with existing production forms, stock documents and approval paths—not a list of imagined IoT features.

01

Constraint first: no imaginary machine integration.

The current operating environment does not support direct IoT/PLC/SCADA connectivity across the production machines. Treating automatic telemetry as a present requirement would create a specification that cannot be implemented honestly.

The architecture therefore makes reliable manual capture a first-class workflow while preserving APIs and integration boundaries for future equipment modernization.

02

Current-state capture model

  • Operator and supervisor data entry
  • Controlled spreadsheet/file import where source files exist
  • Barcode and QR movement workflows
  • Shared terminals and mobile-friendly production entry
  • Approval, correction and audit trails
03

Cross-functional design

  • Lead to cash: commercial demand through production, dispatch and receivables
  • Procure to pay: approved demand through sourcing, receiving and supplier settlement
  • Material to finished goods: issue, production, quality, receipt and genealogy
  • Workforce control: employee, attendance, approvals and payroll readiness
  • Period close: operational transactions reconciled into finance
04

Future-ready without over-engineering today

Machine adapters can be added later behind stable integration contracts. The business does not need to wait for a factory-wide automation program before gaining traceability, workflow control and better management data.

Start with the operating problem

Planning ERP or MES modernization in a low-automation plant?

I can help define a realistic current-state architecture, phased module roadmap and future integration boundary without making IoT a prerequisite.

Discuss the projectEmail Tolera