From Pilots to Progress: How Manufacturers Can Scale MES and Industry 4.0 Initiatives the Right Way

From Pilots to Progress: How Manufacturers Can Scale MES and Industry 4.0 Initiatives the Right Way | SPONSORED

At the MES & Industry 4.0 event in Porto, Jeff Winter, VP of Business Strategy at Critical Manufacturing, outlined a practical roadmap for manufacturers ready to move beyond experimentation and into scalable transformation.

Start with a Purpose-Built MVP

Rolling out MES across multiple sites doesn’t need to be slow or resource-draining. The key is starting with a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)—a smaller-scale, high-impact deployment that proves value quickly. This helps secure buy-in, test assumptions, and create momentum without stalling enterprise-wide goals.

Put Structure Behind the Strategy

To scale effectively, manufacturers should build a Center of Excellence (CoE) that includes MES as a core capability. A well-structured CoE fosters alignment across business units, accelerates adoption, and ensures MES isn’t treated as a standalone tool—but as part of a broader Industry 4.0 vision.

Prioritize Change Management Early

One of the biggest reasons MES initiatives stall isn’t technical—it’s organizational. Without clear executive sponsorship and well-funded change management, even the most promising project will struggle. The most successful implementations plan for change early, budget for it properly, and treat it as a core workstream—not an afterthought.

Know the “Why” Behind Every Investment

Before adopting any new digital solution, manufacturers must clearly define the business outcome: Are you solving a known problem or creating a new way to deliver value? This distinction shapes how the project is measured, managed, and perceived internally.

Overinvesting in tools that don’t scale often comes down to misaligned expectations. Maturity models and diagnostic frameworks can help teams understand where they are today and what steps will realistically lead to ROI.

Align on a Shared Vision

Manufacturers that scale successfully don’t just launch isolated projects. They unify teams under a single digital transformation vision—where every plant, department, and stakeholder understands how their efforts contribute to a larger goal.

Takeaways for Manufacturers:

• Deploy an MVP to gain traction and prove value early.
• Set up a CoE to ensure structured and scalable execution.
• Treat change management as a strategic priority, not a support function.
• Evaluate technology based on purpose and business value—not novelty.
• Align teams around a shared vision to avoid fragmented execution.

The difference between experimentation and transformation isn’t technology—it’s how that technology is introduced, governed, and scaled across the business. A focused, agile, and collaborative MES strategy can bridge that gap.

Sponsored by Critical Manufacturing

About the author

Lucian Fogoros is the Co-founder of IIoT World

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