Rockwell Automation Inc. has announced a series of strategic innovations to its Manufacturing Execution System (MES) portfolio, a cloud-native, interoperable MES platform designed to unify operations across operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT).

The MES is intended to progress manufacturers toward autonomous operations by accelerating time to value, simplifying operations, and allowing capabilities scaling.

Traditional MES solutions often operate in silos, limiting visibility across OT and IT. According to Rockwell’s 2025 State of Smart Manufacturing Report, 21 percent of manufacturing leaders cite integration challenges as a top internal obstacle. Rockwell’s elastic MES is designed to eliminate these barriers with a single, unified platform that connects the manufacturing lifecycle, from materials and inventory to production and tooling. The MES also leverages embedded analytics, artificial intelligence (AI)-driven insights, and connected worker technology.

 Rockwell’s MES portfolio includes the following elastic qualities:

• Purpose-built for manufacturing: Tailored for discrete, hybrid, and regulated industries, ensuring compliance, traceability, and security
• Comprehensive capabilities: A multi-tenant Software as a Service (SaaS) environment with embedded AI technology to guide manufacturers along their autonomous operations journey
• Unified OT/IT integration: Seamless connectivity delivers holistic visibility and stronger business resiliency
• Extensible by design: A secure, resilient platform designed to integrate with existing systems and leverage emerging technologies like AI
• Resilient edge-to-cloud deployment: Flexible options from cloud-only to hybrid configurations to fit each site’s operational needs.

In the food and beverage industry, an example of how Rockwell’s MES solutions are being applied includes a baking mix manufacturer that automated work-in-progress (WIP) management and improved performance across finance and operations.

Rockwell Automation: www.rockwellautomation.com