MES versus ERP: Improve your manufacturing efficiency

Download our eBook to discover:

Why MES and ERP is the winning combination for reducing waste, lower production costs, and improve the efficiency of your plant.
What ERP can do for your plant efficiency…and what it cannot do.
The many step-change improvements you’ll enjoy with an integrated MES solution

Complete end-to-end visibility across shop floors and real-time feedback for rapid, informed decisions

MES vs ERP:

Working Together to Amplify the Value of your Manufacturing Intelligence

When you need a set of world-class analytical tools to optimise operations, the question should never be ERP vs. MES. They each bring something different to the table – and both systems work in brilliant harmony to drive your digital transformation.

When integrated, the ERP acts as a top layer to handle orders and inventory, while AVEVA MES focuses on real-time operations on the floor. Data is shared between the two systems with production data feeding upstream to the ERP for longer-term strategic planning and downstream for work order management, providing closed loop control for continual improvement.

Benefits of ERP-MES product integration:

Seamless response to the dynamic demands of customers, regulators and suppliers – for example, MES handles production planning when a customer changes an order, while ERP handles pricing and inventory control.	Connect the dots between business and production – harmonising your ERP and MES systems gives complete end-to-end traceability, so managers can quickly figure out the scope of issues and plan long-term and short-term resolutions.
Eliminate rush orders and costly standstills – by synchronising stock supply in real-time, Procurement is able to reorder materials as soon as inventory falls below a certain level.	More visibility and control – from Overall Equipment Effectiveness to inventory and waste management, an ERP-MES integration shows what the company needs from production to meet business goals and develop a continuous improvement strategy.

AVEVA MES SUCCESS STORIES

Clif Bar Success Story

AVEVA MES is widely used in food and beverage manufacturing and can support fast gains in productivity in life sciences.

Do I need AVEVA MES if I have an ERP?

Yes, you do. Simply put, because ERP and MES industrial systems serve distinct roles in manufacturing plants. An ERP system is the business brain for the company. It organises all the business data (orders, payroll, sales, accounts) into a single version of the truth and delivers ‘quick numbers’ so management can make decisions on where to improve and make changes. Data is displayed over a period, such as a week or year, so there is a natural latency.

MES is the beating heart for production. By tracking actual manufacturing operations through thousands of sensors integrated directly to machines, it provides real-time, actionable data that empowers you to do the right things at the right time. The data provides valuable insights to reduce waste, lower production costs, optimise operations and improve the overall efficiency of the plant.

Time is money on a production line

Some ERP modules include a mix of plant scheduling, order processing, inventory management and customer service. You might think this is enough to manage plant operations – but everything happens faster on production lines. Any delay is unacceptable for manufacturing managers who need information in real time to avoid delays and scrap.

AVEVA Manufacturing Execution System software, with its close connection to the shop floor, is hyper-focused on rapid actions, ongoing adjustments and continuous improvement. Everything is set up to optimise your production processes, helping you meet an abundance of productivity, efficiency, quality, compliance and cost-saving goals that an ERP cannot support.

Without an AVEVA Manufacturing
Execution System:

1.

You are forced to rely on manual data inputs that are time-consuming and prone to human error

2.

There is a productivity-sapping time-lag in information reporting

3.

Critical data is locked away and missing from vital OEE decisions

4.

You are missing the boat on supply chain efficiency, which is a key competitive advantage

What can an ERP do?

Track how many products were made

Track how much it cost to produce a product

Place orders for raw materials on time

Schedule factory functions from staff
to shipping

Enhance inventory and supplier management

Monitor performance against core
business KPIs

Pay the bills and keep the lights on

Guide the strategic management of
the business

What can AVEVA MES from SolutionsPT do?

Give real-time feedback on live operations

Identify the optimum plant to produce a particular order so it can be shipped and delivered on time

Set up the machine control to run the product

Coordinate machine maintenance priorities

Pinpoint bottlenecks, scrap and rework issues

Alter the production plan to keep work flowing

Tell you in real time what you need in raw materials

Perform quality monitoring, for example, alerting you to when you need take quality samples

Run ‘what if’ scenarios, modelling future forecasts and comparing with historical data without affecting live production

Make each plant the most efficient possible

A comprehensive MES solution
implemented in just 50 days

MES in manufacturing systems have a reputation of being exceedingly difficult to implement with long lead times because they’re tough to integrate with existing systems. Not with AVEVA. Our endorsed and certified system integrators use our model-driven approach to deploying MES systems – minimising the risks and costs of conventional MES deployment.

What can AVEVA MES do for you?

Implement the right interventions, at the right time

AVEVA MES collects production data in context and in real-time around the clock. You can quickly pinpoint problems and correct them immediately for error-proof production with increased uptime and lower rejection rates. Without the exhausting task of putting out fires, less time is wasted – and you can identify the root causes and corrective actions that will improve OEE over time.

Operate at peak performance

AVEVA MES tracks everything from raw materials to finished goods. You will be able to standardise processes, see in real-time what is next to do and what has been completed, evaluate resource and machine usage, reduce time lost to changeover and even see what effect the time of day has on energy usage. If one machine falls behind, the MES can help shift the work to other machines to keep jobs flowing. Each insight drives ever-higher levels of efficiency.

Save money

Machine-integrated sensors and software keep track of live downtime, maintenance and operational information, creating a rich data set to identify and solve your hidden inefficiencies. You will be able to reduce waste and overages and see where greatest ROI can be realised – improving OEE without the significant capital investment of adding an additional production line.

Eliminate duplicate effort

Free your line operators from manual data collection and save hundreds of person-hours by digitally transforming work processes and data gathering. AVEVA MES builds a unified view of the factory in real-time, replacing spreadsheets and standalone databases that do not communicate with each other so your people can focus on higher-value work.

MES Manufacturing factory image shutterstock_486947233

Win the high-stakes manufacturing game

With AVEVA MES automation, you can manage all your resources – (wo)man, material and machine – while making production quality improvements at the same time. It is designed to help you create the high-performing production environment of the future, tackling Industry 4.0 head on and giving you a competitive edge.

Ready to start transforming your plant operations?

Talk to a SolutionsPT consultant. We have the industry expertise to help
you plan right, invest well, and succeed on your digital transformation journey.

AVEVA named as a Leader in 2021 Gartner Magic Quadrant

AVEVA MES was recognised as a Leader in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant report. They are a culmination of rigorous, fact-based research in specific markets, providing a wide-angle view of the relative positions of the providers in markets where growth is high and provider differentiation is distinct.

ERP and MES:
A match made in heaven

Download our eBook to discover:

Complete end-to-end visibility across shop floors and real-time feedback for rapid, informed decisions

MES vs ERP:

Working Together to Amplify the Value of your Manufacturing Intelligence

Benefits of ERP-MES product integration: