text: SAP „Perfect Plant“-Initiative
  With the "Perfect Plant" initiative, SAP has made good on its promise to support its customers in their shop floor integration projects. The tools involved here are the familiar planning functions in SAP ERP/SAP SCM, in combination with the new shop floor integration functionality offered by SAP MII and manufacturing execution features from SAP ME. SAP users have responded positively to the SAP "Perfect Plant" initiative.
  The broad application spectrum for the SAP MII integration platform means that SAP functionality can be deployed directly, right down to the machines on the production floor.
  In addition to the core functions, i.e.
  – standardisation of connectivity to the shop floor layer (machinery and IT systems);
  – centralisation of ERP postings from production; and
  – standardised KPI calculation ("single point of truth"),
  the possible applications for SAP MII have been hugely extended –
  SAP MII can now respond directly and promptly to machine events. Accordingly, machinery providers are now offering open integration options for use with machine data collection (MDC). This MDC functionality supports parameter setting and confirmation at the machine level. This is supplemented by confirmations made by employees (PDC). SAP MII therefore maps PDC/MDC functionality directly and integrates this with SAP-based planning in a plant-neutral manner.
  Conventional, external MPS systems implement proprietary detailed scheduling, and often with numerous interfaces to other ERP systems. SAP system owners who are already using integrated detailed scheduling functionality from ERP or SCM often need only a supplementary visualisation of this information, enriched with actual data from the production floor. This is provided centrally by SAP MII for all production areas within a company. The means that there is no need for separate plant control stations. If the integration features available in SAP MII cannot cover all of the MES requirements, the company can fall back on the MES functionality within SAP ME.
  In both cases, the familiar positive effects become apparent:
  – A high level of standardisation and integration
  – An open system, future-proofed thanks to SAP
  – Cost-effective operations, due to the option of building up in-house know-how
  All of this is another major step towards achieving your "Perfect Plant"!
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