Manufacturing Executive - November 2008 - (Page 13) m aybe it’s time for a name change. Call it demand-driven manufacturing. Or call it supply chain agility. Or, if you prefer, continue to call it by the name that might make a chief executive yawn: manufacturing execution systems. Whatever you call it, a wave of MES acquisitions and partnerships by automation and ERP vendors has propelled MES software from what was an idiosyncratic, custom-built factory tool into a broad, out-of-the box analytical executive decision maker capable of instantly changing plant activity in reaction to shifting demand. For several years, automation vendors such as Rockwell Automation, Siemens, Invensys, and GE Fanuc have fed that trend by buying MES and business intelligence companies, and integrating shop floor information into ERP systems. ERP vendors, on the other hand, have pursued a strategy of partnering with MES companies. But that changed in July when ERP market leader SAP acquired MES specialist Visiprise. That acquisition sharpened market battle lines that have been developing for several years over which group of technology suppliers will capture what has become known as the manufacturing operations management (MOM) arena. From a technology point of view, MOM
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