Learn More About Manufacturing Execution System (MES) Software
What is Manufacturing Execution System (MES) Software?
Manufacturing execution system (MES) software helps manufacturers execute production plans by implementing work orders on the shop floor. While enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems help manage production schedules, MES software manages manufacturing operations. Sometimes referred to as manufacturing operations management software, MES allows manufacturers to track production cycles to identify bottlenecks, monitor quality in real time, and measure shop floor performance.
MES is a critical component of industry 4.0 which aims to improve digital transformation by automating manufacturing processes. According to research by Manufacturing Enterprise Solutions Association (MESA) International, MES is an essential part of a manufacturer’s software ecosystem.
What Does MES Stand For?
MES stands for manufacturing execution systems, which describes how this software differs from ERP for manufacturing. MES manages the execution of production orders created in ERP systems.
What Types of Manufacturing Execution System (MES) Software Exist?
MES types vary depending on how the software is delivered and the industry focus of the solution.
Industry-specific or agnostic
MES functionality depends on the type of manufacturing the solution is being used for. The main manufacturing categories are discrete (medical devices, process pharmaceuticals, and engineering) to order. Mixed-mode ERP combines two or all of these manufacturing categories. For instance, the aerospace industry requires discrete ERP for parts and ETO ERP to assemble an aircraft.
Standalone or part of a suite
MES is usually sold and used as a standalone software solution but can also be deployed as part of a more extensive manufacturing suite that generally includes other software such as ERP systems and quality management systems.
What are the Common Features of Manufacturing Execution System (MES) Software?
The following are some core features within MES software that can help users improve quality and increase productivity:
Resource allocation: Production requires raw materials, ingredients, and components to manufacture finished products, as well as labor and equipment. All these resources are allocated to production orders by MES systems based on the quantities required and their availability.
Shop floor management: Dispatching employees on the factory floor is essential in any manufacturing process. Using resource planning, MES assigns technicians to equipment and workstations and ensures everyone knows what to do and when by creating clear work instructions.
Production scheduling: While the production process is defined in advance, production orders may change either because manufacturers adjust their priorities or because of issues such as defective equipment and lack of inventory.
Production monitoring: MES tracks production output and product quality while also focusing on traceability across all production stages. Monitoring should provide real-time data so production and quality managers quickly identify issues that may negatively impact production, equipment, and employees.
Data collection and analysis: MES collects production data which is transferred to other information systems such as business intelligence to analyze manufacturing performance, production costs, and equipment efficiency.
What are the Benefits of Manufacturing Execution System (MES) Software?
The main benefits of MES are:
Production visibility: MES provides visibility into all stages of the production process with real-time updates on what is being manufactured, the estimated time to completion, and who is in charge.
Reduced costs: Better visibility helps manufacturers avoid costly errors that may compromise an entire production batch if not detected early. It also allows other departments like accounting to track production costs.
Increased productivity: By using MES, shop floor employees know precisely what they need to do and how. Also, production managers can optimize equipment use through planning, thus reducing downtimes, which reduces the wait time between production cycles.
Improved overall equipment effectiveness (OEE): OEE is a global standard used to measure manufacturing productivity. It is often used as a benchmark to compare a manufacturer's performance with its peers in the same industry. MES helps improve OEE scores, a significant competitive advantage for manufacturers.
Who Uses Manufacturing Execution System (MES) Software?
Production managers: To execute production orders, managers need to implement manufacturing business processes on the shop floor. MES also provides real-time visibility into everything on the factory floor, from production activities to quality inspections and equipment maintenance.
Shop floor employees: Shop floors are, by definition, paperless since production employees need to focus on using and supervising equipment. MES is designed to be easily accessed on mobile devices or touch terminals, allowing employees to find the information and work instructions they need quickly.
Quality managers: Quality professionals use MES to define workflows for inspections and testing to determine nonconformance and implement corrective actions. For instance, a batch of ice cream that isn't sweet enough can be adjusted by adding more sugar. However, if it's too sweet, the batch may be compromised, so it's critical for quality supervisors to detect issues before their impact is irreversible.
What are the Alternatives to Manufacturing Execution System (MES) Software?
Alternatives to MES software can replace this type of software, either partially or entirely:
ERP software: ERP solutions that include MES modules are the only viable alternative to MES software.
Software Related to Manufacturing Execution System (MES) Software
Related solutions that can be used together with MES software include other manufacturing software such as:
ERP systems: ERP for manufacturing, such as discrete ERP, process ERP, ETO ERP, and mixed-mode ERP, identify production requirements based on demand and create production plans that consider the availability of inventory, employees, and equipment. MES uses all this information to execute production orders on the shop floor.
CAD & PLM software: Product design and engineering teams use this software to launch new products or improve existing ones. Product information such as components, bills of materials, and technical specifications need to be transferred to ERP software to plan production and finally to MES for production execution. Production data can also be transferred from MES and ERP back to PLM systems to gather information through the entire product lifecycle.
Quality management systems (QMS): Quality managers need to ensure that the products manufactured by the company comply with standards and regulations for health and safety, sustainability, or ethical procurement. QMS is used to identify which compliance applies to the manufacturer and how to enforce it during production.
Asset management software: Asset management software tracks equipment downtime and monitors maintenance management operations to avoid asset failures and accidents. Through connectivity with MES, asset management solutions can analyze real-time shop floor data on all fixed assets used in production.
Supply chain management software (SCM): SCM manages all activities related to purchasing raw materials and ingredients for production and shipping finished goods. Logistics processes need to be synchronized with production through MES and ERP so that manufacturers know what they need to buy to satisfy demand and how and when to deliver products to customers exactly.
Challenges with Manufacturing Execution System (MES) Software
MES software solutions can come with their own set of challenges.
Integration: MES can only work together with ERP systems for manufacturing, which makes integration between the two systems critical for manufacturers. While MES vendors provide integration with the most popular ERP systems such as SAP, Oracle, and Microsoft, hundreds of other ERP solutions require custom integration. MES also needs to integrate with supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) software to capture data from the industrial equipment used on the shop floor.
Complexity: Since MES was designed for manufacturers, the software can be as complex as the company's operations. For instance, aerospace manufacturers usually have much more complicated processes than fashion and apparel companies. As a result, MES for aerospace is also more complex, making it challenging to implement and maintain.
Cost: The complexity of the software and additional expenses like custom integration can make MES quite expensive, especially for SMB manufacturers. For this reason, SMBs prefer to buy ERP software with MES functionality, which may not always provide all the features they need.
Regulatory compliance: MES software needs to comply with regulations and industry standards for manufacturing. For example, the ISA 95 standard aims to safeguard the information exchange between MES and other systems such as ERP. There are also numerous local, national, and international regulations for quality control, which vary by industry. For example, industries like food and beverage or pharmaceuticals are usually higher regulated than discrete manufacturing sectors.
Which Companies Should Buy Manufacturing Execution System (MES) Software?
Manufacturers: Only manufacturing companies can benefit from using MES since they need to create and implement work orders and work instructions, manage routing and sequencing for production activities, track work in process (WIP) and product quality, and sometimes rework finished products to comply with customer requirements.
How to Buy Manufacturing Execution System (MES) Software
Requirements Gathering (RFI/RFP) for Manufacturing Execution System (MES) Software
As mentioned above, MES can provide industry-specific functionality, which should be the primary focus when creating a requirements list. Other essential requirements to consider are the delivery model of the software (cloud or on-premises) and integration with ERP and other software used in manufacturing.
Compare Manufacturing Execution System (MES) Software Products
Create a long list
A buyer can create a long list of products by eliminating those solutions that do not provide features specific to their industry. For example, a fashion and apparel company won't benefit from using an MES solution designed for food and beverage.
Create a short list
To create a short list, buyers need to ask vendors to provide detailed information on how their products help with the requirements mentioned above. In addition, companies should require information on MES pricing, implementation, training, and support to further differentiate between vendors. Finally, customer references and product reviews can provide authentic though subjective feedback about vendors and their products.
Conduct demos
While it's difficult to simulate shop floor operations, a demo should aim to show how a buyer can use the MES in production following a real-life scenario. It is also essential to see how MES integrates with ERP and other solutions. Finally, the MES vendor should demonstrate how the system supports unplanned changes to standard operations.
Selection of Manufacturing Execution System (MES) Software
Choose a selection team
The selection team for MES should include production managers, supervisors, end users, quality managers, members of the maintenance team, and the IT department.
Negotiation
While pricing negotiation is essential, buyers should obtain other benefits such as free 24/7 global support or advanced training.
Final decision
The final decision should consider all the factors mentioned above: requirements, demos, pricing, and the services offered by the vendor.
What Does Manufacturing Execution System (MES) Software Cost?
An MES solution's cost comprises the standard license price plus additional customization, implementation, training, and support fees.
Return on Investment (ROI)
To determine the ROI of an MES solution, manufacturers need to identify its benefits, such as reducing production times or increasing output, then compare them with the costs mentioned above.
Implementation of Manufacturing Execution System (MES) Software
Who is Responsible for Manufacturing Execution System (MES) Software Implementation?
While the buyer and its production team are ultimately responsible for implementing the solution, the vendor and its partners should be an integral part of the process. Therefore, close cooperation between buyer and vendor is critical for the success of the implementation.
What Does the Implementation Process Look Like for Manufacturing Execution System (MES) Software?
MES implementation should start with a clear description of manufacturing processes, integration requirements, and quality control procedures. When applicable, the next step is data migration from other systems such as ERP or PLM and the old MES solution.
MES configuration and deployment should only happen after the steps above have been completed.
When Should You Implement Manufacturing Execution System (MES) Software?
If MES is acquired together with a new ERP system, it is recommended that the two solutions be implemented simultaneously. By implementing MES and ERP together, manufacturers ensure that the workflows and processes are consistent across both systems and that production data is captured and transferred optimally.
Manufacturers should not implement MES during peak season since it can disrupt operations and cause delays and potential losses.
Manufacturing Execution System (MES) Software Trends
Cloud computing
While MES has been delivered as an on-premises solution for decades, more and more vendors now offer cloud solutions. Some vendors provide both options, making the transition to the cloud less disruptive. New vendors usually provide cloud-only MES software, which has the main benefit of being designed for the cloud, while older MES solutions have been moved to the cloud without fundamental changes to the source code.
Market consolidation
Due to the complexity of the software, which makes development difficult, MES vendors are pretty rare and tend to be acquired by large ERP providers such as SAP, Oracle, and Infor. PLM vendors like Siemens also acquired MES systems. This trend is expected to continue, and most MES products acquired will likely be incorporated into more extensive ERP or PLM systems.
Internet of things (IoT)
IoT helps manufacturers transfer data between fixed assets and equipment and production facilities or shop floor locations. This improves data accuracy and reduces redundancy. Also, real-time information can help manufacturers identify nonconformant production and adjust operations to avoid significant losses. IoT platforms specifically designed for manufacturing are known as Industrial IoT (IIoT) and provide advanced features for intelligent manufacturing such as digital twins and manufacturing intelligence.
