It was found that while most global manufacturing companies operate Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES), only a small number have expanded them enterprise-wide or fully integrated them with existing systems. Analysis suggests that expansion and integration are emerging as new challenges, rather than the adoption of MES itself.

On the 16th, Rockwell Automation released the 'Scaling MES Across the Enterprise' report, based on a survey of 1,560 decision-makers in manufacturing and industrial operations across 17 countries.

More than 58% of those surveyed belonged to companies with annual revenue of over $1 billion, and 54% consisted of key decision-makers.

According to the report, 93% of global manufacturing companies are operating MES at least one business site.

On the other hand, only 28% of companies had implemented it company-wide, and only 23% had fully integrated it across their ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), PLM (Product Lifecycle Management), and Quality and Operational Technology (OT) systems.

44% of respondents cited system integration as the most important requirement when purchasing MES, and 33% identified MES as the system facing the biggest data integration challenge.

A gap was also identified between the prospects for AI adoption and actual data utilization capabilities.

Responding companies predicted that 42% of their entire processes would be AI-supported within the next year, and that this would expand to 54% by 2030.

However, 43% answered that they are currently unable to effectively utilize the collected data.

In terms of cybersecurity, 46% of responding companies experienced a security incident in the past year, and 43% cited security and regulatory compliance as major considerations for purchasing MES.

Anthony Murphy, Vice President of Product Management at Rockwell Automation, said, “Adopting MES itself is no longer the biggest obstacle; extending it across the entire enterprise and value“Realizing this has become a key task,” he said, adding, “When production sites and data are connected, opportunities to utilize AI also increase.”

Lorenzo Veronesi, an associate researcher at IDC, stated, “Leaving disconnected systems and underutilized data unattended can result in missing out on significant business value.”