How to Choose Between Make or Buy for MES Automation
Is investing capital with a solution provider more “effective” than in-house development?
Manufacturing companies deploy MES automation to become more efficient, productive and more competitive.
The decision to purchase software or dedicate highly skilled resources for in-house development requires careful consideration and is often debated vigorously by management, i.e. “What choice makes us more competitive?”
Differentiation in a global market
Competitive differentiation is a major consideration in the make or buy decision. MES automation touches critical elements of manufacturing from NPI though volume fulfillment. MES automation impacts the core business objectives of the enterprise. Success achieved in these core values, defines your competitive differentiation:
- Product Quality
- Time to Market
- Operational Expenditures
- Compliance to Regulations
Competition in a global marketplace requires World Class performance. In-house development limits your view of excellence to what you see within your own four walls.
What are the pros and cons in the Make or Buy decision?
The decision filter must compare the impact of make or buy on the competitive values of quality, delivery, operation cost and compliance. A detailed discussion of these factors and the arguments pro and con are examined in Mentor’s Make or Buy brochure.
What is a common omission in the argument for in-house development?
In the natural course of software development, upgrades, and routine maintenance, often complete or partial rewrites are required as business needs and technologies change. The first make or buy decision cycle is seldom the last.
Designing an in-house solution from scratch is extremely time consuming and usually becomes an exhausting burden on the company's R&D team, and a major distraction from supporting the company’s core business.
It is often assumed the first development cycle will be the last. It is not. The first cycle is only the beginning. In the natural course of software development, upgrades, and routine maintenance, often complete or partial rewrites are required as business needs and technologies change. Since human resources and expenditures are again required, additional cycles of "make or buy" are encountered. Although it might seem as though the decision parameters on these secondary cycles are different, in fact they remain exactly the same as the first cycle: invest more in internal effort or purchase a solution from a third party.
Valor® MSS Manufacturing System Solutions
MES automation from Mentor Graphics supports the entire PCB manufacturing process from front to back with one integrated software platform: Valor MSS.
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Make or Buy? A discussion of pros and cons
Mentor Graphics takes a close look at the most important factors in reaching a Make or Buy decision for MES automation. This discussion is based on how each element of MES automation impacts core business values and the trades offs between investing in a solution from a third party, or in developing the solution in house. View Brochure
World Class Support
The Mentor Graphics support team has one goal: provide the best customer support in the industry, including benefits of Software Enhancements, SupportNet, Technical Support and optional On-Site Mentoring for targeted training and implementation services. View About Support Net
Additional Resources
Consulting for Best-Practice Deployment
Mentor Graphics Valor consultants offer installation, configuration and deployment of Valor PCB DFx verification and PCB assembly manufacturing solutions in the customer’s environment. This can even include unique ways to leverage the capabilities of your Valor products for shop floor equipment, testers, material warehouse systems, MRP or ERP systems. View Consulting Details
RH Technologies
SUCCESS STORY: RH Technologies uses Valor MSS to compete successfully on a global scale in three ways:
- Productivity. Setup downtime reduced by 80%
- Cost. Material waste cut by 3% on the SMT lines
- Quality. Defects in SMT production reduced by 20%