Siemens enlists partners to bolster MES sales

As do Microsoft Business Solutions and SAP in the ERP market, Siemens Energy & Automation is using partners to bolster its presence in the manufacturing execution systems (MES) space, relying on systems integrators with expertise in designated verticals to provide the customization usually required for MES.

"The way we've gone to market is to look at the needs of verticals," says MaryAnne Steidinger, marketing director for Siemens. "Customization is one of the challenges of selling an MES, from both an industry and a plant perspective. Half the battle is selling the product, and the other half is integration, because the product is so complex."

Siemens' global network of certified partners (14 in North America) provides the vertical-specific expertise. Siemens supplies the base architecture and reusable cross-industry and vertical solution libraries that simplify installation and integration, plus 24-hour technical support and extensive marketing support for partners.

In North America, Siemens has process-industry partners with expertise in both general and more specialized food & beverage, while discrete industry partners focus on appliance assembly and automotive OEMs and suppliers. Future verticals will include oil & gas and semiconductor.

The partner program recognizes the position of an MES at the center of the manufacturing organization, says Steidinger. For integration with the enterprise layer, Siemens uses household-name consultancies with large ERP practices, such as Accenture, BearingPoint, and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. For MES and vertical-industry expertise, it goes to specialists including EnteGreat and Brock Solutions, while Applied Automation, ITAC, and Kline Process Systems handle control-layer-to-MES integration.

"It's a very complementary arrangement," says Steidinger. "We have a 'buddy system' where we match the higher-level consultants to the smaller systems integrators so we can totally cover the needs of the plant."

The partner program is the linchpin in Siemens' strategy to dominate the MES market, says Colin Masson, a director with Boston-based AMR Research, adding that taking an enterprise software approach "gracefully sidesteps many of the delivery issues that plague [most MES vendors]."