In a fast-paced world, each second is counted. Companies need systems that can effectively handle complexity to keep everything running smoothly. One key tool that many businesses depended on is ERPNext, open source ERP software that helps manage operations such as manufacturing, inventory, purchase, sales & finance. Although ERPNext is a powerful tool, its performance can sometimes be slow, especially in a busy production environment. This blog will provide practical tips for optimizing ERPNext implementation to make your business more efficient & effective.
Why performance optimization matters in Manufacturing?
Delays or inefficiencies in manufacturing of your ERP system can lead to product slowdowns, delays in processing customer orders, and difficulty managing inventory This can cause missed deadlines, increased costs, and dissatisfied customers. ERPNext’s process optimization ensures system continuity, helping to match production requirements and making informed decisions without delay.
Let’s dive into the steps that can help you optimize ERPNext performance in manufacturing.
1. Hardware optimization: Invest in the right infrastructure
ERPNext is highly dependent on the hardware it is running on. If you are running ERPNext on older servers or inferior systems, you are likely to encounter performance issues. To avoid this, make sure the hardware you use meets or exceeds the recommendations. Here’s what you need to focus on:
- RAM: Provide enough memory (RAM) for the system, especially if you have a lot of data & users. 8GB is the most common, but 16GB or more is recommended for larger workloads.
- CPU: A multi-core processor can handle concurrent tasks better, reducing lag during peak usage.
- Storage: Use SSDs instead of traditional hard drives. SSDs provide faster read / write speeds, which can importantly raise performance, especially for large databases.
- Network: Ensure that your network connection is stable and fast. When using ERPNext in the cloud, a reliable internet connection is critical for smooth operation.
2. Database optimization: Fine-tune MySQL / MariaDB
ERPNext uses MariaDB / MySQL as its database back-end. If the database is not optimized properly, it can decrease the speed of your system. To improve performance:
- Database indexing: Proper indexing helps speed up query performance. You should regularly check and update the indexes of your database tables, especially those that are heavily used in your manufacturing operations, like the stock, production orders, and sales tables.
- Optimize database setting: Modify the MySQL or MariaDB settings to suit your environment. For example, increasing the “innodb_buffer_pool_size” will let MySQL store additional data in memory, improving the speed of database queries.
- Database cleanup: Regular clean up redundant data such as old logs, unused records, and archived documents. This will reduce the load on your system & speeds up query time.
3. Use caching: Speed up frequent queries
Caching helps reduce the time it takes to retrieve frequently used data. In ERPNext, caching can be set up in a few ways:
- Redis cache: ERPNext supports Redis for caching sessions and frequently used data. Setting up Redis can significantly reduce the load on your server and improve performance for high-traffic instances.
- Query caching: Enable query caching in MySQL / MariaDB, which lets the database store the results of frequently run queries and reuse them without recalculating each time.
4. Optimize background jobs: Manage scheduled tasks
ERPNext is dependent on the back-end services to run various tasks like sending emails, generating reports & recalculating stock levels. If multiple background processes are running at the same time, then it can slow down the system speed.
- Job queue management: Monitor & manage background jobs through the ERPNext interface. Confirms that important tasks are not delayed due to a backlog of low priority tasks.
- Limit concurrent jobs: If there is a lot of background work running, you can limit the number of simultaneous running tasks to avoid overloading your server.
- Schedule jobs during off-hours: Schedule unimportant tasks, like data backups or report generation, during drop hours when few people are active This will reduce the load on your system during business hours.
5. Reduce custom scripts and apps: Keep it lean
Customization is a powerful feature in ERPNext, but excessive custom scripts and third-party apps can bloat your system, causing it to slow down.
- Minimize custom scripts: Review custom scripts and remove any that are unnecessary. If certain scripts are slowing down your system, consider rewriting or optimizing them.
- Optimize heavy workflows: For the workflows with many steps or critical calculations (such as production planning), you can break them down into smaller tasks or also you can reduce the complexity where possible to avoid hold-up.
- Remove unused apps: If you have installed any third-party apps which are no longer needed, then just uninstall them to reduce the load on the system.
6. Regular system maintenance: Keep things running smoothly
Regular maintenance is key to keeping ERPNext running at its best. Here’s what you should do regularly:
- Update ERPNext: The ERPNext is regularly updated with performance improvements & bug fixes. You can make sure that you are running the latest stable version of ERPNext to take advantage of such updates.
- Purge logs: ERPNext generates logs for tracking user activity and errors. Over time, these logs can accumulate and slow down the system. Set up automatic log purging to clear out old logs.
- Database backups: Regular backups are essential for data security, but they can also improve performance if old, unused data is archived properly.
7. Monitor performance: Use built-in and external tools
To ensure that the ERPNext system is working properly or not, you have to monitor its performance on a regular basis. It comes with inbuilt monitoring tools, but you can also use the 3rd party solutions as well.
- ERPNext performance monitoring: ERPNext’s inbuilt system monitoring tool helps you monitor your system usage on a regular basis, recognize problems & analyze potentially critical problems.
- Use external monitoring tools: You can use 3rd party analysis tools like New Relic or Prometheus for detailed analysis. These tools can help you monitor server load, database performance & network latency.
8. User education: Train users for efficient use
Finally, it’s important to train your staff to use ERPNext efficiently. When users understand how to navigate the system and avoid unnecessary processes, the overall performance improves.
- Optimise user roles: Limit access to non-essential features for specific roles. For example, production floor workers may not need access to financial data, and limiting their access can reduce the load on the system.
- Train users on best practices: Educate users on best practices for using ERPNext, such as avoiding heavy reporting during peak hours or not running multiple workflows simultaneously.
Conclusion
Optimizing ERPNext Manufacturing environment can dramatically improve your business performance by reducing latency and improving system responsiveness. You can keep ERPNext running smoothly and efficiently by focusing on hardware optimisation, database tuning, caching, task management, reducing unnecessary optimisations, regular maintenance, monitoring & user training.
With the right business models, ERPNext can help manage your manufacturing process, providing you the tools to meet manufacturing demands while maintaining high levels of productivity.
Stay tuned for more insights and tips on optimising your ERPNext system for business!