"Of course, no MES is introduced completely offline these days. Even before the pandemic, many steps in the introduction of an MES were carried out remotely," begins Michael Möller, Managing Director of gbo datacomp. However, if you want to introduce a system completely remotely, the requirements are significantly higher and in many parts completely different, according to the MES experts' experience.

Communication poses a particular challenge. "It simply works differently online than in a face-to-face meeting," explains Möller. Non-verbal communication is more difficult, especially if there is no or only a poor video connection. Experience has shown that it takes longer to correctly assess the other person and there is a lot of room for interpretation.

"As a result, our documentation effort was significantly greater," summarizes Möller. All requirements and agreements had to be compiled in the specifications and discussed with the customer in order to jointly develop the requirements specification. This is no easy task, as online workshops rarely last longer than 4 hours.

"Remotely, there is no option to see what is meant with your counterpart on the store floor at the machines," Möller adds. Instead of explaining a work process on a machine, it has to be explained online. The increased time required in the various project phases of a remote MES introduction is reflected in rising costs. In the past, it took up to a year to acquire and introduce a company, but with a remote introduction, additional time of up to three months must be expected. The exact cost depends on the complexity of the system to be introduced. On the other hand, travel days and costs are eliminated.

"We learned a great deal and can only conclude by saying: as much online as possible, as much offline as necessary," concludes the Managing Director. And very importantly, with the knowledge gained, the MES experts were able to significantly increase efficiency when introducing MES solutions.