MFX Manufacturing Execution System (MES) Components
Shipping Schedule Module
Always know what customer orders are coming up, what orders are filled and what orders are worked on. Manage daily operations including logistics, production planning and production off of your aggregate demand schedule. Our system lets you see operate off of customer orders or customer and stock orders. From the time an order is placed to the time it's filled and shipped, you can see the fulfilment cycle in real-time. Cross-functional teamwork is enabled by a common set of data and common goals.
- Maximize visibility into the Supply Chain
- Customer-focused workflows improve transparency and customer satisfaction
- Integrate Logistics, Quality Control and Production communications in real-time
Loading Log
Facilitate daily loading of product into tank wagon trucks, box trucks and trailers or railcars with guided checklist approach. The system will highlight the information fields needed at each step and may require supervisor approvals for certain values that deviate from the norm. With Loading Log, plants are able to send trucks on their way like clockwork. Make loading process repeatable and reproducible by Lean/Six Sigma standards and maximize the value of operations.
- Guided loading process and truck/railcar inspection forms
- Automated shipping documents creation on the fly
- Integrated Quality Control — QC approved lot and certificate of analysis are fed from QC module when ready
Customer Notification and Communication System
Add a layer of transparency to your Supply Chain by including your customers in the distribution of notifications automatically sent out by the system at each stage of Order-to-Cash process. Let your customer know the status of each order and remove the headache from your Customer Service department while boosting customer confidence. Have our CNCS module do the heavy lifting for you.
- Configurable message templates with attachments
- Configurable distribution lists for different system events
- Robust mailing with 100% traceability and archiving of notifications
Railcar Management Module
If your plant sends or receives railcars with product, RCM module will help you make sense of the intricate railroad carrier operations, long wait times and drill-ins and drill-outs. RCM assists with carrier communication and order/railcar status tracking. It is the go-to place for plant personnel for current railhead / siding status updates.
- Easy access to current and historic railcar inventory
- Railcar database tracks characteristics of all railcars ever used by your plant
- Railcar outage tables allow for accurate product weight calculations for loading/unloading
Production Planning Suite
We take Production Planning to a whole new level via tight integration between planned schedule and resource availability. We detect tank usage conflicts, control and validate intermediate lots, trace component production via lot control, integrate with Quality Control and with Production / Batch Control and alert planners and designated personnel to deviations from the planned production levels.
- Planning is integrated with Production and planners see in real-time how their schedule is executed.
- Automatic creation of intermediate product lots for full lot traceability.
- Tank usage conflicts are visible in planning and in execution stages.
Production Control Modules
Our Production Control Modules serve customers at the production facilities in day-to-day operations. The modules consist of:
- Desktop Production Schedule (DPS) software that allows Control Room operators and individual work centers to see scheduled production runs that are coming up.
- Desktop Blend Schedule (DBS) software that keeps records of specific blend ratios, products, lot numbers and storage tanks as operators make the blend. We record details of transfers of product between storage tanks as instructed by the planners.
- Batch Log software facilitates execution of production recipe steps with a guided checklist, control point recording, SCADA integration and automation and quality alerts to make sure the production process adheres to best manufacturing practices.
Quality Control Modules
Record Quality Control sample test results in the QC module using robust test specification management technology. Configure generic or customer-specific specifications to meet the needs of your business and have a reliable audit trail of all QC work.
- Fully integrated QC module is able to collect and share data from various points in production, packaging and shipping processes.
- Auto-generated barcoded sample labels allow for quick sampling, quick delivery to the lab and convenient sample check-in. This is ideal for high volume labs.
- Lab test results can be seen in numerous configurable pivoted views for trend analysis.
Product Data Management Module
Product Data Management (PDM) module is a fully auditable product specification repository that stores all relevant product-centric information for use by plant management and production operators.
- PDM module is built on a robust product specification platform with configurable rules, parameters and specifications.
- PDM offers formula-driven live calculators for various purposes such as non-linear additive quantity calculations.
- PDM versions all specifications and provides complete audit trail of all changes for compliance.
Dashboard Module
Our dashboards offer a range of views into real-time production performance indicators for processing equipment and blending or transfer pipelines. The views are configurable and can be set up to use primary system data or statistical data.
- Robust dashboard platform with configurable views
- Integrated data access and reduced implementation time for new views
- All data can be exported easily from any view
Feedback Management Module
FMM provides transparency into external and internal feedback regarding finished product. Its greatest value is in tracking customer complaints and praises that align with specific operations behaviors. Collect "Voice of the Customer" data, perform rigorous trend analysis and find Continuous Improvement opportunities.
- Customer Feedback and internal feedback is associated with specific orders and/or departments.
- FMM offers multiple ways of associating feedback with operational activities.
- FMM workflow triggers notification events, which can notify customers automatically when complaints are reviewed and addressed.
Personnel Calendar Management Module
Track shift operator schedule that is critical to daily operations as well as plant management staff schedule. This module feeds shift operator and lab technician schedule data into Shift Reports and dashboards for accountability on each shift.
- Maintain shift schedule for various shift groups
- Track individual Paid Time Off
- Track substitutes in production shifts
Receiving Schedule Module
Manage receiving of raw materials from sourcing to receiving on site. Let planners request the materials they need for Procurement/Sourcing to procure. Planners will be informed on the status of their requests from beginning to end.
- Production Planners get full transparency into the purchasing process of raw materials they request.
- Receiving module provides events into the communication module (CNCS) such that planners and any other internal or external staff can subscribe to them and get notified as raw materials are sourced and delivered.
- Receiving module handles the full cycle from sourcing to receiving raw materials at the plant, so plant staff receiving shipment has fewer steps to go through and all surprises are eliminated.
Lot Management Module
Our Lot Management module offers end-to-end lot traceability from receiving to shipping. We work with planned and actual lots as product progresses through all stages of production.
- Configurable unique lot numbering
- Support for user-entered and date-based lots
- Lot dependencies and lot consumption are validated
Recipe Management Module
Manage bulk processing recipes in this version control system. Recipes can be configured for each processing equipment line or by Equipment/Product. Recipes have all the necessary steps operators must follow to ensure successful production of each run or batch.
- Generic recipe steps can be preconfigured for easier management of recipes.
- All recipes are versioned and auditable.
- Recipes are easily managed in a dedicated web interface as hierarchical structures.
Industrial Worksheet Management Module
Worksheets module brings the best of both worlds of Excel-type spreadsheet formulas and robust records keeping. Our worksheets are used by Quality Assurance technicians to record observations and perform calculations on the spot using our user formula engine. Worksheets are also be used to track equipment maintenance. It's an easy mechanism to configure that ensures data continuity and proper data retention.
- Robust version control for worksheet specifications
- Excel-style formula engine supports automatic calculations
- Users enter records that never get lost and are properly retained for compliance
Inventory Management Module
Inventory Management module consists of different views into the raw material, intermediate and finished product inventory organized by storage tanks. The module provides planners with a view into planned and actual inventory in each storage tank. The data can be fed from SCADA automation systems when tanks are equipped with level sensors or taken from manually entered inventory.
- Tank inventory is integrated with all other modules of the system, so it collects all product movements when product is received, processed and picked up by transportation companies.
- Tank balances are reconciled against actual readings from automation systems or against manual inventory
- All tank product history is tracked together with basic statistics on tank usage by product.
Promotional Sample Tracking Module
The PRMS module offers Opportunity Management and Promotional Sample Tracking. New business development is organized as projects that may contain series of different promotional samples that end up winning new business.
- PRMS offers 2 ways of handling QC test data for promotional samples. Data can be pulled from integrated QC module or entered manually.
- PRMS offers a set of email notifications but can also be integrated with CNCS module for more robust external and internal notifications.
- PRMS also serves as a data repository for attachments to sample requests saved by the staff.
Demand Forecasting and Reporting
Our Forecasting and Reporting module provides a demand forecast data collection platform for organizations that utilize rolling forecast or fixed forecast time frames. We provide multiple views for forecast contributors to work with their forecast. They can work with forecasted volume, packaging and revenue views and see SKUs across individual months or across months with prior year sales and automatic variance calculations for basic analytics of Year-On-Year growth.
- Fluid organizational hierarchy support. If your Chart of Accounts rollup mapping changes frequently, we've got you covered.
- Sales-Rep/Account level user security. We offer two type of user security where users can see data only for their respective accounts or where they can see each other's areas as well.
- Working Pivot Table Excel reporting. We provide an option for users to generate Excel reports with fully functional Pivot Tables that they can manipulate to zero in on the data elements of interest.
Warehouse Management
We offer Warehouse Management System (WMS) integration services through our partners. We have industry-specific expertise in WMS integrations and are able to improve the probability of success significantly for WMS implementations in Beverages and in Food Oils industries.
- We have experience in WMS integrations in Food & Beverage industries.
- We have designed data interfaces between WMS, ERP and MES systems.
- We can help reduce the cost of WMS implementations.
