This new study 'Vendor Assessment: MES Strategies Part 2 -- Selecting the Right MES Application' indicates that these organisations are not sure whether it is best to use a best-of-breed MES suite or simpler functions available from their favourite enterprise resource planning (ERP), supply chain management (SCM), or product life-cycle management (PLM) vendors.

IDC's report provides a competitive analysis of the top seven global manufacturing execution system (MES) vendors, and claims this study will help manufacturers to orient the choice for their initial shortlist of potential MES vendors.

The research firm suggests it is critical for chief information officers (CIOs) to change their mindset and consider the MES as a corporate-wide business application. It is time for manufacturers to move away from the traditional deployment of MES that was typically plant-centric and local, with minimal or no involvement of corporate IT.

"Manufacturers must be ready to make rapid corrections to their tactics following fast-changing demand, shorter product lifecycles, and opportunities to exploit new or emerging markets," said Pierfrancesco Manenti, EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) research director, IDC Manufacturing Insights. "In this environment, we believe manufacturers should directly manage the selection, implementation, and maintenance of the manufacturing execution system. It is as important as their ERP, SCM, PLM, and CRM systems."