What is MES?
Manufacturing Execution System
A system that instructs and records what is made and how it is made on the factory shop floor.
What it means
MES is a system that bridges planning and actual production. “Make a few of these” is communicated to the shop floor, and the quantity made, materials used, time taken, and inspection results are recorded on the spot.
It deals with the moment when goods actually move, such as receipt of materials, production output according to work orders, inspection, and shipment. Records are also left here to keep track of which products were made with which materials.
At the pen factory
In a ballpoint pen factory, a shop floor terminal does this. When Supervisor Park puts the 50 pens he made this morning into the terminal, the stock of ballpoint pens increases and the stock of parts decreases.
Why it matters
If you only have a plan and no shop floor records, the office won't know how much has been made or how much material is left. When a problem occurs, there are no records to trace back the cause.
How this differs from ERP
If ERP determines “100 pens was made to Hanbit Stationery by November 5th,” MES records “50 pens was created in the morning and 50 pens in the afternoon on November 4th.” In small factories, one system may perform both roles.
Related terms
- ERPA system that manages the entire company's affairs in one place, such as orders, purchases, inventory, and money.
- Work orderTelling the shop floor what to make and how many pieces to make.
- Production outputA record of how many work orders were actually made.
- LOT numberA number assigned to a batch that comes in or is created at one time.