Material management in MES ensures that materials, components, and consumables are available at the right time and place.
It connects warehouse, production, and quality systems, ensuring each material is uniquely assigned, traceable, and inventory-controlled.
According to VDI 5600, material management is a core MES function, linking planning, production, and quality processes.
The goal is to make material flows in manufacturing transparent, controllable, and traceable.
Effective material management reduces downtime, prevents shortages, and provides the foundation for quality and traceability.
MES offers real-time visibility into material movements, inventory levels, and consumption, ensuring every part is linked to the correct production order.
Inventory and WIP management
Material supply and replenishment control (Kanban, Milkrun, automated requests)
Batch and serial number tracking for traceability
Real-time consumption monitoring and material requests
Linking material usage to production orders and machines
Integration with quality and traceability systems for material compliance
Fewer production stoppages due to missing materials
Reduced inventory through transparent WIP and automated replenishment
Faster response to shortages or quality deviations
Improved traceability with batch and serial number tracking
Seamless integration with ERP, warehouse, and quality systems
An automotive supplier implements MES material management to supply lines efficiently.
Consumption data is captured automatically, replenishment is controlled via Kanban, and batch tracking is maintained.
Result: 20 % lower WIP inventory, 10 % higher utilization, and complete traceability from goods receipt to finished product.
Material management closely interacts with other MES functions:
Receives demand data from scheduling
Provides batch information to quality management
Uses consumption data from data collection (BDE/MDE)
Supplies KPIs to information management
MES material management is key to a continuous, transparent, and traceable material flow.
Combined with planning, quality, and data collection, it forms the foundation for stable and efficient manufacturing processes.