Helping an ERP system integrate with a food production system

A manufacturer in the dairy sector was planning to install a new ERP system to provide overall management of their organization. What they needed was a way to allow that Microsoft NAV solution to work with the information flow already present in the company. They asked a team whose members are now part of Verus to design and develop a Manufacturing Execution System (MES) -- one that would integrate the new ERP system with the technology on the plant floor, the existing reporting system, and additional systems.

Our team asked questions and learned about how the company’s work was done. We recommended that a custom web-based application would provide flexibility, low cost, and be able to expand to meet the company’s growing needs. We designed and built the web application using the latest technologies, including ASP, .Net, MVC, Java, and SQL Server. This application was then integrated into Wonderware’s powerful ArchestrA framework, and then deployed to the plant floor using Intouch. The application communicates with the NAV ERP system as well as other business systems, so that senior management have access to all available data about the plant operation.

As a result, company management can track product consumption and routing, manage inventory creation, movement, and inventory levels – and it is all tied to customer orders. Personnel can input data using barcode scanners, manual input, and automated processes. The solution also facilitates QA data input and links to reports.