ERP & MES Integration: Why It's a Must
ERP and MES(Manufacturing Execution System) system integration is much less of a headache today than in past year. It was once thought that these systems should run independent of each other, so Manufacturers of this software didn’t put effort into easing the integration process. However, joining these two systems together has become much more valuable, so with that became easier integration methods. Each system on its own can provide a host of benefits, but manufacturers wanting to drive improved performance and competitive advantage are integrating MES and ERP to leverage the best of both worlds. Integrating these together provides you a complete digital thread throughout your entire organization and supply chain.
ERP systems have shifted from simply being viewed as a way to automate business processes, to now providing a pathway to growth. ERP systems offer robust capabilities focusing on reducing costs, streamlining processes, and improving customer responsiveness across the enterprise, ultimately helping organizations achieve continued growth and profitability. MES focuses solely on the operations management, diving deep into machine and production metrics. As a company grows, their number of SKUs and product variants increase, making the need for a more agile manufacturing solution to move from a nice to have, to a necessity. MES can accelerate new product introduction, while increasing quality and speed, all while closing the feedback loop of how the process is performing.
in order to use an ERP and MES together effectively, you need to connect planning, scheduling and quality data from your ERP system with the MES shop floor metrics. Once this happens, you now are operating on a centralized system. This challenge is what scares away most companies when they first consider this type of integration. What they don’t give enough thought to is that by shying away from this integration, they are not getting real-time access to machine and quality data, so the ERP system is not able to effectively plan resources and schedules the best way it can. There is always going to be an information lag, so customer demand and service levels will be affected.
You may also face these challenges:
- No visibility on the shop floor
- Double data-entry since your systems don’t “talk” to each other and both have their own unique structure
- Increased inventory costs
The integration of ERP and MES offers manufacturers real advantage and shouldn’t be overlooked as organizations seek out strategies for growth. Nothing good usually comes easy, so don’t let what you view as complex steer you away. Every day, Technology companies are making it easier for their technologies to integrate together. There are also IT & ERP Consultants that have the knowledge and experience to help organizations marry these systems together. 2W Tech is a Certified Epicor ERP Partner and would be happy to assist you with any integration with your ERP system.
Read More:
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