Manufacturing has always been complex, but today, that complexity feels heavier than ever.
There are multiple factors contributing to this, like economic uncertainty, supply chain volatility, labor shortages, rising costs, and growing regulatory demands are putting pressure on operations from every direction. At the same time, many manufacturers are introducing new systems, tools, and efficiency initiatives in an effort to stay ahead of the competition.
Too often, those efforts don’t simplify operations. They make them harder to manage.
At the center of most manufacturing challenges is one common issue: leaders don’t have real-time visibility into how work is actually happening. That’s when performance gaps start to form, quietly limiting growth. Decisions are made using delayed reports, disconnected data, or assumptions that no longer reflect reality.
SNCL helps manufacturers uncover those gaps by combining deep manufacturing expertise with Process Pilot’s real-time process intelligence. Together, they reveal what’s really happening inside operations and help create lasting impact.
The Visibility Gap at the Heart of Manufacturing Challenges
A lot of manufacturers believe they have proper visibility because they can see outputs, orders shipped, timely inventory levels, and production totals. But true visibility into outcomes isn’t the same as visibility into outputs.
In fact, most organizations still struggle to gain a clear, real-time view of how efficient their work flows are across their value chain. Only 6% of companies report having true end-to-end operational visibility, even though it’s critical for agility and resilience.
That lack of visibility shows up in very real ways on the floor where the real bottlenecks and inefficiencies lie.
Challenge #1: Limited Real-Time Operational Visibility
When teams can’t see where time, effort, and materials are actually being spent, inefficiencies tend to hide in plain sight and quickly compound. Common issues include:
- Inventory inaccuracies that drive shortages or excess stock
- Blind spots on the shop floor where delays quietly stack up
- Routing bottlenecks that slow throughput without obvious cause
- Manual workarounds that bypass standard processes
- Inconsistent execution across shifts, lines, or locations
Without clear visibility, problems are often discovered only after they’ve already affected cost, quality, or delivery.
How SNCL helps
We utilize the power of Process Pilot to help analyze real operational data across systems to show “as-is” processes as they actually occur, not how they’re supposed to work on paper. By doing this, Process Pilot reveals bottlenecks, rework loops, delays, and deviations that typically stay hidden.
SNCL’s efficiency expert consultants then apply their real-world experience to turn those insights into practical improvements. This way, teams know exactly where to focus, instead of guessing where to fix things.
Challenge #2: Planning and Scheduling That Doesn’t Match Reality
Planning issues rarely exist in isolation; usually, they ripple across operations and create constant disruption. For most manufacturers, these struggles look like:
- MRP inconsistencies that cause overproduction or shortages
- Inaccurate bills of materials and routing data
- Constant schedule changes and reactive firefighting
- Poor balancing of labor, machines, and materials
More than 75% of manufacturers report lacking the resources needed to effectively manage planning and operations, which directly contributes to these challenges. When planning data doesn’t reflect what’s actually happening on the floor, schedules quickly lose credibility.
How SNCL helps
SNCL brings deep expertise and better understanding through Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance & Supply Chain Management (D365 F&SCM). By optimizing BOMs, routings, and resource configurations, D365 F&SCM helps manufacturers build planning models that are grounded in your real-time operations.
Combined with advanced MRP knowledge and predictive techniques, this approach creates more reliable schedules, fewer surprises, and better alignment between demand, capacity, and execution.
Challenge #3: Disconnected Systems and Manual Workarounds
As manufacturers grow, their system environments often grow with them, but not always in a coordinated way. Technology decisions made at different points in time, often by different teams, accumulate into a patchwork of systems that don’t communicate cleanly.
What starts as flexibility gradually turns into friction, forcing teams to bridge gaps manually and increasing operational risk. The result is familiar:
- Legacy systems that don’t integrate well
- Data siloed across plants or departments
- Spreadsheet-heavy workflows used to fill system gaps
- Manual approvals that slow production and introduce errors
Manufacturers that implement modern, integrated ERP systems see measurable efficiency gains and improved decision-making through real-time data visibility. For example, an IDC study of organizations using Microsoft Dynamics 365 found 27% more manufacturing process automation and 15% higher production-floor productivity, supported by real-time monitoring and connected operations.
How SNCL helps
Process Pilot quickly highlights where manual workarounds and approval bottlenecks exist. SNCL then works with clients to rationalize systems, standardize processes, and unify workflows.
Rather than automating broken processes, SNCL focuses on simplifying things first, then enabling smarter automation and governance.
Challenge #4: Growing Sustainability and Compliance Pressure
Manufacturers are facing increasing expectations around sustainability, traceability, and compliance. These requirements add complexity, especially when processes aren’t well controlled. The following pressures are all contributing to stricter expectations:
- Waste, recycling, and packaging reporting
- Emissions tracking and sustainability documentation
- Regulatory traceability and batch control
- Audit readiness across quality programs
Digital manufacturing initiatives that include real-time monitoring and predictive analytics have been shown to improve throughput by 10–30%, reduce quality costs by 10–20%, and cut machine downtime by up to 50%. In addition to these gains, compliance also becomes easier and more reliable.
How SNCL helps
SNCL configures D365 to support traceability, batch control, and compliance reporting as part of everyday operations. Process Pilot adds another layer by identifying non-compliant workarounds early, before they become audit issues.
By layering these together, SNCL helps manufacturers reduce regulatory risk while strengthening operational discipline.
Challenge #5: Cost, Quality, and Delivery Under Constant Pressure
Cost, quality, and delivery are all deeply connected, but when one starts to slip, the others usually follow. What often appears as a cost issue or a delivery problem is frequently the result of underlying process variability, limited visibility, or small execution gaps that compound over time. As a result, manufacturers today are dealing with:
- Rising landed costs driven by tariffs and supply chain shifts
- Quality failures and expensive rework
- Late deliveries and missed customer commitments
- Limited visibility into true cost drivers
Without clear insight into how downtime, rework, and variability affect throughput, these pressures become difficult to control. Predictive maintenance and real-time operational visibility can reduce unplanned downtime by as much as 30–50%.
How SNCL helps
SNCL provides clear insight into throughput, quality trends, and cost variability by improving processes, strengthening quality systems, and applying predictive insights. With this approach, manufacturers will experience an increase in reliability without sacrificing efficiency.
This isn’t about cutting corners. It’s about building operations that perform consistently at scale.
Why Manufacturers Partner With SNCL
Manufacturers don’t turn to SNCL for generic advice. They choose us because our team understands manufacturing from the inside out. Our expertise in the sector, combined with our platform capabilities, allows us to address common pain points with practical and scalable solutions. See why partners choose us:
- Consultants with years of experience in manufacturing
- A proven track record across complex manufacturing environments
- Deep expertise in D365 F&SCM and advanced production modules
- Process Pilot for fast, AI-supported insight into real workflows
Together, these capabilities allow us to address the root causes of inefficiency, not just the symptoms.
See What’s Next for Manufacturers Ready to Scale
Manufacturers are under more pressure than ever, but that doesn’t mean growth has to come with chaos and disruption to day-to-day operations.
With the right visibility and the right expertise, inefficiencies and operational obstacles become manageable. SNCL gives leaders the proper tools to understand what’s really happening in their operations, pinpoint where performance breaks down, and build processes that fix the breakdowns and support sustainable growth.
Find Out What’s Really Happening Inside Your Manufacturing Processes
Most manufacturers know where problems surface, but they don’t always know why they happen.
With Process Pilot, SNCL delivers real-time insight into the bottlenecks, delays, and inefficiencies hidden inside everyday workflows. Our team turns those insights into practical improvements designed for real manufacturing environments.
Ready to uncover the performance gaps holding your operation back?
Schedule a Chat with us today
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