Everything you need to know before choosing a manufacturing ERP

It is the first question every business leader asks, and it is the right one. A generic ERP can cover a large share of your needs. It is the remaining share, specific to your business, that makes the operational difference day to day.

Synoptic ERP was designed for complex industrial environments: production management, lot and serial number traceability, multi-level bills of materials, project-based management, after-sales service, quality. These features have been developed over 40 years of real-world projects with manufacturing SMEs.

We support companies in industries as varied as metallurgy and precision engineering, chemicals and industrial paint, special purpose machines, the food industry, healthcare and laboratories, logistics and sign manufacturing. In each of these industries, we have customer references and a solid understanding of the specific business constraints.

The duration of an ERP project depends on the functional scope, the number of users, the complexity of your processes and any integrations with other systems. For a manufacturing SME, you should generally allow between 3 and 18 months from initial scoping to go-live: 3 to 9 months for a well-scoped modular project, longer for a multi-site organization or one with extensive custom development.

What really determines the duration is the quality of the initial analysis phase. The better the processes and scope are defined upfront, the fewer surprises there are during the project. That is why our method always starts with an in-depth preliminary analysis that results in a realistic high-level schedule.

This is one of the most common causes of failure in ERP projects: too many contacts, a loss of continuity between the sales phase and the technical phase, or a change of project manager along the way.

At Proges Plus, every Synoptic ERP project is led by a single, dedicated project manager, from the preliminary analysis through to final acceptance. This person knows your company, your processes, your teams and your configuration in detail. You call them, not a call center.

This project manager is responsible for meeting deadlines and budget, and guarantees the quality of the configuration. Proges Plus's dual role as software vendor and integrator reinforces this continuity: there is no need to coordinate between a vendor and an external integration firm, which removes a major source of friction in projects.

The fear of being locked into a rigid system is one of the most legitimate. SMEs change: they open new sites, launch new product lines, acquire other entities, expand internationally. The ERP must keep pace without requiring a complete overhaul every time something changes.

Synoptic ERP is built around four principles that directly address this concern:

• Modularity: you activate the modules you need today and add more as you go. Production management, after-sales service, traceability, BI, workflow, project-based management: each building block is added without disrupting what is already in place.
• Highly configurable: processes, screens and business rules can be configured without heavy development. Your way of working changes? The configuration adapts.
• Multi-entity: multi-company, multi-site, multi-language, multi-currency. Synoptic ERP supports growth from small businesses to international SMEs.
• Regular updates: the Proges Plus development team releases regular major and minor versions. Regulatory changes (e-invoicing, GDPR) are handled by the development team.

An ERP never stands alone in an information system. Interoperability is critical, especially in manufacturing, where CAD tools, accounting software, BI solutions, quality platforms and warehouse management systems often coexist.

Depending on your organization, Synoptic ERP can run most of your operations on its own, or work alongside specialized systems: an MES for shop floor tracking, a WMS for warehouses with complex flows (Synoptic ERP also has its own WMS module), a PLM for engineering data, or a CMMS for equipment maintenance. Each system remains the expert in its own field, and data flows between them with no re-keying.

Yes. Under the French e-invoicing reform, since September 1, 2026 all companies, whatever their size, must be able to receive electronic invoices, and small and micro-businesses will have to be able to issue them from September 1, 2027 (source: economie.gouv.fr, in French).

Synoptic ERP's e-invoicing module, available as an option, natively integrates Docoon, an Approved Platform (PA) accredited by the French tax authority (DGFiP). On the purchasing side, the supplier invoice is received via Docoon, created automatically in the ERP and matched to the related orders and goods receipts, then submitted for payment approval. On the sales side, the customer invoice is converted to the regulatory format and sent via Docoon, and e-reporting is generated automatically depending on the use case.

In a traditional setup where the vendor and the integrator are separate companies, there are many points of friction: commitments made during the sale are not always passed on to the technical team, responsibilities become blurred when problems arise, and timelines get longer.

Proges Plus is both the vendor and the integrator of Synoptic ERP: one company, one point of accountability, one contact from start to finish.

When your project manager raises a specific need, they speak directly to the developers. Enhancements can be included in an update without going through an external vendor.

Training should not wait until go-live day. Our approach includes progressive, role-based sessions throughout the configuration phase. There are two distinct types of training:

• Key user training: for the internal leads who master the modules in their area in depth and become the first line of internal support.
• End-user training: short sessions focused on everyday tasks, delivered as close as possible to go-live to maximize retention.

On go-live day, our team is physically present on your premises. We are Qualiopi certified (the French quality standard for training providers), and in France our training courses can be funded through professional training schemes.

This capability is particularly useful for industrial groups made up of several legal entities, multi-site SMEs and companies growing through acquisitions.

Synoptic ERP's multi-entity features include:

• Separate charts of accounts and tax settings for each company.
• Inter-company and inter-warehouse transfers with full traceability.
• Data consolidation for group reporting.
• User rights configurable by entity, site or warehouse.

For industries subject to strict regulatory requirements (food, healthcare, chemicals, defense), Synoptic ERP provides:

• Tracking by lot number or serial number, from material receipt to customer shipment.
• Recording of quality inspections at every step of the manufacturing process.
• Non-conformance management with an associated action plan and follow-up.
• Automatic generation of quality documents (certificates, inspection sheets, certificates of conformity).
• Documented traceability of calibrations and measuring equipment.

Yes. Project-based management is for companies where every order is unique: special machine builders, industrial equipment manufacturers, engineering firms, providers of custom services. The product does not exist before the order, and its bill of materials evolves during the project.

Synoptic ERP has a dedicated operating mode that follows the project from costing to after-sales service:

• Accurate project costing with the technical quotation module.
• Project budget management and workload planning.
• Information sharing with the engineering department, import of bills of materials from CAD, and propagation of changes to manufacturing orders in progress.
• Project close-out review, followed by the handling of maintenance contracts in the after-sales module.

Yes. Synoptic ERP's after-sales module extends into a web application for tracking interventions, available as an option. Technicians use it to view their schedule, fill in their intervention report and close it in front of the customer, from a simple browser on a smartphone, tablet or desktop computer.

• Checklists configurable by the after-sales department, and voice dictation in comment fields.
• Documents and photos attached beforehand by the back office, and time-stamped photos added on site by the technician.
• Close-out with outstanding work and customer signature.
• Continuous synchronization: every action carried out in the field is instantly reflected in the ERP.