Market Overview: Manufacturing Execution Systems

Manufacturing process and applications professionals often see their choice of available manufacturing execution system (MES) software whittled down by specific vertical orientations, as vendors have historically focused on plant-specific challenges. However, large manufacturers are increasingly seeking the benefits from multisite standardization — a longtime MES challenge now made manageable by several key technology enablers. Recognizing the demand to globally standardize MES processes and applications across sites, MES vendors are repositioning their offerings along one of two viable strategies: flexible, horizontally robust solutions or vertically tailored solutions. Meanwhile, emerging enterprise manufacturing intelligence (EMI) players offer a lower-cost alternative for dashboard visibility. Business process and applications professionals seeking to deploy MES globally must take a firm stand on big decisions like architecture and process governance to make such a large-scale initiative a success.