• edi
• lean production
• mrp
• rfid
• tqm

Today SMEs operate in a not so stable framework where competitiveness is a key factor. To face the demands of the market, companies need to modify their management structures, in order to improve the efficiency of their work and reduce costs. So they must try to reach the market before their competitors with products that meet customer expectations. These are goals that can be achieved only if the company has a clear internal structure and if it continues to keep improving over time. For this reason it is necessary that the company has a management system that deals with routing and monitoring of each material. The introduction of MRP and ERP systems, helped by EDI, improves the level of customer service through information sharing, reducing human intervention and enhancing business efficiency and competitiveness. These systems trace the course of each material to detect any type of error and solve any problem in time. The application of the TQM philosophy and Lean Production system, which derives from the need for companies to reduce every activity without diminishing value for customer satisfaction, is another important aspect. At the base of everything, lies the change of the conservative mentality of the people working in a company, through a careful training. Companies can adopt these technologies to improve the methodology of their work; reduce wastes and errors; save time and money; improve the quality of the final products; update data in real time; control and manage business processes and make decisions as quick as possible.