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The path from ERP to the world of PREFAB

Construction is not standing still and innovative companies are responding to this. One of our clients has also decided to modernize their IT in order to be able to make a further professionalization. Marcadus has been involved in the selection process of the right Manufacturing Execution System (MES) and has carried out a successful Proof of Concept (POC) together with the MES implementation partner.

Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES)

The fact that construction does not stand still and that there are innovative companies that respond to the increasing demand for insulation proves one of our valued relations. By combining this demand with new applications in the PREFAB industry, new market segments have emerged that ensure strong growth of activities in the civil concrete construction, road construction and flooring industry.

In order to make this growth possible on a permanent basis, our client has decided to look ahead and modernize their IT. This as a means to make a further professionalization step. To be able to make optimal use of new opportunities and to permanently strengthen our own market position. 

But how do you manage your valuable machine park, where semi-finished and finished products are produced, with work orders from an ERP system and plan, produce and monitor them? In other words, how do you select and implement the right Manufacturing Execution System (MES) and ensure that it also works in an operational environment? One of Marcadus' senior consultants was asked to do this and was able to directly contribute his experience to this process and set to work energetically with a multidisciplinary team. Employees eventually had to switch from Excel and other ad-hoc documents to a completely new ERP system with an extensive MES system linked to it. Not only did a different way of working have to be determined,but the requirements and wishes of the ERP implementation team also had to be taken into account.

Based on this experience and with the knowledge that a good start is more than half the battle, attention was first paid to drawing up the joint requirements. Not only from an overall program, but especially from the challenging mix of operational requirements, standardization, process efficiency, additional requirements and user-friendliness. After all, solutions that really work on the shop floor and are integrated in the ERP system were the steps necessary for further professionalization. Selecting and implementing a new IT application is always a challenge, but a wrong start is even worse.

After this first step in the preparation, the selection process has started for choosing the right MES implementation partner. From a critical process we worked from a "long list" to a "short list" and ultimately the right supplier was selected for our client. Together with this MES implementation partner, a successful "Proof of Concept" (POC) was carried out in the second part of 2020. Despite the Corona crisis, in which the process was in the middle, effective workshops were organized, partly remotely and partly on location.

The aim of the POC was to demonstrate that the chosen ERP/MES solution could be successful, but also work in an operational environment. For a limited number of machines, a link has therefore been made between the ERP and MES and it has also been successfully demonstrated that the chosen solution is easy to implement. This has completed a challenging phase and the planning for a full rollout can be further elaborated.

Solutions that work in the field, and fit in with the challenges of the world of PREFAB, ensure that the previously chosen path of modernization of IT solutions provides our client with a good basis for a solid future.

If you would like to know more about these or other challenging assignments from our experts, please let us know. Mail us at info@marcadus.com

Case manager

Frans van den Berg

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