Benefits of a Modern MES – 6 Key Requirements

Various manufacturing industries have different levels of MES adoption. For example, in the Semiconductor industry, almost every manufacturer has some type of MES deployed, and has for quite a while. In the Medical Device industry, many manufacturers are still using paper-based systems. In some cases, the paper-based system might actually be superior to some of the legacy MES applications out there.

In either case, whether considering replacing an aging system, or investing in MES for the first time, manufacturers need to understand the key requirements they should be looking for to get the most out of a new system. One of the biggest benefits found in a modern MES is the ability to easily integrate with core business systems and shop floor equipment, enabling standardization on a single solution for true global operations. This new enterprise infrastructure must enable 6 key functions:

• STANDARDIZE: Establish a unified platform enabling centrally authored manufacturing process master data, with guidelines for local variation.


• CONNECT: Establish a common communication foundation on which to operate seamlessly as a global virtual factory.


• CONTROL: Manufacture products as designed, with variations captured to detect and rapidly contain defects


• CONTINUOUS PROCESS IMPROVEMENT: Support an international global continuous process improvement network. When improvements are made, the approved change is made in one place, and synchronized across the global plant network


• SIMPLIFY: Create an intuitive system that’s easy to use, which increases adoption across all levels and backgrounds of users, and fosters collaboration


• ACCELERATE: Leverage all aspects of the new platform to accelerate the delivery of quality products to market and relentlessly improve them.

Not all MES systems can deliver on these requirements. If you have a legacy MES system, you probably have numerous point solutions that attempt to add these functions, because they are absolutely necessary to achieve efficiency and quality at scale.

Find out more about how a modern MES is built to deliver these 6 essential requirements for today’s modern manufacturing enterprise.