How can recipe-based producers ensure cost-efficiency and consistent, high-quality products no matter where they are formulated or produced? By implementing enterprise recipe management (ERM) with a manufacturing execution system (MES) to deliver closed-loop data flows in and out of production. Leading Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG), specialty chemical, and other manufacturers are standardizing for ERM. Quite a bit of technology is required to digitalize this recipe transformation process (recipe management, PLM, digital twin. MES), but the value of eliminating inefficiencies, speeding product launches, and cross-disciplinary collaboration creates an excellent payback.
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Table of Contents
- Product Consistency: Key to Brand Success
- Meeting Market Trends and Realities
- Why Enterprise Recipe Management Matters
- The Recipe Management Process
- Changing Recipes and Production
- Multi-Disciplinary Workflows
- Bridging Differences and Disconnects
- Recipe Management Across the Enterprise
- Common Challenges for Enterprisewide Recipe Management
- Technology Challenges to Overcome for Enterprise Recipe Management
- Added Challenges for Enterprise Recipe Management
- ERM Solutions Have Data Management at the Core
- Creating ERM Data Flows
- MES’ Role in ERM
- Top MES Requirements for ERM
- The ERM Digital Thread
- Recipe Management Success
- Acknowledgments
Product Consistency: Key to Brand Success
Recipes Matter
Managing recipes efficiently and executing them for product consistency on a global scale can be the difference between market leadership and brand disaster for fast-moving consumer packaged goods (CPG or FMCG) and their suppliers. Yet, enterprise recipe management (ERM) is fraught with challenges that can damage margins.
Software for Enterprise Recipe Management
There are plenty of challenges, but fortunately, some known paths forward. Overlaying current systems with a way to standardize and reuse recipe elements is crucial. ERM needs rules, models, and libraries, as well as data flows among various applications. Do not underestimate the pivotal role a suitable and well-integrated manufacturing execution system (MES) plays in the overall picture of enterprise recipe management. It executes the recipes and can send in-context as-produced data from the actual process back to recipe authors to populate libraries accurately and drive improvement.
Multi-Disciplinary Workflows
The ERM Concept
Standardization is at the heart of enterprise success with recipe management. Companies must standardize many interdependent elements for ERM to work. One of the drivers behind the ISA88 standard, Dennis Brandl, explains that the ERM concept is “Standard product descriptions based on standard definitions of manufacturing operations, based on standard quality attribute definitions, based on standard process parameter and process report definitions.” This illustrates the many layers and facets to standardize for ERM.
ERM in Innovation
The NPDI process begins with innovation. This, in itself, is a multi-disciplinary effort, typically including:
- R&D with their associated labs and scientists
- Marketing and consumer research
- Product development
- Packaging design and development
ERM in Operations
A significant challenge is to scale up the recipes from the lab to operation in dozens of plants. On the operations side, again, many disciplines must participate in the recipe transformation process and scale up to full production. These include:
- Process and manufacturing engineering
- Operations or production or manufacturing
- Quality
- Food safety & regulatory
- Materials, procurement & supply chain management
- Manufacturing or production IT
- Automation, controls engineering, and operations technology (OT)
Creating ERM Data Flows
Impact Analysis
To succeed, ERM must also include impact analysis. For every change in formulation, materials, equipment, or regulation, the system should review whether to update bills of materials and other recipe details, operations, and work packages. Having all the data does not automatically make this impact analysis effective or efficient. Having it centralized does improve the odds of good impact analysis as well as use for other analytics functions or artificial intelligence (AI).
Many Systems
ERM typically requires integration between MES and PLM, plus PLM or MES and Batch systems, possibly also integration between MES and ERP or PLM and ERP. For ongoing accuracy and best production results, automation and MES are also connected for complete process data sets without overwhelming the enterprise systems. In the ideal scenario, MES, PLM, ERP, and ERM are integrated through a process digital twin that accurately reflects the product and data flows in virtual form.
Solutions for ERM
A special set of capabilities is needed for a true ERM solution. Data from multiple systems is one aspect, and data management to handle the recipe data volumes, complexities, and contingencies are all key. Handling recipe transformations, testing, and validation will also typically require special software capabilities. These ERM integrated solutions do exist today, butare not yet in common use. With MES, the as-produced data can readily be fed back to ensure the ERM libraries, models, and rules reflect best practices.
Recipe Management Success
ERM for Success
Enterprise Recipe Management eliminates inefficiencies and empowers teams to focus on value-added tasks by streamlining processes, reducing manual work, and enabling better resource allocation. Beyond reducing time to market and improving product quality, ERM allows the company to be more agile and adapt to change faster. One measure of success is how many recipes are directly downloaded and executed at top quality with minimal intervention from local operators.
Benefits to Expect
Creating an ERM digital thread can deliver significant benefits to multi-site, fast-moving consumer goods companies. Benefits that are a hallmark of ERM success span the lifecycle. They start with accelerated innovation, then faster NPDI or speed to market. ERM should also deliver improved product quality assurance and multi-disciplinary collaboration. Better understanding the impact of changes and decisions can lead to increased efficiency, improved product quality, and lower brand risk.
Building an ROI Case
Calculating potential value from ERM has many facets. Some factors to consider are reduction of labor, time, utilities, other costs based on a consistent source of data, quick recipe conversion, and less test batch engineering time. MESA White Paper #49 includes a basic spreadsheet approach.6
MES Optimizes ERM
Every product’s quality relies on the execution of the recipe at a line or cell in a plant; that’s where MES ensures execution matches the recipe’s intent. ERM also uses MES’s accurate data on plant capacity, production capabilities, and recipe compliance. Finally, MES data on ‘actuals’ from every batch inform everyone of how that recipe is performing, for brand success.
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