Speciality chemicals find their usage in various industrial as well as domestic products. These chemicals are important for various domestic and industrial products to perform well. That is why they are also known as performance chemicals.
Knowingly or unknowingly, we all interact with these chemicals in our day-to-day lives. They are just another chemical for the users. But for manufacturers, they are high-important compounds that impact not only humans, but earth, environment, water, vegetation, soil, and various other life sustaining elements.
In this blog, we will uncover the mystery of speciality chemicals manufacturing and try to explore how these manufacturers can balance equations of profits, regulatory mandates, market competitiveness, while delivering the exact products that consumer wants. This blog will highlight importance of ERP for chemicals and explore the role of this software in balancing the equation.
But before we start, let us know speciality chemical in its simplest term.
What are Speciality Chemicals?
A toothpaste has tooth whitening agent, an anti-dandruff shampoo has anti-dandruff agent, a cleaning product has stain removing agent, a sunscreen has special agent that protects skin from UV rays. These specific agents that are used in basic toothpaste, shampoo, cleaning product, or a sunscreen to make the product work effectively is a speciality chemical.
These speciality chemicals are also known as performance chemicals. These chemicals are used to improve performance of a product in a specific manner.
How are These Chemicals Manufactured?
There is a long and exhaustive process of creating speciality chemical in factories. Following are main steps that are involved in its manufacturing:
- Design: Scientists first research and design the chemical to do a very specific job.
- Raw Materials: They start with basic chemicals (like oil-based compounds or natural extracts).
- Reactions: These are mixed and heated under controlled conditions, so they chemically react.
- Purification: The useful chemical is separated and cleaned to make sure it’s pure.
- Testing: Before being sold, every batch is tested to make sure it works exactly as intended.
- Packaging: Finally, it’s packed and sent to companies that use it in their products.
Digging more to these steps will reveal how exhaustive chemical manufacturing process is, but the question arises what makes it complex? Let us understand it in subsequent section.
Why is Speciality Chemicals Manufacturing Complex?
Speciality Chemicals are manufactured to ensure that the chemical fulfil its intended usage. They are manufactured under specific conditions under controlled parameters. Their manufacturing is not a simple process of mixing two or more chemicals in a jar.
It is a complex process where various chemicals are mixed in various quantities, at various temperature, to make the chemical work effectively. Even a minor deviation from set procedures can cause big impact on its working.
Following are some reasons that make manufacturing of speciality chemicals complex:
Precision–
As mentioned above, these chemicals must work exactly as planned. Even a tiny mistake can make it useless or even dangerous. Hence, the formulation of these chemicals is highly based on precision of machines and processes.
Variation in formulation–
Every product might need a different formula. One suited for a toothpaste, may not be an apt chemical for a cleaning material. Hence, manufacturer cannot mass produce, and it must be customised according to the need.
Besides, each raw material in this speciality chemical manufacturing has its specific potency, strength, physical appearance, storing requirement, and so on. Mixing these various chemicals is a very careful process and need expertise in formulation.
Waste management–
Some processes create harmful waste, and therefore handing and disposing it should be done safely and responsibly.
Costly equipment-
Special machines are needed to control temperature, pressure, and purity. These machines are costly, which makes it tricky to strike a balance between market viable price and cost incurred on manufacturing.
Regulations-
With growing commitment of the world towards Net Zero targets, countries are rolling our stricter laws to protect environment and use sustainability practices during manufacturing.
Increased pressure has forced manufacturers to take necessary actions and be vigilant towards environmental and human safety, which has added an extra layer of complexity in manufacturing.
Role of Speciality Chemical Manufacturing ERP Software:
As we saw above that speciality chemicals manufacturing is complex and therefore, to make it precise and harmless, manufacturers need special software. They need tailor made software solution, usually an ERP software for speciality chemicals.
ERP software is a business management solution designed to digitize and streamline different processes of the speciality chemical manufacturing. Starting with R&D and formulation to manufacturing, distribution, supply chain management, finance, accounting, quality, compliance and more.
Let us see various areas where speciality chemical manufacturing software proves to be beneficial for manufacturers.
Inventory Management-
Speciality chemical manufacturing requires inventory with various strength, potency, gravity, volatility and other physical as well as chemical behaviour. Managing these simultaneously is challenging and tricky.
Besides, handling their hazardous nature, shelf-life management, managing multiple units of measures, inventory expiration management and many other facilities make the software an inevitable tool for smooth operation.
An ERP software for speciality chemical offers:
- Inventory categorisation that helps to categorise and segregate inventory based on various parameters
- Multiple Unit of Measure
- Expiry date and shelf-life management
- Precision of inventory movement, warehouse transfer, bin transfers, and inter-location moves
- Periodic inventory checks for smooth production
- Segregation, management, tracking and proper disposal of hazardous material
These facilities and many others like defining re-order point, keeping reserve inventory lots, real-time inventory status visibility etc. make ERP an important tool for inventory management.
Formulation Management-
Mixing and processing the raw materials of speciality chemicals in a controlled manner and at a precise level is necessary to make the final compound useful and harmless. Even a slight change in composition can be disastrous. ERP software for specialty chemicals emerges as a tool for precise formulation.
The software can:
- Develop new formulas to achieve target physical properties and cost attributes sans all the complex calculations
- Manage and store numerous formulas and their versions
- Purge obsolete formulas and float only the active formula for production
- Automate formula sizing
- Help in material substitution
- Can analyse with ‘what-if’ scenario to calculate effect of raw materials, their quantities or cost fluctuation on results
- Apply QC tests on formula and notify if the test does not pass
Explore full bouquet of formula management capabilities of software solutions for speciality chemical, like BatchMaster ERP, to know more.
QC- Quality control is a critical pillar in specialty chemicals manufacturing. Industry-specific ERP solutions, such as BatchMaster ERP for Specialty Chemicals, empower manufacturers to enforce quality checks at every stage of the supply chain.
From raw material intake to production, work-in-progress (WIP), finished goods, and all the way through to shipping, the ERP ensures that rigorous quality standards are consistently maintained through various quality tests and inspection plans. This end-to-end quality assurance guarantees that only quality-approved compounds reach the customer.
Batch Processing Management-
Speciality chemical manufacturing software streamlines batch processing, boosts compliance, and connects software with shop floor to tackle last moment changes without chaos.
- Plan production by mapping demand forecast using MRP/MPS features of ERP software
- Support make-to-stock and make-to-order production
- Create, track, size and close batches just as being done on shop floor
- Supports creating batches with runs as well as batches and sub batches in a single go
- Manage and track production, labour, WIP, overhead and other costs
- Perform yield analysis, hard-lot allocation, material substitution and more.
Compliance Management-
There are several concerns that bother speciality chemical manufacturers- sustainability mandates, safety protocols, data security norms, environmental norms, country-wise regulations and many more. Dealing with so many concerns can overwhelm speciality chemical manufacturer in absence of speciality chemicals software. The software, like BatchMaster specialty chemical ERP software:
- Supports OSHA, EPA, ISO, DOT compliance requirements
- Supports GHS, REACH, Chemicals Act, GxP Guidelines, GLP Directive
- Facilitates HAZMAT bill of lading and SARA reporting
- Supports HMIS for safety of workers
- Supports secrecy of formulation and that of data
- Allows material substitution for sustainable efforts
- Provides bi-directional traceability
New Product Development-
In this fast-moving business world, customers’ demands are shifting rapidly with changing trends. To get a competitive edge, specialty chemical manufacturers must assimilate trends and innovate faster.
A specialty chemical ERP software can lift weights without affecting the efficiency of already set processes and procedures. It can help manufacturers to grab new opportunities, comply with the regulatory laws and keep the cost factor in control. It achieves these by:
- Collecting requirement of prospect or customers
- Carrying out R&D to derive precise recipes
- Creating lab batches for sample production
- Submitting prototype formula for approval
- Performing cost-profit analysis
- Digitising lab papers and automate various redundant processes
Explore the full range of new product development capabilities of software solutions for speciality chemicals, like BatchMaster ERP, to know more.
How to Choose a Perfect Speciality Chemicals ERP Software for Your Organisation?
As a manufacturer, you may be wondering — with so many ERP software options available, how do you choose the right one?
Don’t worry! This article is a guiding light that will help you to see through the foggy roads of ERP selection.
- Prepare your checklist. You can bifurcate the checklists based on functionality, integration, training, deployment, and so on. This checklist will help you to remove unwanted software solutions.
- Select the best manufacturing ERP software for your business. The process involves:
- Making a team of all departments
- Pinpointing budget and requirement
- Analysing various ERP systems
- Evaluating various implementation processes
- Shortlisting the one that suits requirement
- Considering total cost of ownership
- Looking for integration capabilities
How BatchMaster ERP for Speciality Chemicals is the Best Choice?
Amongst various ERP solutions available for speciality chemicals, BatchMaster ERP software is known to serve speciality chemical manufacturers from last four decades with its industry-specific, comprehensive and robust ERP solutions. Here are a few of the many reasons that make BatchMaster ERP software stand out:
- Tailor-made software to cater industry nuances
- Superbatch and runs – a copyrighted functionality to execute hierarchy of batches and runs in a single go
- Web-based ERP for anytime, anywhere accessibility
- Supports contract manufacturing
- Formula design based on physical properties
- New product development and costing tools
- Inventory management software for real-time tracking
- Shelf-life and expiration date tracking
- Support for multiple units of measure
- Containerization capabilities
- Make-to-stock and make-to-order operations
- Material Production Scheduling (MPS) and Material Requirements Planning (MRP)
- HMIS support for worker safety
- Separate costing for formulas and packaging materials
- Serves large array of sub-vertical domains including cement, epoxy & resins, ink, agrochemicals, ethanol, pigments & dyes etc.
- Separate handling of co-products and by-products
Don’t just take our words, experience the software by yourself and decide.
Book a free demo today by clicking here.
