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Enterprise Software: The Unique Requirements of Aerospace and Defense Manufacturing
The style of manufacturing used by Aerospace and Defense companies is known as “Engineer to Order (ETO)” and it is very different than “made to stock” or “just in time” manufacturing used by other industries. As a result, the corresponding Enterprise Software used by Aerospace and Defense companies is significantly different.
ETO manufacturing tends to be highly custom and complex, requiring specialized skills and equipment to be completed, and often requiring very close collaboration with customers.
Comparison of Engineer to Order and Made to Stock Engineering
| Engineer to Order | Made to Stock |
| Custom-order product | Standard product |
| High-value / High-cost products | Low-value / Low-cost products |
| Project based | Product based |
| Project/Job Numbers | Part Numbers |
| Production based on estimates and quotes | Items sold via a price list |
| Requires significant engineering changes | Seldom requires engineering changes |
| Payment made in stages | Invoices on delivery |
| Ships Work-In-Progress | Ships finished goods |
| Actual Costs | Standard Costs |
| Lead time in months or years | Lead time in days or weeks |
Generic off-the-shelf Enterprise software often does not work directly for ETO manufacturing because of these differences. Manufacturing processes in this space are significantly different. Often manufacturing is sub-contracted and often to multiple levels of subcontractors.
Because of these ETO manufacturers find themselves needing specialized or highly customized software for BPM/Workflow, ERP and MRP. A summary of some of the unique needs of Aerospace and Defense manufacturers can be found in this article: “What Defense Manufacturers Really Need in Enterprise Software”.
