Generic software fails manufacturers
Too many food manufacturing execution systems (MES) are failing to meet food and drink firms' expectations because they are overly generic and need to be reconfigured to suit their needs, according to one IT supplier.
"It is widely believed that three-quarters of MES implementations do not achieve any real outcomes for their buyers," said Mark Sutcliffe, general manager for CDC Factory, a packaged suit of management software systems just launched for food companies by CDC Software.
MES was a sector populated by players producing "tool kits", said Sutcliffe. "They are not finished solutions from a client perspective at all.
"MES is full of people selling components to possible future solutions."
Sutcliffe said that it was common for costs to reach three times the initial purchase price in order to program a traditional MES for use in a particular food factory.
By contrast, CDC Factory incurred costs of one-third the system price, he claimed, but "not anything spent on programing - it's all on working practices and how you apply it"
The cost of the CDC Factory system ranged from "six to seven figures", depending on the number of factories in which it was installed, he said.
The package is already being implemented by several UK food manufacturers, including Premier Foods, Heinz, Uniq, Greencore, Dairy Crest and Kerry Foods.
The package integrates finite factory scheduling, MES, real-time performance management, quality, maintenance and analytical processes.
It offers different levels of access to staff ranging from shop floor workers to directors to help boost plant and equipment efficiency.
