Busting the Myths and Misconceptions of MES

Transcript

Stan Miller: Hello everyone and welcome to ROK Studios. I’m Stan Miller, I’m the PR & Analyst Relations Manager for Rockwell Automation in the EMEA Region, and I’m joined by Sarah Dana. She is Head of Information Solutions for North Europe, Middle East, and Africa. Sarah, welcome to the studio. 

Sarah Dana: Hello, Stan. Thank you very much.

Stan Miller: So, we’re here today to talk about dispelling some of the myths and misconceptions around MES. I think this is a great topic and I can’t wait to get your perspective on what you hear from customers and how you help them understand the opportunities around this technology. So, let’s get started.

Sarah Dana: Absolutely.

Stan Miller: All right. So, to start us off, what are some of the main myths or misconceptions you hear in your conversations with customers around MES? You see them coming up over and over again. Are there any that are particularly common in your discussions?

Sarah Dana: Well, that’s a very, very good question. So, when we’re speaking to clients, we hear a lot, it’s not for us, it’s for a large organizations, and that’s not true. It’s actually good for small and medium, you see outcomes, you see business efficiency, you drive those efficiencies in any level or any size of company, it doesn’t have to be large. 

Another conception which is talking about, it’s difficult, it’s too complex. If you choose the right partner, the company that is really going to support you, drive this, they’ve done it already with multiple customers before, they’ve proved the value to organizations, it won’t be difficult for them to see value, it's actually a partnership. And one of the last things that I’ll also touch on, which is it’s mainly too difficult or too expensive, let’s say. 

It’s not about how much you spend on it, it’s how much can you drive business outcomes that you can be reducing the cost that is equivalent to the price that you’re paying or more. And you can go the modular approach, where you can go step by step, you don’t have to go all in from day one. So, these are the areas that we see most of the time with our clients.

Stan Miller: All really good points. What about the perception that MES adoption could replace workers?

Sarah Dana: Yeah, I’ve heard that a lot. So, many workers would actually be scared about their jobs, even though it’s a very like wrong idea, because it drives efficiency, it drives productivity, they do their jobs better, more efficient and it actually creates more jobs for people that’s driven by innovation. So, it’s definitely not true, it opens new opportunities for others, more innovative jobs for the workers, and definitely not eliminating them.

Stan Miller: What role does leadership play in dispelling these types of myths? When you’re talking with customers – you know, where does that leadership role play in, in helping level-set and create understanding?

Sarah Dana: So, it has to be driven by top. If you speak to someone who’s too technical within the organization or very much driven with the technology, it doesn’t go right, it has to be driven by business outcomes. So, you take the leadership from top, they have to adopt it, and it’s no longer you get a vendor to deploy something for you, it’s a partnership, it’s a pure partnership. 

So, they need to drive it from top to make sure that within the organization, there is change management, they make sure that the adoption is happening at every level. They also need to speak the language and to understand where do we start? Do we start with the use case brings the most business outcomes for us? It’s not about the technology only, it’s all about the business outcomes and the roadmap that you build together. So, there’s a very critical role here for the leadership team, because they have to drive it and they have to make sure throughout the journey that they’re leading it.

Stan Miller: So, you’ve mentioned it a few times, let’s drill into it a little bit. What are some of the key benefits that come from MES implementation – you know, once that mindset is set and things are moving forward?

Sarah Dana: So, operational efficiency is definitely key because you’re making sure that your processes are efficient, your people are doing the right things at the right time, and also, your assets are driven in the right way. So, you make sure that the business outcomes from the process that you run is highly efficient so you save time, you save efforts, you reduce scrap, rework, you make sure that you avoid down time. 

So, those are areas that you make sure that you’re driving efficiency, where you are, and you take it to the next level. So, every organization, it doesn’t have to start from zero, wherever their level is or the maturity is, they take it to the next level after – like from where they are to the higher levels.

Stan Miller: Fantastic. Sarah, thank you so much for helping us understand and provide some clarity around these myths and misconceptions. I think you really helped us get a better understanding of the value of the technology and how it connects to the business outcomes of these companies, so I really appreciate your time today, thank you.

Sarah Dana: Thank you.

Stan Miller: And thank you for watching. If you’d like to learn more about MES technology, visit www.rockwellautomation.com.