ERP Transition & the Benefits of MES Portability

Logistics, Hard-hatted worker happily riding pallet jack in warehouse towards loading dock

Transitioning to a new ERP is undoubtedly one of the biggest decisions a company can make.  Definitely not a decision to be made lightly, as it impacts many departments, numerous people, and multiple processes.  However, that choice doesn’t always necessitate much time being spent thinking about the company’s MES. The MES is the tool that coordinates communication and information flow within your shop floor and to your front office. Many companies rely on MES tools built into their ERP; this association of ERP & MES during an ERP transition will also impact your company’s production for a segment of time.

HIDDEN COSTS IN ERP SHIFT

The aspect of cost is regularly a factor in the final decision of an ERP switch.  Like all projects, there is often a window or budget that is needing to be met.  But what is a couple hours or days of shop floor down time worth?  If as part of your transition, your production floor is unable to be productive for a day or more… is that factored into the cost of the ERP switch - often not.  That down time can be a significant cost to the company.  Thankfully, this is something that can be minimized and, in some cases, avoided all together.  Certain MES Systems have an advantage of working with multiple ERP’s.

PORTABILITY

The ideal scenario for ERP transition is no loss in productivity during the changeover.  Having an MES system directly tied to the ERP makes this ideal unlikely. But other modern MES platforms, such as MV2 by Paper-Less, have the capacity to integrate to multiple ERP systems. Paper-Less has built upon its deep integration with various ERP platforms in the past, taking advantage of that experience to design in portability into MV2. This capacity provides your company options - why change 2 items when you only need to change 1? MV2 MES can be your constant, and adjust to the new ERP with you.

MODERN MES ADVANTAGES

Beyond providing the least possible impact to your shop floor’s up time during transitions, the proper MES orientation provides other benefits. MV2’s “ERP Portability” provides a company advantages many don’t initially realize.

  • During the course of a merger or acquisition, your company will have the ability to maintain a single platform for all production lines. Meaning all information will be recorded in same manner and accessible.
  • Additionally, this means that all plants will have a consistent user interface, making it easier for all to interact with the system regardless of which plant someone is at for whatever reason. (And it has mobile options.)
  • Lastly, as part of MV2’s platform, its “always on” capacity means that if your ERP is down for a) maintenance or upgrade, b) due to error or some other issue, or c) just down say due to power failure, your MES can continue operating… meaning your production line can continue running.

When making big decisions, like switching to a different ERP, it is critical that the aspects associated to that program be considered as well.  Just a bit more forethought and planning can save additional headaches, IT/tech time … and most importantly avoid non-productive shop floor time!

 

Contact a representative at Paper-Less today to discover more about MV2 and ERP Portability now.

2 thoughts on “ERP Transition & the Benefits of MES Portability”

  1. Well composed! You’ve got some awesome content here about ERP, Brad. Is there a great difference between MES and ERP? Or MES is under ERP? Thanks for this informative blog.

    1. Thanks for taking the time and for the feedback Jack. There are 2 trains of thought on the ERP/MES “orientation.” Some relate the organization to a pyramid, others sometimes simplify it to an “office side” vs a “shop floor side” arrangement… I will let you decide for yourself. This article might help http://www.ise-erp.com/mes-defined. There should be plenty other helpful information about MES & ERP on our website, I would start here http://www.ise-erp.com/mv2-mes. If you are looking for something more specific please let me know.

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