Application of MES/MOM for Industry 4.0 supply chains: A cross-case analysis

Manufacturing is facing challenges in integrating information technology (IT) with operational technology (OT) and implementing Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) concepts in the industry to increase manufacturing flex-ibility. This paper addresses the research gap in designing and using next-generation manufacturing execution systems (MES)/manufacturing operations management (MOM) in IIoT to improve manufacturing flexibility through reconfigurability. For this, we follow an abductive research design and build on the literature on In-dustry 4.0 ' s information architectures and models to propose a framework for building smart factory capabilities. Using the framework, we collect empirical data on MES/MOM implementation objectives for smart factories for six case studies conducted over a 4-year research project in Denmark (2018-2021), primarily through semi -structured interviews.Through cross-case analysis, we identify seven dominant themes that capture focus areas for MES/MOM implementation for IT/OT integration. We use these findings to present generalized design recommendations for IIoT-connected MES/MOM to support reconfigurability for Industry 4.0 supply chains. Our findings indicate that despite considerable investments from many companies in Industry 4.0 initiatives such as artificial intelligence -based analytics and digital twins, the industry is not yet in a state to extract the data from all its legacy pro-duction equipment. Therefore, we present design recommendations to enable Industry 4.0 supply chains with IIoT-connected MES/MOM by using the data from OT devices. Our analysis helps us conclude that open stan-dards and open application programming interfaces (APIs) are key requirements for enhancing IIoT inter -connectivity and interoperability to achieve end-to-end integration in supply chains.