As one of the global leading enterprises in the fields of industrial automation, informatization and digital transformation, Rockwell Automation recently released the “Enterprise-level MES规模化 Deployment” industry insight report. This report covers 1,560 manufacturing and industrial operation decision-makers from 17 major manufacturing countries and regions. The research results show that although manufacturing execution systems (MES) have been widely adopted, how to promote their large-scale deployment within enterprises has become a key challenge that manufacturers face in improving overall operational performance, enhancing integration, and creating long-term value.
At present, most manufacturers have deployed and are operating MES in at least one manufacturing base. However, there are still only a few manufacturers that can achieve stable operation in all their manufacturing bases. Factors such as the fragmentation of systems, the inability to fully utilize data, and the increasing operational risks are limiting manufacturers from obtaining greater value from their existing investments.
The main findings of the report are as follows:
MES has been widely adopted, but large-scale deployment is still lagging behind: 93% of manufacturers have deployed MES, but only 28% have implemented it throughout the entire enterprise, and only 23% of manufacturers indicate that their MES has been fully integrated with enterprise resource planning (ERP), product lifecycle management (PLM), quality and operational technology (OT) systems.
Integration is both the primary consideration and the primary challenge: 44% of manufacturers list integration capability as their top consideration when purchasing MES. At the same time, integration is also the primary challenge for enterprises in their modernization transformation process, with 33% of respondents stating that MES is the main data integration problem they face.
AI applications are expected to exceed the enterprise operation readiness: Manufacturers predict that 42% of processes will be supported by AI within the next year, and this proportion will increase to 54% by 2030. However, 43% of enterprises state that they have not effectively utilized the collected data, and data is an important foundation for the value of AI to be realized.
Operational resilience has become an important consideration in procurement decisions: 46% of manufacturers have experienced cybersecurity incidents in the past year. 43% of respondents list security and compliance as factors in the MES procurement decision, being the second-largest factor influencing the procurement decision.
In practical applications, an increasing number of manufacturers are leveraging Rockwell’s MES technology to achieve large-scale deployments, including the first-tier automotive supplier Kumi North America, which specializes in automotive interior injection molding plastic parts and assembly assemblies. As a long-term customer of Rockwell, Kumi North America began deploying the Plex system in 2008 and gradually implemented this intelligent manufacturing software at manufacturing bases across the United States and Canada. Recently, the company has further expanded its application scope by introducing Plex MES Automation and Orchestration (MES A&O).
Paul Andrews, the Vice President of System Assistant at Kumi North America, said: “Before adopting Plex, our various operations were unable to achieve coordination. Some manufacturing bases even had no software systems at all. As Kumi’s business expanded, we continuously expanded the deployment of Plex and continued to apply Plex technology in new ways.”
Anthony Murphy, Vice President of Product Management at Rockwell Automation, said: “The adoption of MES is no longer the main obstacle for enterprises. The real challenge lies in achieving large-scale application throughout the entire enterprise. Many manufacturers have made initial investments in MES technology, but still struggle to fully realize its full value across the entire enterprise. Today, the role of MES is also changing. It has expanded from production tracking to providing insights for overall enterprise operations such as quality management, employee productivity, and supply chain forecasting. Moreover, when the system becomes interconnected, enterprises will also have more opportunities to apply AI technology. Truly effective manufacturers do not invest more; instead, they can collaborate more closely. Leveraging the flexible edge-to-cloud deployment of Plex MES, manufacturers can quickly connect all aspects of production and gradually expand the scale deployment according to business development needs.”
Lorenzo Veronesi, the deputy research director of the manufacturing research service IDC, said: “Manufacturers are no longer focusing on whether to adopt MES, but are starting to address the more challenging issue of how to promote its large-scale application. Considering that integration is both the primary procurement demand of enterprises and the primary challenge in modernization transformation, if enterprises cannot solve problems such as system fragmentation and insufficient data utilization, it will be difficult to fully leverage the value brought by MES.”
