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The increase in volume of data within a shop floor and the complexity of networking within a plant requires systems that make the flow of data easy to handle. Manufacturing Execution System (MES), is considered the heart of data within the process, discrete, and hybrid industries.

MES is the layer of controller software that connects the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) with the actual production shop floor process. The true value of MES is that it offers complete interoperability, allowing shop floor information to be easily visible to the management team. Decisions are made that go back to the shop floor for instant implementation. MES takes all the data from smart sensor, condition monitoring, as well as customer production orders and combines it into a readable dashboard view with details on what the cycle times and idle times are and how much energy is being used by the machines in the shop floor.

As technology advances, software solution developers also progress in offering innovative solutions. This has led to firms suggesting that MES is not required anymore as a standalone solution. As Internet of Things (IoT) offers to connect and obtain data from different resources within a plant, firms believe that IoT would be sufficient to manage and complete production. However, this is not the case, as the benefits and advancements of IoT are largely misunderstood.