Eight smart manufacturing myths that refuse to die

Some ideas in this industry just won't go away. I hear them in boardrooms, at trade shows and in my LinkedIn comments, week after week.

If you can explain why each of these is wrong, you'll be ahead of most people in the room.

1. "AI will solve everything"

It won't. Not without a data foundation.

Most manufacturers still struggle to capture accurate, contextualised data from the shopfloor, but their expectations are already at AI level. You can't build AI on manual entries, estimates and delayed ERP transactions. Get the processes defined and the data flowing first. Then AI can deliver.

More on this in AI won't fix your factory.

2. "Excel is good enough"

Excel is the number one competitor to MES/MOM. That should worry people more than it does.

It's flexible and familiar, which is exactly why it's dangerous. Spreadsheets become the de facto system for production, quality and downtime. They get emailed around and saved locally, and nobody knows which version is current.

Excel has no real-time capture, no validation, no traceability, no equipment connection and no audit trail. It's a brilliant tool for analysis. It's a terrible system for running operations.

3. "Smart manufacturing is just MES/MOM"

I spend a lot of time explaining why MES/MOM matters, so this one might surprise you.

MES/MOM is the operational backbone. But a smart factory is broader: ERP for the business, PLM for product data, scheduling, warehousing, the lab, connectivity, historians, data platforms, analytics and AI. MES/MOM sits at the heart of it. It isn't the whole thing. See The smart factory tech stack.

4. "Why do I need MES if I have ERP?"

ERP manages the business. MES/MOM manages the factory.

ERP works at the level of detail business planning needs. MES/MOM works at the granular, real-time level the shopfloor needs, with interfaces designed for frontline workers rather than office users. You'd never use an MES to do the job of an ERP, so why use an ERP to do the job of an MES?

And here's the twist: ERP data gets better when MES/MOM is in place, because it receives validated actuals rather than backflushed estimates. More in MES vs ERP.

5. "IIoT replaces MES/MOM"

IIoT sounds cooler. It's trendier. But connecting sensors and collecting data is only a small part of what MES/MOM does.

IIoT gives you data points. MES/MOM turns them into operational management: running orders, enforcing quality checks, tracking inventory, handling maintenance. They're complementary, not interchangeable. I go into it in IIoT doesn't replace MES.

6. "Connected worker is the same as MES/MOM"

It isn't. Standalone connected worker platforms handle checklists, tasks, handover and skills. All valuable. But they don't run production orders, perform SPC or manage traceability.

Connected worker belongs inside MES/MOM, so the operator gets one application with full production context. Bolted on beside it, you've given them two. See Connected worker: one app, not five.

7. "Our processes are unique"

Unless you're doing something truly niche, your manufacturing processes are not unique.

What may be unique are your business processes around manufacturing. Most "we're different" conversations turn out to be habit, comfort and workarounds that grew over time. Question them before you pay to build them into software. More in Configure, don't customise.

8. "We'll build our own"

For a very small manufacturer with capable technical people, a homegrown system can work for a while. It very quickly runs out of steam.

Requirements grow. The person who built it becomes the single point of failure, and eventually they leave. No vendor support, no upgrade path, no roadmap. I've replaced a lot of homegrown systems, and the hidden costs are always higher than anyone expected. See Replacing a homegrown MES.

A bonus one: "MES and MOM are just two names for the same thing"

They're often used that way, and I've done it myself. But really they describe different scopes. MES is the production pillar. MOM covers production, quality, inventory and maintenance on the same data. Plenty of products sold as "MES" only cover production, so ask which pillars a system actually handles. More in What is MES/MOM?

Which of these do you hear most often? And which one did I miss?