APS, ERP and MES systems integration for semiconductor backend assembly

Within the framework of Industry 4.0, the transition from stand-alone systems to an interconnected digital enterprise plays a crucial role. Increasing demands for flexibility, quality, and shorter product development cycles drive the adoption of advanced digital solutions such as product data management (PDM) systems, manufacturing execution systems (MES), advanced planning and scheduling (APS) tools, and the digital twin (DT) concept. At the same time, digitalisation trends (e.g., Smart Factory) reveal critical weaknesses of manufacturing companies, with insufficient planning and scheduling capabilities being one of the most common issues. While medium- and long-term planning is typically handled within ERP systems, operational scheduling is often still managed through inflexible spreadsheet-based solutions. APS systems are therefore gaining importance as effective tools with relatively fast return on investment, although their deployment requires alignment between ERP and MES layers as well as a thorough understanding of business and production processes. The combined implementation of PDM, APS, MES, and DT enhances decision-making, enables rapid adaptability to change, and supports the development of learning organisations. The article focuses on key principles and technologies of digital transformation with emphasis on data integration using selected tools.

Inventory control is the cornerstone of manufacturing, supply chain, and retail businesses. The precision of inventory data has a direct impact on production efficiency, order fulfillment, procurement planning, and financial reporting. Of various methods of inventory validation, cycle counting is a widely used process because it smoothes the effort of auditing the inventory across time, avoiding disrupting operations. Historically, though, the cycle count process is manual and prone to errors, particularly in companies that still use legacy Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems and standalone handheld devices. This paper suggests a strong framework to automate the cycle count process by linking handheld scanning tools with ERP systems using a Microsoft .NET-based portal platform. The objective is to harmonize real-time data from ERP systems and Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES), display it for decision-making, and optimize the physical counting and data entry process. The solution specifically targets difficulties encountered in manufacturing settings where real-time inventory accuracy is difficult to achieve due to ongoing material consumption (backflushing), production variations, and incompatibilities between systems. The problem statement under discussion highlights the procedural and technological loopholes of manual inventory cycle counting. Old ERP systems are generally incompatible with new handheld devices. Organizations are stuck between either spending on expensive ERP upgrades or creating interfaces to integrate new hardware with legacy systems. The latter provides a cheaper and quicker means to attaining inventory accuracy. The solution that is being suggested involves the creation of a portal system based on Microsoft.NET and hosted on the Azure platform. The portal interacts with existing handheld devices and pulls data from ERP systems through MuleSoft APIs and MES systems through customized integrations. The portal harmonizes inventory data from both systems—both stock parts and Work-in-Progress (WIP) inventory—over 13 accounting periods. The information is displayed in color-coded indicators representing past, present, and future cycle counts, which allow analysts to make instant decisions. Once the analyst verifies the parts to cycle count, the task list is dispatched to handheld scanners used on the warehouse floor. Users perform physical counts utilizing the scanners, and the captured data is pushed back to the portal to verify. Once verified, the reconciled data is posted back to the legacy ERP system to remain the source of truth. The deployment yields tangible advantages: a 35% decrease in costs of manual cycle counting, elimination of paper-intensive processes, 320 hours less of manual data entry labor each month, and over a 40% improvement in inventory accuracy. These enhancements not only decrease carrying costs but also increase trust in inventory reports and allow for improved planning and forecasting. The paper offers a cost-effective and scalable solution to automate cycle counting by consolidating handheld technology and legacy ERP systems seamlessly. It illustrates how properly designed middleware interface can bridge the gap between old systems and new operational requirements, generating both long-term and short-term ROI. The findings strongly recommend portal-based solutions as a means of modernizing and automating inventory management procedures within manufacturing settings.

Purpose – Studies conducted on advanced planning and scheduling (APS) systems have found problems in the marginal or negative returns from APS systems when they are implemented in manufacturing planning and control processes. The purpose of this study is to examine what problems exist in the onward and upward phase of the APS system implementation and how the individual, technical and organizational (ITO) dimensions in the implementation phases influence the problems in the onward and upward phase. Design/methodology/approach – Three different manufacturing companies using a supply chain planning module to support their tactical manufacturing planning processes were chosen and their APS system implementation phases were studied. Interviews with the project members and the end-users, and on-site visits, were conducted. Internal company data and presentations were collected and analyzed according to four implementation phases and the ITO dimensions. Findings – Three types of problems were identified in the onward and upward phase: process-related problems concerning difficulties to move forward; dependency on a consultancy firm; and too much time spent in the system. System-related problems include the usage of parallel systems and inadequate usage of the appropriate potential of the APS system. Plan-related problems regard an incorrect production plan. Different relationships between the ITO dimensions in the implementation process and the problem type were proposed. Practical implications – The relationships identified in this paper are of important knowledge for companies who are implementing, or are in the process of implementing, APS systems. Originality/value – There has been little written about the implementation issues of APS systems. The practical use of APS systems in the tactical planning is also relatively low. It is not known what problems to expect and how the ITO dimensions influence the problems during implementation. The findings this paper discusses fill some of these gaps.

With the further integration of the informatization and industrialization, it is a key factor for enterprise to develop them by enterprise information construction. At present, with the development of computer, enterprise informatization generally has formed three layers architecture, which contains: ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), MES (Manufacturing Execution System) and PCS (Process Control System). MES plays an irreplaceable position in the enterprise informatization. However, different needs of the design for these systems. Then, they lead system not to share information, business process effectively and work together with others. Then finally lead to "Information Island". It has made people to pay more attention to the topic, which is how to implement the exchange of information real-time and accurately between ERP, PCS and MES. So, we analyze some major exchange ways of the present information between MES and other systems in this paper. Then, we propose a flexible and configurable EAI architecture-AiOintegration (All-in-One integration), which has integrated the current methods of exchanging between system information. And AiOintegration implemented information exchange of cross-language and cross-platform between with MES and other systems.

Recently domestic manufacturing companies have been experiencing worsening profitability and stunted growth due to the long-term economic recession and the rapid rise of developing countries such as China and Southeast Asia. These difficulties force many companies to concentrate their core competencies on new value creation and innovation in order to gain momentum for new growth. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) has been considered as one of viable solutions. Among the various modules in ERP, shop floor control function in the production management module is rather limited. In order to overcome this problem, Manufacturing Execution System (MES) has been used as a subsystem which has a strong information gathering power and flexibility. Both systems interact closely with each other. In particular, ERP requires fast, accurate shop floor information at MES. This paper describes how to synchronize relevant information between ERP and MES with theory of constraints (TOC). The processing time information transmitted from the MES workplace is received at the ERP workplace. In the process, the received processing time is causing information distortion in ERP, when the information gathering standard of MES is different from the ERP information interpretation standard. The Drum-Buffer-Rope theory of TOC was applied to resolve this problem, therefore, information synchronization between both systems was made. As a precondition, the standard time of the upper ERP system was rearranged according to the capacity constraints resource. As a result, standard time restructuring has affected changes in labor costs. Standard labor costs have come close to actual ones, and information synchronization of MES transmission data has improved the reliability of standard product costs, such that it enabled various company-wide restructuring actions to be much more effective.

Production planning and controls usually involve numerous business application systems, including manufacturing execution systems (MES), enterprise resource planning (ERP), advanced planning and scheduling (APS) and other information systems. Implementing each of these systems is a complex, costly and time-consuming project. Moreover, due to the fierce competition in the global market, mass customization has become the mainstream in the demand-driven environment which increases the difficulties in the integration of heterogeneous information systems. This research adopts a case study approach to examine the business application integration processes in the demand-driven environment and to identify potential solution in the project. Specifically, this study proposes a reference framework of integrated application systems for production planning and shop-floor control, and discusses several implications of such large-project implementation.

This paper investigates the deployment of Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) within SAP environments in manufacturing enterprises. Through an extensive literature review, it examines the critical aspects of integrating MES with SAP Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, encompassing implementation strategies, benefits, challenges, and best practices. The study underscores the significance of real-time data integration between MES and SAP for enhanced decision-making and resource utilization. It further highlights the role of MES in facilitating lean manufacturing principles and the essential nature of change management in implementation projects. The findings emphasize the necessity of aligning MES implementation with overarching business objectives and maintaining continuous performance monitoring. Practical implications for manufacturers contemplating MES implementation in SAP environments are discussed, including the importance of strategic planning, robust data integration, employee training, and ongoing system optimization. The paper concludes by identifying areas for future research, such as the impact of emerging technologies on MES implementation. Keywords: Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES), SAP, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP),Manufacturing enterprises, System integration, Real-time data, Lean manufacturing, Change management, Implementation strategies, Performance monitoring, Data integration, Employee training, System optimization, Emerging technologies

Web services are widely discussed and proposed to address enterprise integration within company or cross-organizations due to its language and operating system independency and support of loosely coupled integration. This paper presents an architecture for APS (advanced planning and scheduling) system by describing its messaging mode) and service model, attempting to solve integration issues among APS, MES, ERP and other manufacturing systems that could not be handled properly using current approaches. In addition, a prototype of enterprise integration constructed for a semiconductor packaging company using Java Web services enabling technologies will demonstrate the advantages and benefits of the solution

Every business or government agency needs to track information regarding their finances, their employees, and the items or assets they own and manage. Software applications that track this type of information are called enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. Managing these assets in an integrated application allows an organization to have a consistent view across the entire enterprise. This enterprise-wide view allows ERP systems to go beyond the traditional transaction-based accounting systems maintained at the organization level and deliver fully integrated financial and human capital management based on industry-derived best practices across organizations. In response to the pressures of global competition, enterprises today are forging ahead with the mission of integrating information systems across corporate boundaries to unite customers, suppliers and any other business partners with which they interact. And in the mean time, with the development of the society, more and more people have to go many places because the job makes them and working at home also becomes more and more popular. Those people who are not at the place of their company also want to continue their work in other places even at home. The old style ERP system is in C/S model and cannot satisfy with the needs. So it is very necessary to upgrade the ERP system. This paper will go to figure out the application of the Web service in the upgrading of ERP system. In this paper, we focus on that how to upgrade or renew a C/S ERP system to an ERP system with B/S model and the application of Web service. We use the J2EE architecture and XML technology to provide Web service and upgrade/renew the former ERP system. UML tools play a very important role in the upgrading procedure. We use UML to analysis and design the B/S ERP system, which based on the C/S version. We use JSP to act as the view of the system because of its flexibility. In the Web service, the XML is necessary. So the XML technology is also used. In the end of the paper, we will figure out how these technologies to be used through a concrete example.

An intelligent agent for ERP's data structure analysis based on ANSI/ISA-95 standard

Global and Malaysian Perspective Ahmad Saleh Shatat, Faculty of Business, Sohar University Sohar, Oman, and Zulkifli Mohamed Udin College of Business, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Kedah Darul Aman , Malaysia Abstract: Business management has entered the era of networking competition. This has moved the competition from a local to that of global business environments and from company against company to that of a supply chain against supply chain. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system has become one of the main pre-requisites for many companies enabling them to compete in the local and global market, a price of entry to gain a competitive advantage in the global economy, and a backbone for e-business as well as for the whole supply chain. Many companies are still reluctant to implement ERP system and therefore they will not be able to connect their supply chain with several global and local companies where ERP system has become a prerequisite and a price of entry for the global economy. This study has investigated the main issues, challenges and the benefits of ERP system. ERP systems will be the price of entry and a prerequisite for many companies enabling them to run their business smoothly and effectively, and to be able to connect with other companies in the current global network economy. 1. ERP Global Change The big five ERP venders in the ERP global market are SAP, Oracle, PeopleSoft, J.D. Edwards, and Baan. In 1999 they acquired 59 percent of ERP revenue and each has specialty in a particular module area, for example, SAP specialized in logistics, Oracle in financials, PeopleSoft in human resources management, and Bann in manufacturing. SAP was the largest ERP vendor among them with revenue of $5 billion, and then Oracle with $2.4 billion in sales, followed by PeopleSoft with $1.3 billion, J.D. Edwards with $979 million, and finally Baan with sales of $743 million. The most three famous ERP venders in ERP market are SAP, Oracle, and PeopleSoft. Figure 1.1 describes the three biggest ERP venders’ competitors in the global market (McAdam & Galloway, 2005; Holland & Light, 1999)

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are the most integrated information systems that cut across various organisations and functional areas. It has been observed that the majority of ERP systems proved to be a failure either in the design or its implementation. A number of reasons contribute in the success or failure of ERP systems. ERP systems inherently present unique risks due to tightly linked interdependencies of business processes, relational databases and process reengineering, and so on. Knowledge of such factors is important in the design of system and programme management as they contribute to the overall success of the system. In this paper, an attempt has been made to study the design factors for ERP systems in Indian organisations. To achieve this two public sector companies, namely PCL and PTL located in northern India, have been selected. Based on the study, various findings and recommendations have been put forward.

ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system is considered to provide benefits for the company. ERP systems provide useful accounting information for decision making. This
\nstudy aims to determine the impact of ERP systems on the relevance of accounting information and firm performance on companies that adopt ERP and companies that do not adopt ERP. In this study the relevance of accounting information is tested with three variables of predictive value, timeliness and feedback value. The results of this analysis are obtained from questionnaires that have been distributed to 75 companies, consisting of 40 companies that adopt ERP system and 35 companies that do not adoption of ERP system, the samples obtained by each of only 30 companies so that there are 60 companies studied. The hypothesis in this study will be tested using Mann Whitney nonparametric analysis with SPSS to look for differences in the impact of the two types of firms. This analysis proves that the ERP system affects the relevance of accounting information consisting of three variables and firm performance on companies that adopt ERP systems.

Research Question: What are the accounting benefits perceived by accountants and internal auditors that entail through Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems? Is there an interaction of ERP accounting benefits with the accountants’ and internal auditors’ satisfaction level in using ERP systems? Motivation: Many organizations are implementing ERP systems extensively while sharing a common database and being real-time. Past scholars summon empirical studies on ERP's impact on accounting benefits and user satisfaction. Therefore, this study was conducted from accountants’ and internal auditors’ perspective as recent scholars shed light on the cruciality of these two groups' perceptions as key ERP users. Idea: This study examines the accounting benefits that entail through the adoption of ERP systems by Sri Lankan companies with regard to ERP user satisfaction from the perspective of accountants and internal auditors. Data: The data were collected from 38 accountants and 19 internal auditors across 24 companies that are implementing ERP systems for more than four years. Tools: A quantitative survey methodology is employed to draw empirical evidence. Findings: The findings confirm that organizational, operational (time), and IT accounting benefits derived from ERP systems significantly and positively influence ERP users' satisfaction. In contrast, operational accounting benefits (cost) received the lowest rating and did not significantly influence user satisfaction. Contribution: While these findings are valuable to accountants and internal auditors to better understand the ERP accounting benefits, ERP consultants and system providers also benefit from identifying ERP accounting features to uplift user satisfaction in developing countries.

Integrating ERP and MFCA systems for improved waste-reduction decisions in a brewery in South Africa