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Difference between ERP system and MES system

Release time:2025-03-22
First, ERP system
ERP system is responsible for the overall planning of various resources in the enterprise, including finance, procurement, sales, production and other aspects. Simply put, ERP system is to integrate all kinds of complex business processes in the enterprise, so that enterprise managers can see the overall operation of the enterprise from a macro perspective, so as to make more reasonable decisions. Sample ERP system > > https://s.fanruan.com/qnqaj

For example, an ERP system can help a sales team identify leads, track sales opportunities, and follow up on customer needs in a timely manner, which not only improves the productivity of the sales team, but also enhances customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Taking ERP system as an example, the overall architecture design aims to achieve efficient management of enterprise operations through intelligent manufacturing center (SMMP). The architecture covers six core modules: customer management, sales management, procurement management, technical management, production management and inventory management.

Overall architecture design: Intelligent manufacturing center (SMMP) as the core, to achieve efficient management of enterprise operations. The framework covers six core modules: customer management, sales management, procurement management, technical management, production management and inventory management.

Customer management module: support customer information input, summary and analysis. Follow up visits and follow-up records, maintain and develop customer relationships.

Sales management module: covers the whole process of sales contract signing, business flow, delivery, quality inspection, returns and sales analysis. Ensure smooth and efficient sales process.

Procurement, technology and production management module: Integrated procurement management, covering contract management, material quality inspection and other links. Technical management involves process design and optimization. Production management includes production planning and execution. Inventory management ensures effective control of materials and finished products.

Data support and service platform: Relying on intelligent Manufacturing Center (SMMP), data analysis and service platform. Provide data support and service guarantee. Promote the upgrading of intelligent manufacturing.


Second, MES system
MES (Manufacturing Execution System) focuses on workshop production management and scheduling, and can accurately track and record the whole process from raw material input to finished product output. Through close integration with enterprise management systems (such as ERP) or product lifecycle management systems (PLM), MES systems ensure the coordination of order processes and production plans, and synchronize the execution of production instructions in real time, thereby improving production efficiency and management accuracy.

For example, on the production line, the MES system can monitor the operating status of the equipment in real time, and if the equipment fails, it will immediately issue an alarm to notify the maintenance personnel to deal with it in time. At the same time, the MES system can also adjust the production plan according to the production schedule, such as a certain order is completed in advance, it can allocate the remaining capacity to other orders, so that production efficiency is maximized. MES system can also carry out real-time monitoring of product quality, if found quality problems, you can trace the root of the problem in time to avoid defective products into the market.


The picture shows the MES system architecture diagram

Third, the difference between ERP and MES system
In the enterprise management system, ERP system and MES system play completely different but complementary roles. Although they all serve enterprise operations, there are significant differences in focus, real-time data and functional focus.


(1) Differences in focus
ERP system focuses on the overall enterprise resource planning and business process integration, focusing on the macro level of management. It comprehensively coordinates all kinds of resources of the enterprise, such as human, material and financial resources, and plans and coordinates the long-term development strategy, annual business plan and cross-departmental business processes of the enterprise. For example, when making the annual production plan, it is necessary to comprehensively consider many factors such as market demand forecast, raw material supply capacity, equipment capacity and human resource allocation to ensure the efficiency and coordination of the overall operation of the enterprise.

The MES system focuses on the real-time monitoring and execution of the production site, focusing on the production management at the micro level. It pays close attention to every link of the production line, collects and processes all kinds of data in the production process in real time, such as the operating status of equipment, the consumption of materials, the operation progress of workers, etc., in order to timely discover and solve the problems in the production site and ensure the smooth progress of production activities. For example, when equipment fails, MES systems can immediately sound an alarm and provide information about the failure to help maintenance personnel quickly locate and resolve the problem.

(2) Real-time difference of data
The data update frequency of ERP system is relatively low, which is because it mainly deals with the overall business process and resource planning of the enterprise, and some data does not need to be updated in real time. For example, the financial statements of enterprises are usually updated on a daily, weekly or monthly basis to meet management needs. The processing of financial data involves a large number of accounts verification, summary and other work, too frequent update not only increases the work burden, but also may not provide more timely and effective support for decision-making.

MES systems require data to be updated in real time, because the situation on the production site changes rapidly. The sudden shutdown of the equipment, the advance or lag of the production schedule, the fluctuation of product quality, etc., need to be timely feedback to the relevant personnel in order to quickly adjust the production plan and strategy. For example, when the product defect rate of a certain process is found to suddenly increase, the real-time feedback data of the MES system can enable managers to take immediate measures, such as suspending production, checking equipment, adjusting process parameters, etc., to avoid a large number of defective products.

(3) Differences in functional focus
ERP system has comprehensive functions, covering finance, procurement, sales, production and other fields, is a comprehensive management system. In terms of finance, it can handle accounts, generate financial statements, cost accounting, etc. In the procurement process, supplier management, purchase order generation and tracking can be realized; Sales field, can complete customer management, sales order processing, delivery and collection operations. Each function module is interrelated to provide support for the overall operation and management of the enterprise.


MES system function is relatively focused, mainly concentrated in the production process monitoring, scheduling and quality management. In the production monitoring, real-time collection of equipment, materials, personnel and other data, with an intuitive interface to display the production status; Scheduling function according to the production plan, equipment capacity, material supply and other factors, reasonable arrangement of production tasks, optimize the production process; In terms of quality management, quality inspection of products in the production process, record quality data, analyze quality problems, and ensure that product quality meets standards.


(4) System architecture differences
ERP systems usually adopt a more centralized architecture to meet the enterprise's needs for unified management and analysis of the overall data. It centrally stores the data of various departments in a central database, and carries out data processing and business process control through a unified platform. This architecture is conducive to macro decision-making and overall resource allocation, but the response speed may be relatively slow for complex and changing situations on the production site.

MES system architecture is more inclined to distributed and modular to adapt to the diverse equipment, process and business needs of the production site. It can set up multiple distributed subsystems or modules according to different production areas, equipment types or business processes, and each module can operate independently and cooperate with each other. For example, in a large plant, MES modules in different workshops can be customized according to their production characteristics, while also interacting with other workshops and the upper level ERP system.

(5) Implementation cycle and difficulty differences
The implementation period of ERP system is long and difficult. Because it involves the business process sorting and integration of multiple departments of the enterprise, it requires a lot of preliminary research, program design and coordination and communication among various departments. At the same time, the ERP system has high requirements for the basic data of the enterprise, and the accuracy and integrity of the data directly affect the operation effect of the system. For example, in the implementation process, it is necessary to comprehensively comb and standardize the material code, supplier information, customer information, etc., which is often time-consuming and laborious.

The implementation period of MES system is relatively short and the difficulty is small. It is mainly optimized for the production site, and the business scope is relatively concentrated. Although integration with production equipment and other information systems is also required, relatively few departments and business processes are involved. Moreover, the implementation of MES system can be carried out step by step according to the production needs, first in some production lines or workshops pilot operation, and then gradually promoted after success, reducing the implementation risk.

Fourth, ERP and MES system synergy
Although ERP and MES systems differ in function and role, they are not isolated, but complement each other. ERP system can provide MES system with production plan and resource allocation information, MES system can feed back to ERP system the actual implementation of the production site. For example, the ERP system makes a production plan according to the sales order, and the MES system will arrange the production according to the plan, and give real-time feedback on the production progress and quality problems. If the MES system finds that the production schedule is behind, it can inform the ERP system to adjust the procurement plan or sales plan in time to ensure that the overall operation of the enterprise can proceed smoothly.


conclusion
In short, ERP and MES systems play an important role in the operation of enterprises, they have their own responsibilities, but also cooperate with each other, and jointly promote the efficient and stable development of enterprises. Enterprises can choose the right ERP and MES system according to their actual situation, so that they can better serve the operation and development of enterprises.