Selected work · Systems and processes
From software selection to MES–ERP integration
Selecting a system means understanding the process it must support and designing its relationship with the existing application landscape from the outset.
Context
Introducing a Manufacturing Execution System as part of an Industry 4.0 initiative required production needs, solution selection and integration with the company ERP to be addressed together.
Treating these elements separately would only have deferred the problem: a functionally capable solution could still have created new discontinuities in data and processes.
Responsibility
I coordinated the journey from software selection to implementation and ERP integration, keeping selection criteria, operational requirements and overall system consistency aligned.
Decisions and coordination
The assessment went beyond the available features. The MES was considered as part of a wider process and architecture in which information exchange, accountability and operational sustainability were integral to the decision.
This approach connected the selection stage with the decisions needed for subsequent implementation and integration.
Outcome
The journey led to implementation of the MES and its integration with the company ERP.
What this demonstrates
- Translation of production needs into selection criteria.
- Assessment of a solution within its application and organisational context.
- Continuity from selection through implementation and integration.
- The ability to connect technology and process.
Software selection creates value when it does more than choose a product: it establishes the conditions for that product to fit coherently into the wider organisation.