The Industry 4.0 revolution and the future of Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES)

• Main Author: Francisco Almada-Lobo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade do Porto, Faculdade de Engenharia (FEUP) 2016-01-01
• Series: Journal of Innovation Management
• Subjects: industry 4.0; cyber-physical systems; manufacturing execution systems.
• Online Access: https://journalsojs3.fe.up.pt/index.php/jim/article/view/300

Industry 4.0 dictates the end of traditional centralized applications for production control. Its vision of ecosystems of smart factories with intelligent and autonomous shop-floor entities is inherently decentralized. Responding to customer demands for tailored products, these plants fueled by technology enablers such as 3D printing, Internet of Things, Cloud computing, Mobile Devices and Big Data, among others create a totally new environment. The manufacturing systems of the future, including manufacturing execution systems (MES) will have to be built to support this paradigm shift.