12/12/2025
How MES Strengthens ERP: Connecting the Shop Floor to the Top Floor
ERP systems have been around for a long time — in fact, since the last century. In the 1990s, they became very popular, especially in manufacturing. Big software companies like SAP, Oracle, and many others promoted ERP as a single system that could do everything a manufacturer needed to run the business.
At that time, ERP systems included basic shop floor features. Production orders were created in the system, operators wrote down their working time by hand, materials were manually issued from the warehouse, and finished products were manually recorded back into inventory.
As you can imagine, this wasn’t very efficient. It took a lot of time, and mistakes were common. Because everything depended on manual updates, the information in ERP often didn’t match what was really happening on the shop floor.
Modern manufacturers depend on ERP systems to run core business functions such as finance, planning, and supply chain management. However, ERP alone often has limited visibility into what is happening on the production floor. This is where a Manufacturing Ex*****on System (MES) plays a critical role. MES captures real-time information from machines, materials, and operators, and feeds this accurate data back into the ERP system.
As a result, ERP decisions are no longer based on assumptions or delayed updates, but on what is truly happening in production. When properly integrated, MES works alongside ERP to automate shop floor activities and streamline ex*****on. This tight connection enables more reliable planning, better cost control, and smoother operations from the factory floor all the way up to management and leadership.
Three Common ERP and MES Implementation Approach:
1. Implement ERP First, Then MES
This is the most common approach, especially for organizations that lack strong business systems. ERP is introduced first to stabilize finance, planning, inventory, and master data. Once these foundations are in place, MES is added to improve shop floor ex*****on and provide real-time visibility. This approach works well when business processes need structure before shop floor digitalisation can succeed.
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2. Implement MES First, Then ERP
In some cases, the biggest problems are on the shop floor — such as poor production visibility, high scrap, or unreliable data. In these situations, deploying MES first can deliver fast operational improvements and clean, real-time production data.
ERP can then be implemented later using more accurate data and better-defined processes from MES. This approach is valid but typically suits organizations with strong operational focus or urgent manufacturing pain points or legacy ERP to be upgraded at a later stage.
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3. Implement ERP with Critical MES Elements
Often the smartest approach is not an “either-or” decision. Instead, companies implement ERP while simultaneously deploying essential MES capabilities — such as production tracking, automated data collection, material consumption, or quality data capture. This balanced strategy avoids long delays in realizing value and ensures that ERP is fed with reliable shop floor data from the start. It is particularly effective for companies pursuing digital transformation or Industry 4.0 initiatives.
Ricky Sio 60-12-2209368
