# Small Manufacturer MRP Readiness Assessment > Source: https://netray.co/tools/small-manufacturer-mrp-readiness-assessment > Publisher: Netray (netray.co), AI and integration engineering for ERP and manufacturing systems. > Section: Free Tools ## Short answer Score your readiness for MRPeasy, Katana, Odoo, ERPNext or a similar system, and see what to fix before you buy. ## Category erp-migration ## Industry Discrete Manufacturing ## Audience - Owner or founder - Plant manager - Operations manager ## Tool **Kind:** assessment **Questions:** #### How accurate are your bills of materials today? **Help:** Think about whether the BOM matches what the floor really builds. **Options:** ##### Mostly in people's heads or old files **Score:** 0 ##### Documented but often out of date **Score:** 1 ##### Documented and mostly right for top products **Score:** 2 ##### Controlled, reviewed, with revision history **Score:** 3 #### How accurate is your on-hand inventory? **Options:** ##### We do not know until we look **Score:** 0 ##### Counted once a year, often wrong **Score:** 1 ##### Counted regularly, about 90% right **Score:** 2 ##### Cycle counted, 95% or better **Score:** 3 #### Do you have defined routings or process steps with times? **Options:** ##### No, jobs are run by experience **Score:** 0 ##### Rough steps, no times **Score:** 1 ##### Steps with estimated times for main products **Score:** 2 ##### Steps with times based on actual data **Score:** 3 #### Do you have a single clean item list with part numbers? **Options:** ##### Several lists, duplicates, no standard naming **Score:** 0 ##### One list but inconsistent **Score:** 1 ##### One list, mostly consistent **Score:** 2 ##### One controlled list with owners **Score:** 3 #### How do you plan purchasing today? **Options:** ##### Order when we run out **Score:** 0 ##### Buyer judgment, spreadsheet sometimes **Score:** 1 ##### Reorder points on key items **Score:** 2 ##### Planned from demand with supplier lead times **Score:** 3 #### Will floor staff record transactions (receipts, issues, completions)? **Options:** ##### Unlikely, they are not used to it **Score:** 0 ##### Some, with pushback **Score:** 1 ##### Yes, with training **Score:** 2 ##### Already do it on paper or scanners **Score:** 3 #### Who will own the system day to day? **Options:** ##### Nobody has been named **Score:** 0 ##### The owner, in spare time **Score:** 1 ##### A named person with part of their time **Score:** 2 ##### A named owner and a deputy with allocated time **Score:** 3 #### Do you know your top 5 problems the system must solve? **Options:** ##### Not clearly **Score:** 0 ##### A general feeling **Score:** 1 ##### Written list, not measured **Score:** 2 ##### Written list with a baseline measure for each **Score:** 3 #### How do you track lots, serials or customer traceability needs? **Options:** ##### We do not, and customers have not asked **Score:** 3 ##### Paper records on request **Score:** 2 ##### Spreadsheets, hard to retrieve **Score:** 1 ##### Required by customers and we cannot meet it today **Score:** 0 #### Do you have budget and time for implementation, not only the subscription? **Options:** ##### Only the subscription **Score:** 0 ##### Some time, no budget for help **Score:** 1 ##### Time and a small budget for help **Score:** 2 ##### Planned project with time, budget and a date **Score:** 3 **Bands:** #### Fix the basics first **Min:** 0 **Max:** 34 **Verdict:** Software will not fix unreliable BOMs and stock. Spend a few months on data and discipline before you choose a system. **Recommendations:** - Build one clean item list and assign part numbers - Document BOMs for your top 10 products - Start weekly cycle counts of your top-value parts - Name an owner for the future system #### Nearly ready, with gaps **Min:** 35 **Max:** 59 **Verdict:** You can start evaluating tools while closing specific gaps, especially data quality and ownership. **Recommendations:** - Run vendor demos with your real BOM and routing - Raise inventory accuracy above 90% before cutover - Write your top 5 problems and a baseline for each - Plan time for floor training #### Ready to select and implement **Min:** 60 **Max:** 84 **Verdict:** Your foundations are in place. Focus on picking the right fit and planning the migration well. **Recommendations:** - Shortlist 2 or 3 tools and compare on total cost - Use a go-live checklist and a go/no-go meeting - Decide what data you migrate and what you leave behind - Plan a pilot on one product line #### Strong position **Min:** 85 **Max:** 100 **Verdict:** You are well prepared. A fuller ERP or MES may fit if your traceability and scheduling needs are growing. **Recommendations:** - Check scheduling and traceability depth in demos - Consider integration needs with accounting and ecommerce - Set measurable targets for lead time and stock accuracy - Plan reporting from day one ## Content **Intro:** Small manufacturers often buy MRP software hoping it will fix messy data and loose processes, and then find it mirrors them. This assessment scores ten readiness factors in a few minutes and shows what to fix first. **Sections:** #### How to use the assessment **Body:** Answer for how things are today, not how you hope they will be. Ask the plant manager, the buyer and the warehouse lead to answer separately, then compare, since owners often rate readiness higher than the floor does. Your score is a percentage of the maximum, mapped to four bands with recommended next steps. **Bullets:** - Answer honestly for today - Have two or three people answer separately - Revisit after 90 days of improvement - Save the result as your baseline #### Why these ten factors **Body:** Planning logic only works on accurate inputs: BOMs, inventory balances, lead times and routings. The other factors decide whether the system sticks: floor adoption, a named owner, clear goals, and budget for implementation. The traceability question works in reverse, since needing lot control raises requirements, so the absence of a need scores higher for simple tools. #### Reading your band **Body:** A low score is not a no, it is a sequence: fix data first, then buy. A middle score means start selection while you close gaps. A high score means choose carefully and plan cutover well. Whatever the band, the recurring blockers are inventory accuracy and ownership, so address those even if everything else looks good. #### Common mistakes **Body:** Treating implementation as an IT task rather than an operations change, loading a messy spreadsheet into a clean system, buying features you will not use, and skipping floor input. Scoring yourself generously also hides the exact gaps that cause failed rollouts. **Cta:** If your result shows gaps and you want an outside view on priorities, Netray can walk through it with you. **Faq:** #### What score should I aim for before buying? **Answer:** Aim for at least the middle band, around 60 percent, before you commit. Below that, the system is likely to expose data and process problems you will have to fix anyway. You can still run demos earlier to learn what good looks like. #### Is inventory accuracy really that important? **Answer:** Yes. MRP calculates shortages from on-hand and open orders, so wrong balances produce wrong purchase suggestions and shipping promises. Many teams get to 95 percent accuracy for key parts with weekly cycle counts and strict transaction discipline before go-live. #### Can a spreadsheet be enough? **Answer:** For a handful of products and low order volume, a well-run spreadsheet can work. Once you have multi-level BOMs, many open orders or customer traceability needs, the manual effort and error rate usually outgrow it. The assessment helps judge where you stand. #### Does this replace a vendor evaluation? **Answer:** No. It tells you whether you are ready for any system, not which one fits. Use it alongside a demo checklist and a cost comparison. Re-run it after addressing the gaps to confirm progress. ## Search terms mrp readiness assessment, erp readiness small manufacturer, am i ready for erp, mrp implementation readiness, bom accuracy assessment, inventory accuracy readiness mrp, should we buy mrp software, spreadsheet to mrp readiness --- Talk to an engineer: https://netray.co/contact?intent=erp_ai | Machine catalog: https://netray.co/agent/catalog.json