ERP+MOM+MES = Operational Success for Plant Personnel

With this first entry on the “Power of the Plant” I
have a chance to set the stage as the first of three distinct
voices you’ll hear from over the coming weeks and months, regarding
the various challenges/opportunities today’s manufacturers
are facing on the plant floor.

It’s about how every direct and indirect department, cost center
and operating work center that creates value and is focused on
providing perfect order performance can overcome real-world
challenges and better improve plant floor operations and
productivity, for the benefit of the overall business.

Make no mistake – in the midst of today’s global
economy, at a local level manufacturers are successful and
continuing to maintain and grow the business every day. Inside
every manufacturer you can find people who know their customers,
products and services, their competition and market channels, their
equipment and assets and their financial position to support
innovation and gain market share. They know their lead times,
product standards and related costs, who can supply them with both
specialty and commodity material and packaging and which competitor
they can turn to when sales demand exceeds their own ability to
produce. They know the rules and regulations that they must adhere
to, report against and be accountable to.

So what can enterprise solution providers bring to these
creative captains of industry, to better support them in their
quest for continued success and profitability? This is the
discussion we’ll embark on – how a combination of
enterprise business solutions, including Enterprise Resource
Planning (ERP), Manufacturing Operations Management (MOM) and
Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) are evolving to become the
next-generation competitive advantage, when utilized by the most
powerful assets of the business – the very people that make
the manufacturing plants run.

With my own focus on process manufacturers that supply food and
beverages, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and earth science-based
products, I’ll bring out the unique solution requirements of
these industries in my examples and discussion. Because Mother
Nature thrives on variety and variability, it means adapting to
unique ingredients and substitutions, adjusting daily processing
steps and tracking products by quality results, not just by the
quantity in inventory. These basic industry differences require
another level of control and information access at a granular level
of detail that often equals a single product lot. I welcome other
industry examples, certainly, as the market philosophy and sourcing
strategy of any manufacturer (i.e. make-to-stock, make-to-order,
contract outsourcing, etc.), is equally important to the success
and “Power of the Plant” and crosses all industry
verticals.