How to Evaluate Vendors

It is a daunting task to identify criteria for selecting an MES solution and, by extension, an MES vendor. The more you understand about the matter, the harder it becomes to keep an overview perspective. Where should you start, and where should you stop?

Once you’ve looked at multiple system presentations, it may be difficult to see where they differ; after a while, all user interfaces can look the same. MES setups are complex IT installations that, depending on the form they take, can affect a large number of functional areas in a manufacturing concern. Systems may be used for anything from straightforward feedback regarding quality assurance and personnel management to complex detailed scheduling-control systems.

Once objectives have been defined, a better assessment can be made of the scope of services offered by different systems and suppliers. For example, if you want to start with machine data collection but know that in a year or two the company will be looking at incentive wages, you can immediately establish knockout criteria. Any potential supplier not able to integrate a staff work-time function and a performance-based remuneration function can be ruled out immediately.

Consider the possible objectives that can be met by the introduction of MES. This usually means that quantifiable approaches can be found, which then form the basis for calculating an ROI. Such a procedure is more efficient and involves less work; further, the level to which objectives have been achieved can be better assessed for the purpose of controlling subsequent investments. The following checklist should provide some assistance in designing and selecting MES solutions: ²⁶

General Criteria

1. Does the MES have fully integrated production, personnel, and quality management?

2. Does it support paperless production?

3. Does it include all necessary standard products?

4. Does the system offer escalation management and workflow functions?

5. What references and knowledge of the industry does the supplier have?

6. How easy is it to adapt the MES setup’s functionalities to the customer’s processes?

7. Does the MES manufacturer have a clear product and release strategy?

System Concept

1. Is the complete MES functionality provided in a single system?

2. Can the individual components be used as modules?

3. Can the functions be configured?

4. Does the MES have an enterprise services architecture-oriented (ESA) structure?

5. Does the system orient itself by common industry standard products?

6. Does the system support the necessary platforms?

7. Does it support the necessary interfaces?

8. How easily can it adapt interfaces to the requirements of the customer?

9. What possibilities does the system offer for the customer’s own developments?

10. Can these adaptations be made just as easily at a later time?

11. What tools are available for preparing one’s own analyses?

12. Can the existing analyses in various levels of data aggregation be adjusted for all corporate levels?

13. Is there an interface with leading ERP and PPS systems?

14. Does the modular architecture of the MES permit a gradual expansion to include further functions?

15. Is the system architecture open?

Production

1. Are there integrated functions that offer a view of all resources involved in production?

2. Are there overviews that allow evaluation of the current manufacturing situation?

3. Are the detailed planning functions based on current data?

4. Does detailed planning manage primary and secondary resources?

5. Is there a load planning function for different kinds of secondary resources?

6. Can you model different possibilities of technological relationships?

7. Is inter-order networking possible?

8. Can the types of capacity be varied?

9. Are different planning strategies supported?

10. Can detailed planning instances be

evaluated by means of flexible and combinable key data?

11. Can alternative planning variants be simulated?

12. Can different optimization strategies be implemented?

13. Does the MES support different production structures (multiple machine work, multiple operator work, etc.)?

14. Is material tracking possible (e.g., in batches and buffer storage)?

Quality

1. Can quality inspections be incorporated like work operations in the overall order structure?

2. Is there a dynamic configuration function to monitor testing and inspection equipment?

3. Is non-conformance management work flow supported?

4. Is gapless traceability of the production process possible?

5. Does production planning have access to quality data?

6. Can process measurement data also be used as quality characteristics?

7. Is there support for automatic transfer of measured data via standard interfaces?

Personnel

1. Is staff work-time logging with information and intelligence functions available at the terminal?

2. Can working hours and payments models be configured simply for personnel time management?

3. Is there a workflow for processing of applications and approvals?

4. Is there a straightforward method to adapt calculation of incentive wages to collective bargaining agreements?

5. Is there a short-term manpower planning function with direct coupling to production loading?

6. Is there a short-term manpower planning function that assigns employees to work centers at which orders have been scheduled?

Data Acquisition

1. Does the MES permit gapless automated data acquisition and processing?

2. Are standard interfaces provided to machines and automatically controlled machines?

3. Can all data acquisition functions be configured for better ergonomics and thus greater acceptance?

4. Are standard data acquisition interfaces such as OPC supported?

5. Are the data acquisition functions available on different platforms, such as RFID, bar-code readers, and label printers? ²⁷

These questions open the door to the standard set of vendor evaluation criteria that any manufacturing company would use to conduct due diligence for a significant purchase such as an MES. The de facto questions include number of years the vendor has been in business; how long the MES product has been on the market; functionality for the type of business considering the purchase; vendor stability and reputation; ability to service and support the software; and, of course, making sure the vendor has a roadmap for the future of the product.

A good selection process starts with the creation of a cross-functional team tasked with developing business requirements that will be used to evaluate alternatives. These requirements will be matched with specific features of the product under consideration. Specific requirements are more helpful in the selection process than general ones, which may be met to some degree by all the contenders, making it difficult to choose among them. ²⁸

Throughout the selection process, conclude each step with the consensus of all members of the selection committee, including end users, to gather enterprise-wide acceptance for the MES package.

FOOTNOTES