Component-Based MES: Why Monolithic Software Must Evolve:Fabien Villareal

 

 

 

 

 

Component-Based MES: Why Monolithic Software Must Evolve

A condensed English adaptation of the interview with Fabien Villareal.

Julien Morel: For more than twenty years, Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) have been presented as the operational brain of the factory. Yet many projects exceed budgets or fail altogether. Has MES become too complex?

Fabien Villareal: The real issue is that we are trying to solve today's industrial challenges with yesterday's thinking. Traditional MES platforms were designed as monolithic applications expected to cover every production need. Modern factories evolve continuously, integrating AI, Industrial IoT, collaborative robots, Edge Computing, ERP, PLM, LIMS, WMS and SCADA. A single application can no longer evolve fast enough. The future is a component-based MES built around interoperable business capabilities rather than one massive software suite.

Julien Morel: Why do you prefer the word 'capability' instead of 'function'?

Fabien Villareal: Functions belong to software; capabilities belong to businesses. Manufacturers do not buy a quality module—they want fewer defects. They do not buy an OEE dashboard—they want better performance. Architecture should therefore be designed around business outcomes, allowing each component to fulfil a specific purpose without locking the company into one vendor.

Julien Morel: Does that mean the traditional MES is dead?

Fabien Villareal: No. Every factory has different constraints. However, companies increasingly demand modularity. They want to replace a Historian, modernize SCADA, add AI-based quality inspection, connect ERP or WMS, integrate Seeq, Cognite, Snowflake or Databricks, without rebuilding the whole system. Open standards such as ISA‑95, OPC UA, MQTT and Sparkplug B make this possible.

Julien Morel: What is the role of MOM?

Fabien Villareal: Manufacturing Operations Management provides the broader operational framework. MES executes production, while MOM orchestrates quality, maintenance, energy management, documentation, workflows, competencies and enterprise integration. We are moving from software products toward service-oriented industrial platforms.

Julien Morel: Where does Artificial Intelligence fit?

Fabien Villareal: AI is only valuable when supported by trusted, contextualized industrial data. Concepts such as Unified Namespace, Data Fabric, DataOps, Knowledge Graphs and industrial ontologies provide the context AI needs to understand equipment, production orders, materials, maintenance events and quality records.

Julien Morel: How do you approach digital transformation?

Fabien Villareal: Technology is never my starting point. I first observe production flows, meet operators and identify information gaps, duplicate data entry and obsolete processes. Only then do we build a roadmap. Sometimes the answer is a new MES; sometimes it is simply an Edge platform, a Connected Worker solution, No-Code applications or a Unified Namespace.

Julien Morel: How would you summarize your vision?

 Fabien Villareal: The best MES is no longer the one that does everything. It is the one that collaborates intelligently with the rest of the industrial ecosystem. Tomorrow's smart factory will rely on open, secure and scalable architectures that combine MES, MOM, ERP, SCADA, PLM, LIMS, WMS, Industrial AI and moderndata platforms to enable better decision-making.