Where is the ROI on MES?
We are often asked to help justify Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) solutions in order to get capital approval to move forward. This is a monumental task because MES systems are very difficult to justify on hard savings.
One of the reasons MES solutions are hard to justify is they help you with many “soft” improvements. Deming said “You cannot improve what you cannot see.” MES solutions help you see what you need to improve, and help you systematize your improvements. What is that worth?
Here are some practical items you can focus on for your justification:
1. What manual data collection can be eliminated? What does that cost in real labor? Not only in the people collecting the data, but those the scrub it, chart it, report it, and debate its accuracy. (Reduces Cost)
2. What “oops” problems could be eliminated with more synergy in the manufacturing process? Wrong labels on parts or containers, shipping product that had questionable parts/processes, quality spills, adding value to known bad product? (Reduces Cost)
3. Could you increase velocity or agility if you could manage complexity and proliferation of your products? Would you still have to hire extra expediters? Would you have to build the new line? Would you be able to take on more work? (Increases Revenue)
4. Could you provide better visibility into your operations for your customers? What would better customer service do for your relationship with your existing customers? Would they give you more work? (Increases Revenue)
5. Have you had a quality spill you can quantify? What did it cost? What if you could eliminate or reduce the cost of the next one? (Reduces Cost)
As I write this, I think this post could be turned into a multi-part series… Feel free to contact me if you need more ideas for justification.
