Wonderware Manufacturing Execution systems deliver real value and competitiveness

by Michael Schwarz, MES/Workflow/Batch Product Marketing Manager, Invensys Schneider

Every manufacturer approaching the transformation from a paper based, fragmented or manual operations management system to a Manufacturing Execution System (MES)  raises that question – what will be the ROI in my case? Often this question cannot be exactly answered prior to purchase – only very experienced professionals will be able to compare a prospect's situation to a similar case and relate to the results achieved in these case(s) without detailed analysis and investigations, which may require similar efforts close to a small MES implementation itself.

Wonderware wanted to better understand ourselves what real benefits and values our existing MES customers received, what were the operational improvements, and the ROI achieved, to share with those who need decision support to justify the investment. We partnered with TechValidate, a third party research service, to collect and validate such information for publication.  Here the first overview of Improvements through Wonderware MES Software use:

Customer References verified by TechValidate.

What we got as detailed answers to our research questions even surprised us in positive outcome for our Customers. We got back a significant number of responses which indicated more than 30% improvements in product quality, productivity or even manufacturing cost reduction. It does not require the related amount of money documented to understand that this is a huge benefit for these companies in a lot of money saved or made through these improvements. We also published a number of  Wonderware MES Software case studies which document these levels of benefit’s achieved by customers from all over the globe and in different industries.

Obviously a 30% or more improvement benefit is not typically the immediate result after few months or first year of MES implementation. Leveraging the new detailed data and transparency at hand for the continuous improvement process will provide these results over time. Nevertheless we have also seen unexpected fast payback and facilitation of improvements of processes which were even not the core part of the initial MES project scope through synergies in enterprise integration and hidden  insights gained.

The initial outcome definitely shows MES provides value, in many cases a lot of value which we are documenting from now on. To see the so far published research information in case studies, facts and charts visit the research website on Wonderware Operations  Software