“The Connected Enterprise is really Rockwell Automation’s vision around Industry 4.0” –Luca De Ferrari

With Digital Transformation and the Connected Enterprise coming to life, sometimes the terminology can get confusing. For example, many people are familiar with a Manufacturing Execution System (MES), but with terms like ‘IoT Platform’ starting to pop up, it’s becoming harder to discern what’s what and – more importantly – what’s right for your manufacturing operation.

Fortunately, Information Software Sales Executive Luca De Ferrari from Rockwell Automation jumps on the show this week to clear up some of the confusion. Luca shares what characterizes both an MES and an IoT platform – such as PTC’s ThingWorx – and dives into how both of them ultimately end up working together. If you want to read into the details, scroll past the links below!

Learn more about Manufacturing Execution Systems here: [ Ссылка ]
Follow this link to dive into PTC’s ThingWorx IoT Platform: [ Ссылка ]

MES – A Manufacturing Execution System (MES) is the software layer between the control system – the layer which controls the plant floor – and ERP system – which manages financial data. In essence, an MES fills the information gap by contextualizing the information between those two layers. It’s governed by the principles outlined in ISA-95, the international standard from the International Society of Automation (ISA) for developing an automated interface between enterprise and control systems.

IoT Platform – While the MES bridges the gap between the enterprise and the plant floor – allowing manufacturers to execute orders seamlessly – an IoT platform typically is an overlay on top of the MES. An IoT platform like ThingWorx takes information from the MES and other systems, and contextualizes that information to provide analytics. It’s basically an agile way to interface with the MES and other systems across a manufacturing operation.

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