The capabilities of manufacturing execution systems software have greatly expanded in recent years, making it a must-have tool for manufacturers in the age of Industry 4.0.
When people say that two foods are better together than separately—like peanut butter and jelly, or macaroni and cheese—they’re giving simple examples of the benefit of synergy. A similar type of synergy has developed in recent years between manufacturing execution systems (MES) software and other types used by manufacturers.
“Our customers regularly use MES to complement and enhance their enterprise resource planning (ERP) software,” notes Ben Marsh, president and CEO of Scout Systems Inc. “Any ERP system is only as good as the data it has, and today’s MES software is capable of acquiring and providing great data. Personally, I think the goal of MES has always been to complement ERP.”