April 2011 Issue - A Global Standard with Local Optimization

Most multi-site manufacturing companies have an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system that manages functions such as HR, finance, resource management and work orders for production. An ERP system is an efficient, cost-effective way to manage those functions across a company with standard processes that can be aggregated, measured and understood by management.

Few multi-site manufacturing companies have a system to standardize plant production functions across a company. The argument is that all plants are unique with different equipment, different part or product manufacturing and different processes.  Many companies have attempted to standardize  with Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) either purchased from vendors who promise standard systems across the company or developed in-house. They almost all fall into the trap of custom software. That is, the unique needs at each site are programmed into the core application thereby creating a custom system at each location. IT personnel are hired at each location for the care and maintenance of their unique system and the corporate IT staff lose control of the pseudo standard. 

There is an alternative, a software solution that is the same standard system at every location regardless of local enhancements. This is possible due to a new manufacturing software system architecture. It creates  a standard, efficient, cost-effective way to manage shop floor functions across all production sites.

This architecture has been used successfully in large corporations with up to ten locations. Each location has different integrations to other shop floor support systems and different enhanced process functions, however all are running the same standard release of the software.

The benefits of global standardization with local optimization include: