What should you pay attention to when choosing a MES?

Selecting the MES system that best suits your organization is a challenging project. There are many suppliers of different MES systems and each system is unique. To increase the chance that you select the right system, we share a few anchor points:

  • The quality of the software;
  • The general connection with the industry that your organization is part of;
  • The degree of flexibility to adapt to your organization.

How do you know which specific requirements you have to set for a MES? How do you know that an MES supplier can offer the package that best suits your organization?

In today’s world of MES, manufacturers have more and more influence on what they are looking for in a MES package. What was once designed as a program that could control a machine has grown into a sophisticated and comprehensive system. With this system you can now optimally set up, control and read the entire production floor.

What is standard?
When choosing a MES it is important to look at what is standard in the core system. And how well you can handle this. Most MES packages are designed in such a way that specific modules are required for proper and complete integration. So pay close attention to the compatibility of these modules.

Avoid surprises afterwards!
What you naturally want to avoid are surprises afterwards. Very annoying if it turns out afterwards that you have purchased the wrong modules. Or even worse, that a lot of customization is required to ensure that the system is precisely aligned with your production processes. So be well informed by various suppliers.

Integration with other systems
Until a few years ago, MES systems were designed to work independently. In today’s society, where integration is receiving more and more attention, it is important to know whether an MES also integrates with the systems that your organization already uses. For optimal business operations, it is vital that MES and ERP connect well and can communicate with each other. Only in this way can you be sure that critical business information and real-time data can be exchanged between the systems.

Integration with ERP is important, but integration with the shop floor is just as important. So check carefully how the MES communicates with the machines and interfaces on the floor. What about current SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) or OPC (open platform communications) servers? Does the MES offer the possibility to install and control visual aids, such as lamps at the machines?

In short, many decisions have to be made to choose the perfect MES. So take the time for this and look at the market with a well-developed specification list in your pocket. It can be difficult to get a complete picture of your production processes.

Can’t figure it out yourself? Greywise also offers a solution here.

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