# Print and Packaging Plant ERP and MIS Readiness Assessment > Source: https://netray.co/tools/print-and-packaging-plant-mis-erp-readiness-assessment > Publisher: Netray (netray.co), AI and integration engineering for ERP and manufacturing systems. > Section: Free Tools ## Short answer Score how well your current systems support estimating, job costing, material tracking and traceability in a print or packaging plant. ## Category erp-operations ## Industry Packaging and Printing ## Audience - Plant manager - Operations director - ERP project lead ## Tool **Kind:** assessment **Questions:** #### How are quotes and estimates produced? **Options:** ##### Spreadsheets or paper, varies by estimator **Score:** 0 ##### Spreadsheets with shared templates **Score:** 1 ##### System estimator but not linked to orders **Score:** 2 ##### System estimator that converts to job and BOM **Score:** 3 #### How are job tickets and specifications managed? **Options:** ##### Paper tickets **Score:** 0 ##### Documents stored by job in folders **Score:** 1 ##### Spec held in system but retyped to production **Score:** 2 ##### One spec flows to production, purchasing and QC **Score:** 3 #### How do you track board, paper and film consumption? **Options:** ##### Periodic stock counts only **Score:** 0 ##### Issues recorded per week **Score:** 1 ##### Issues recorded per job **Score:** 2 ##### Per job with roll and lot level traceability **Score:** 3 #### How do you cost a finished job? **Options:** ##### Estimate only, no actual cost **Score:** 0 ##### Actual material only **Score:** 1 ##### Material and labour, manual allocation **Score:** 2 ##### Material, labour, machine and waste captured automatically **Score:** 3 #### How do you plan machines and schedule jobs? **Options:** ##### Whiteboard or spreadsheet **Score:** 0 ##### Spreadsheet with capacity limits **Score:** 1 ##### System schedule updated manually **Score:** 2 ##### Finite schedule with real shop floor feedback **Score:** 3 #### How is changeover and downtime recorded? **Options:** ##### Not recorded **Score:** 0 ##### Paper logs **Score:** 1 ##### Entered into spreadsheet after the shift **Score:** 2 ##### Captured at the machine with reason codes **Score:** 3 #### How do you trace a finished pallet back to raw material lots? **Options:** ##### Cannot trace **Score:** 0 ##### Manual search taking hours **Score:** 1 ##### Partial trace, some links missing **Score:** 2 ##### Full trace within minutes **Score:** 3 #### How do customers receive labels, ASNs and certificates? **Options:** ##### Manual documents per shipment **Score:** 0 ##### Templates edited by hand **Score:** 1 ##### System generated, some manual steps **Score:** 2 ##### Generated automatically from shipment data **Score:** 3 #### How do you manage artwork versions and approvals? **Options:** ##### Email and file shares **Score:** 0 ##### Naming convention with manual control **Score:** 1 ##### Approval log in a system **Score:** 2 ##### Revision control linked to item master and orders **Score:** 3 #### How quickly can management see margin by job or customer? **Options:** ##### End of quarter or never **Score:** 0 ##### Monthly after close **Score:** 1 ##### Weekly by manual report **Score:** 2 ##### Near real time in a dashboard **Score:** 3 **Bands:** #### Manual and exposed **Min:** 0 **Max:** 34 **Verdict:** Most key data is in spreadsheets or on paper, so margin, traceability and artwork control depend on individuals. **Recommendations:** - Start with one job spec that feeds purchasing and production - Capture material issues per job - Create a simple revision control for artwork - Define the minimum data a job must carry #### Partly systemised **Min:** 35 **Max:** 64 **Verdict:** You have some systems but several manual hand-offs, so costing and traceability are slow or incomplete. **Recommendations:** - Remove retyping between estimate, job and BOM - Record waste and downtime with reason codes - Link lots to jobs and shipments - Review where the ERP can cover MIS functions before buying more tools #### Well connected **Min:** 65 **Max:** 84 **Verdict:** Core flows are in the system, and the gains now come from automation and analysis. **Recommendations:** - Automate label and ASN generation - Add finite scheduling feedback - Build margin dashboards by job and customer - Audit data quality for scrap and downtime #### Integrated **Min:** 85 **Max:** 100 **Verdict:** Your estimate, job, shop floor and cost data are connected. Focus on continuous improvement and insight. **Recommendations:** - Use history to improve estimating accuracy - Track waste by cause and machine - Test natural-language access to ERP data for managers - Review data security and backups ## Content **Intro:** Print and packaging plants have special needs: estimating, specs, roll and sheet material, changeovers and traceability. This assessment shows where your current systems fall short. **Sections:** #### How to use it **Body:** Answer the ten questions based on what happens today, not what the system could do. Ask a planner, a production supervisor and an accountant to answer separately and compare the scores. Differences show where the information flow breaks. The bands give next steps rather than a verdict on any vendor. **Bullets:** - Answer from current practice - Use several respondents - Look at the lowest scoring questions first - Re-run after each improvement project #### What the questions test **Body:** Estimating and job specs show whether data is entered once. Material, costing and downtime questions show whether actual cost can be calculated. Traceability and artwork questions test quality and compliance exposure. Scheduling and margin visibility questions show how soon management learns about a problem. #### Reading the result **Body:** A low score does not mean you need a new ERP. Many gains come from using existing ERP functions such as lot control, routing and work-centre data more fully. A mid score often means one or two hand-offs, for example estimate to BOM, cause most of the rework. A high score means the effort moves to analytics and automation. #### Common mistakes **Body:** Buying a MIS because one department is unhappy while the real gap is data discipline. Ignoring waste, which is often the largest hidden cost in converting. Skipping artwork control until a wrong label ships. Start with the process, then choose the system. **Cta:** Netray can help review your ERP setup against these questions and suggest which gaps are configuration, reports or AI-assisted automation. **Faq:** #### Do I need a separate MIS for printing? **Answer:** Not always. Some ERPs cover estimating, jobs, routing and costing well enough. Others need a specialist print MIS. Compare what you need against the ERP functions first and be honest about the gaps. #### What data do packaging plants need to trace? **Answer:** Usually the raw material lots, such as board reels, films and inks, through jobs and machines to finished pallets and shipments. Customers in food, pharma and electronics often require this within minutes. #### How long does the assessment take? **Answer:** About ten minutes for one person. Better results come from having a planner, supervisor and finance person answer separately, then discussing the differences. #### Is the score a benchmark? **Answer:** No. It is a self-assessment to help you prioritise. It does not compare you with other companies, and the bands are guidance rather than industry statistics. ## Search terms print MIS ERP assessment, packaging ERP readiness, printing plant ERP evaluation, job costing packaging erp, packaging erp requirements, label printing erp checklist, corrugated erp requirements, print estimating system assessment --- Talk to an engineer: https://netray.co/contact?intent=erp_ai | Machine catalog: https://netray.co/agent/catalog.json