Replacing a Legacy Planning Tool with a Purpose-Built MES Module
Replacing a Legacy Planning Tool with a Purpose-Built MES Module
From Power BI Workaround to Integrated Target Setting for a National Frozen Foods Manufacturer
The Challenge
A national manufacturer of frozen and prepared foods relied on PowerON, a Power BI-based tool that was never designed for planning, to manage annual performance targets and monthly improvement plans across dozens of production lines. Security concerns, additional licensing costs, no structured approval workflow, manual target validation, and a lack of role-based access controls made the tool increasingly difficult to manage at scale. Actuals and override tracking existed but lacked the depth needed for reliable line-level and factory-level reporting.
The Solution
We replaced PowerON with a dedicated target setting module inside the manufacturer’s existing MES platform. Key capabilities included:
- Configurable multi-step approval workflows with role-based routing
- Granular security privileges controlling version creation, submission, approval, revocation, and override entry
- Automated target calculations deriving baseline, stretch, and ceiling targets from entered data
- Enhanced actuals and override management with integrated tracking at both the line and factory level
- Self-service configuration of factories, lines, and workflows without developer involvement
The Results
- Strengthened access controls and data security
- Eliminated separate licensing costs and access constraints
- Replaced informal review with structured, auditable approval workflows
- Automated target validation and calculations previously done manually
- Consolidated target setting, actuals tracking, and override management in a single platform
Published:
March 10, 2026
Category:
Design / Development
