Application of MES/MOM for Industry 4.0 supply chains: A cross-case analysis

Manufacturing is facing challenges in integrating information technology (IT) with operational technology (OT) and implementing Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) concepts in the industry to increase manufacturing flexibility. This paper addresses the research gap in designing and using next-generation manufacturing execution systems (MES)/manufacturing operations management (MOM) in IIoT to improve manufacturing flexibility through reconfigurability. For this, we follow an abductive research design and build on the literature on Industry 4.0′s information architectures and models to propose a framework for building smart factory capabilities. Using the framework, we collect empirical data on MES/MOM implementation objectives for smart factories for six case studies conducted over a 4-year research project in Denmark (2018–2021), primarily through semi-structured interviews. Through cross-case analysis, we identify seven dominant themes that capture focus areas for MES/MOM implementation for IT/OT integration. We use these findings to present generalized design recommendations for IIoT-connected MES/MOM to support reconfigurability for Industry 4.0 supply chains. Our findings indicate that despite considerable investments from many companies in Industry 4.0 initiatives such as artificial intelligence-based analytics and digital twins, the industry is not yet in a state to extract the data from all its legacy production equipment. Therefore, we present design recommendations to enable Industry 4.0 supply chains with IIoT-connected MES/MOM by using the data from OT devices. Our analysis helps us conclude that open standards and open application programming interfaces (APIs) are key requirements for enhancing IIoT interconnectivity and interoperability to achieve end-to-end integration in supply chains.