Manufacturing Operations Management

MES (Manufacturing Execution System) focuses specifically on shop floor execution and real-time production tracking. ERP handles business-level functions like finance, procurement, and order management. MOM encompasses both MES capabilities and broader operational functions including production planning, quality management, inventory control, and workforce management – providing a complete operational layer between ERP and the shop floor. iFactory integrates with your existing ERP while providing the full MOM suite.

iFactory supports discrete manufacturing (automotive, electronics, machinery), process manufacturing (chemicals, food & beverage, pharmaceuticals), batch manufacturing, and hybrid/mixed-mode environments. The platform is configurable for make-to-stock, make-to-order, engineer-to-order, and assemble-to-order production strategies. Industry-specific templates for automotive (IATF 16949), pharma (FDA 21 CFR Part 11), food (HACCP), and aerospace (AS9100) are included out of the box.

iFactory's AI scheduler analyzes historical production data, current orders, machine capacity, material availability, workforce schedules, and changeover times to generate optimized production schedules. It automatically sequences jobs to minimize changeovers, balances workload across lines, predicts bottlenecks before they occur, and can re-schedule in real-time when disruptions happen. Facilities using AI scheduling report 40% faster changeovers and 15% higher throughput.

Yes. iFactory supports all major industrial protocols including OPC-UA, Modbus TCP/RTU, Ethernet/IP, MQTT, PROFINET, and MTConnect. We connect directly to PLCs (Siemens, Allen-Bradley, Mitsubishi, Omron), SCADA systems, CNC controllers, and IoT sensors for automatic data collection – cycle counts, downtime events, temperature, vibration, and more. No manual data entry required. Our integration team handles connectivity setup during implementation.

A single production line can go live in 2–4 weeks with our cloud-native platform. Full facility rollouts with IoT integration, ERP connectivity, and multi-line deployment typically complete in 6–12 weeks. Enterprise rollouts across multiple sites are phased over 3–6 months. Operators become proficient within 4–8 hours of training thanks to our intuitive touch-screen interfaces designed for the shop floor.

iFactory tracks comprehensive manufacturing KPIs including OEE (and its components: Availability, Performance, Quality), throughput, cycle time, takt time, first-pass yield, scrap rate, changeover time, MTBF, MTTR, capacity utilization, on-time delivery, labor productivity, cost per unit, and inventory turns. All metrics are available in real-time dashboards with drill-down capability from plant level to individual machine level.

iFactory is cloud-native with optional hybrid deployment for manufacturers requiring on-premise data residency. The cloud platform provides automatic updates, elastic scaling, and global accessibility. For critical real-time operations, edge computing nodes at the plant ensure sub-second response times even if internet connectivity is interrupted. All data is encrypted at rest and in transit, meeting ISO 27001 and SOC 2 security standards.