1. Receive production intent
MES commonly receives production orders, quantities, due dates, product definitions or related master-data references from planning or ERP systems. The exact ownership boundary varies by organization.
2. Dispatch work
The system can make authorized work visible to the appropriate line, cell or work center, applying routing, eligibility, material and resource rules.
3. Capture execution events
Production events may come from operators, scanners, machines, PLC/SCADA interfaces or other systems. Useful events need timestamps and context rather than anonymous tags alone.
4. Apply quality and process rules
MES can present checks, capture results, place material on hold, enforce required acknowledgements and connect deviations to the production record.
5. Build genealogy and traceability
Material consumption, lot/serial relationships, operation history and produced quantities can form a searchable genealogy from inputs through finished output.
6. Confirm completion upstream
Completed quantities, scrap, material consumption, labor or other agreed transactions can be sent back to ERP or adjacent systems, reducing duplicate entry.