While both MES and APS find application in manufacturing, they diverge significantly in several aspects. Let’s examine how the systems compare across various factors:
MES vs. APS: Purpose
MES serves as an executive management system, focusing on real-time tracking and oversight of manufacturing processes. It provides information on production progress, resource management, quality control, time tracking, and personnel management. Its main goal is to optimize manufacturing processes within the factory.
APS focuses on optimizing production planning based on available resources like machinery, materials, and time, scheduling production to minimize expenses and execution time while maximizing efficiency.
MES vs. APS: Operational scope
MES operates at the execution level, close to the manufacturing line. Its goal is to monitor and directly manage manufacturing processes such as quality control, time tracking, resource allocation, and operational management in real-time.
APS operates at a higher planning level, developing schedules based on diverse data inputs like resource availability, customer orders, execution time, and other factors. APS comprises long-term, medium-term, and short-term planning to optimize production processes on multiple levels.
MES vs. APS: Operation time
MES operates in real-time and delivers up-to-date information on production states and executive activities.
APS engages in the planning process based on available data, although not necessarily in real-time, forecasting and generating production schedules based on prior information.
MES vs. APS: Scale of application
MES primarily operates within factories and manufacturing facilities, optimizing processes on an operational scale.
APS finds application both within manufacturing facilities and across the entire supply chain. It is used to optimize production planning and scheduling in a broader operational context.