Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) deliver information required by factory personnel to effectively manage the manufacturing process from order launch to the production of finished goods. Using current and accurate data, the MES guides, initiates, responds to, and reports on plant activities as they occur.

Key capabilities of a MES and the associated business benefits include:

• Product Tracking - High product mix, small order quantities and short lead times all create a complex tracking environment. Having an accurate understanding of the current status of production orders helps keep customer service levels high, provides the information required to minimize WIP and inventory levels, and provides the ERP with accurate information, allowing for better production planning.



• Quality Management - Knowing your products have been made to the correct quality specifications before they are shipped is of critical importance. An MES can monitor product and process characteristics in real-time, notifying plant personnel as soon as deviations are detected. Using its Product Genealogy capabilities, the MES can rapidly determine the scope of the quality deviation, and quarantine production to ensure none of the suspect product is shipped. In addition to its real-time capabilities, the MES captures historical quality information, providing detailed information to support on-going quality improvement initiatives.



• Product Genealogy - When quality problems do occur, having a detailed and accurate understanding of the scope of the problem is key to containing and managing the issue. With product genealogy, the MES tracks which products were made on which pieces of equipment; which materials were used in which batches of product; and which personnel were involved. Once the product defect is traced back to its root cause, be it off-spec materials, a process deviation, or incorrect procedures, the MES will identify all suspect production that could have been impacted, allowing you to rapidly contain the issue with a high degree of confidence.



• Performance Analysis - Effective use of manufacturing assets is key to minimizing unit costs and maximizing profit margins. A MES can monitor and react to key performance indicators (KPIs) such as OEE and downtime on a real-time basis, ensuring that problems are rapidly identified and resolved to minimize the impact on manufacturing performance. Because the MES records performance data on an historical basis, this information can also be used to support root cause analysis, so permanent solutions to on-going performance problems can be developed. Historical information is also used to quantify losses, and can be used to cost-justify the investments needed to eliminate problems.



• Regulatory Compliance - Regulated industries spend considerable effort and money complying with government regulations. A MES supports regulatory compliance through the capture of electronic information in compliance with FDA and other government regulations. Capturing and storing regulatory data in electronic format is more cost effective than traditional paper-based record keeping and has the added advantage of providing a source of data to support quality and engineering analysis.



• MES to ERP Integration - ASECO has extensive experience with the integration of MES to ERP systems such as SAP and Oracle. Using standards based B2MML interfaces or developing custom integration, we will link your ERP and MES so that product definition (how to make the product), production capability (what the plant can make given current constraints), production schedule (what should be made, when, and where), and production performance (what was made, where and when) information can be seamlessly exchanged, thereby eliminating the problem of data replication and synchronization.