5 minute read • published in partnership with ITI Group
Insight: Why Manufacturing Execution Systems should be first on an SME’s digital roadmap in 2026
Digital investment remains top of mind for manufacturers. But with limited budgets, lean teams and no tolerance for disruption, where you start matters more than what you buy. ITI Group’s Oliver Stone and Elisabeth Tellier of Astrée Software explain why the first step must be getting control of the factory floor.
Digital adoption continues to stall among small manufacturers. One in two ranks it among their top priorities for the year ahead* – the same figure as 12 months ago. That stagnation tells its own story. While intent remains high, execution is being delayed by rising costs, tighter margins, volatile demand, labour shortages, and stricter quality requirements.
For small and mid-sized companies, the difference between resilience and paralysis is decided on the factory floor. This is where value is created or lost. Every unplanned stoppage, missed target or quality defect impacts cost, delivery performance and customer confidence. Making products faster, cheaper and right first time strengthens profitability, supports scalable growth and builds operational resilience.
Yet many SMEs have the least control precisely where it matters most. Production is still routinely managed using paper, spreadsheets and after-the-fact recording. Leaders may think they understand performance, but in reality, they are managing based on assumptions.
Despite years of talk around digital transformation, nearly 70% of SMEs still lack real-time insight** into what’s happening on their production lines. The consequences of that blind spot manifest as slow responses to disruption, inconsistent output, margin erosion and decisions too late to prevent loss. Often, these losses are underestimated – even normalised – because the underlying causes are invisible.
Why most SME digital programmes fall short
A common mistake SMEs make is starting their digital journey in the wrong place. ERP upgrades, reporting dashboards or automation projects are tempting, but without control and oversight, these initiatives stall and leadership ends up asking why “digital transformation” hasn’t translated into performance gains.
The first step of any digital journey is observation, not software. Walk the factory floor, talk to operators and observe processes to identify:
• Where is time being lost?
• Where is information missing, delayed or disputed?
• Which processes rely on paper, keying information or informal workarounds?
From there, define a handful of clear, measurable objectives like reduce unplanned downtime, remove paper from a process, improve schedule adherence or raise OEE. These goals then guide the system choice and deployment scope – not the other way around.
Take control the right way
If ERP defines what should happen, Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) reveal what is happening. Think of ERP as an architectural drawing, and MES as the construction manager. MES provides continuous oversight, coordination and feedback, turning output, downtime, losses and rework into actionable data while there is still time to intervene.
This is why MES must be at the centre of digital conversations. For SMEs, it is the control layer that makes every other factory investment effective. Without it, reporting is retrospective, improvements are guesswork, and operational blind spots create vulnerabilities.
MES once had a reputation for being expensive, complex and suitable only for large, highly standardised factories with dedicated IT teams. Times have changed. Modern MES platforms are modular, cloud-based, fast to deploy and designed for phased adoption. Rather than digitise everything at once, manufacturers can start small – basic performance tracking on a single line – and scale only once value is proven.
Aquiweb – MES built for SMEs
Aquiweb by Astrée Software is an MES built for SMEs. It captures real-time monitoring, OEE traceability, quality control, documentation, scheduling and materials management in a single, connected system. By freeing production managers from chasing data, it allows them to focus on orchestrating operations – saving two hours a day on average.
Across hundreds of deployments, manufacturers have seen efficiency gains of 15% by targeting and eliminating losses, not through new machines or added headcount, but by gaining control of existing resources.
For example, in one recent deployment, VINOVALI, a French food manufacturer, reduced unplanned downtime by 30% in six months by using automated loss tracking and OEE analysis. In another case, digital inspection forms and centralised documentation halved the time spent on quality reporting.
The common thread is not sector, size or digital maturity; it’s visibility. Once performance is measurable and real-time, decision-making changes. Losses previously assumed unavoidable are challenged, bottlenecks are addressed rather than worked around, and improvements accelerate.
The emphasis is on starting with control, proving value and expanding strategically. This is made possible by Aquiweb’s uniquely modular structure. Most SMEs begin with Aquitime for real-time production monitoring, OEE tracking and performance analysis, delivering immediate visibility and – as the examples above demonstrate – rapid return on investment.
From there, expansion is driven by business priorities:
• Aquiplanner for smoother scheduling and less firefighting,
• Aquidoc for digitised work instruction and paperless processes,
• Aquiqual for more robust quality monitoring and compliance,
• Aquimaint to shift from reactive to preventative maintenance.
Control comes from visibility
Across all manufacturing environments, we see a consistent pattern: performance doesn’t improve without visibility. When production data lives on slips of paper or in disconnected files, downtime is explained away, losses are ignored and quality issues surface too late. Aquiweb MES immediately changes that dynamic by creating a single, real-time view of what is happening on the shop floor.
The platform has already been deployed across hundreds of sites in France, many operating under the same pressures faced by UK businesses. Through an exclusive agreement between ITI Group and Astrée Software, Aquiweb is now available in the UK. The partnership combines Astrée’s cost-effective, scalable and proven MES with ITI’s 50 years of experience delivering manufacturing technology projects that drive real operational success.
Many SMEs assume they are too small for MES. In fact, small companies often see results faster than larger ones. Eliminating just one persistent bottleneck can have a transformative impact on performance – and for SMEs just starting their digital journeys, the opportunities for improvement are huge.
Warning signs your operation would benefit from MES include:
• Production data is incomplete, delayed or unreliable.
• Plans change repeatedly at the last-minute.
• Reporting consumes disproportionate management time.
• Decisions are made on gut feel rather than evidence.
If any of these apply, it’s time to act. Ask yourself:
• How long can you keep running blind before customers notice?
• What happens when margins tighten another 2-3%?~
• How exposed are you if a major customer audits your production control?
SMEs that move first to stabilise and expose factory performance give themselves options. They gain evidence needed to prioritise improvement, justify further investment and scale with confidence. You know your operations; ITI Group understands manufacturing technology and how to deploy it effectively. Together, we can turn visibility into control and measurable results. Connect with us to learn how Aquiweb MES can transform your factory floor. Reach out at enquiries@itigroup.com or call 01274 599955.
