Because they don’t support a multilevel hierarchical finished goods BoM.

The rate of MES system implementations in electronics manufacturing is not slowing. The rise of Industry 4.0 and the concept of big data have stimulated many companies to seek ways of collecting all important data in real time. If implemented properly, Industry 4.0 will eliminate the need for MES systems. Taking their place will be cyber-physical systems using machine-to-machine (M2M) communication and big data used to make intelligent decisions to run production without any human intervention.

There are still no signs, however, that we will come to terms with which M2M standard to use for Industry 4.0. Among Japanese machine vendors, an IPC-led effort, an ASM-led effort, and a Siemens-led effort, everyone else is left guessing what will happen and if an industry-wide standard will emerge at all. Until that happens, and until machine vendors implement better support for Industry 4.0, electronics manufacturers are pushing forward with MES implementations.

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Reducing labor content and defects in SMT manufacturing.

“I need to reduce overhead 40%, while still manufacturing at the same capacity, to stay competitive in China.”

That is how a businessman from Hong Kong who owns a contract manufacturing plant in China recently explained his most urgent business goal to me. He wanted smart factory software to help him achieve that goal in the shortest time possible.

Days of cheap labor and being able to throw more people at every problem on the electronics manufacturing shop floor are long gone.
That has been the case in Western countries for some time, and is becoming the norm in China as well. Plants are being moved to yet another cheap labor country, while companies that stay in China are consolidating operations. And customers keep demanding lower cost. To stay competitive, electronics assembly companies must reduce labor cost and respond dynamically to skilled labor shortages.

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