Enterprise Integration Includes PLM, MES

Ask a manufacturing executive about his or her enterprise integration strategy and you’ll likely hear about the IT department’s focus on synchronizing ERP, CRM, and the supply chain. But, more and more, I’m hearing product lifecycle management (PLM) and manufacturing execution systems (MES) described as enterprise systems. Therefore, these applications, too, need to factor into the integration equation.

Typically, engineers from around the globe collaborate on product design while PLM software tracks the process from conception to production and beyond, including warranty management and even recalls. As such, PLM has matured beyond its engineering roots to become an enterprise tool.

Similarly, in the factory, MES delivers the work instructions to move a product prototype into production. MES has historically been considered an isolated application responsible only for managing the flow on the factory floor. But today MES also takes orders from ERP, keeps tabs on inventory in the warehouse, and monitors packaging before it is pushed out the door to distribution. The software is, indeed, integrated into the enterprise.

Now, manufacturers are clamoring to unite MES and PLM, two enterprise outcasts that, together, can create a powerful competitive edge.

The conventional wisdom over the past few years stressed the importance of integrating MES with ERP. The thinking was that allowing these two systems to exchange information could dramatically change business for the better. And while that type of integration helps, many observers feel an alignment of engineering and manufacturing is more important to the organization than aligning manufacturing and finance.

That was the impetus behind Dassault Systemes’ investment in Intercim two years ago. And it is what has been driving iBASEt, as well.

iBASEt, which has an MES product called Solumina, for aerospace and defense manufacturers, has been blowing the PLM integration horn for awhile, according to iBASEt vice president of product marketing and alliances, Conrad Leiva.

“Our off-the-shelf interface in Solumina for integration to Dassault Systemes and PTC [has] been critical in winning new business,” Leiva said. “That is because manufacturers need this functionality in our target industries.”

Now, Apriso is aboard the bandwagon, having recently announced a partnership with PTC to integrate its FlexNet operations management application with PTC’s Creo design technologies and Windchill PLM product.

Soon, the MES–­PLM play may be what manufacturing executives need to focus on most. A tight relationship between these two “enterprise applications” can  reduce the time it takes to introduce new products, reduce manufacturing mistakes related to the original design, and manage engineering changes more efficiently. It’s the next, natural step for integrating the enterprise.