MES/OEE consultant playbook

TeepTrak published two consultant-facing playbooks on April 22 that tell manufacturing advisers how to vet MES and OEE software — and how to run a 48-hour proof of concept before recommending a vendor. (teeptrak.com) MES, or manufacturing execution system, is the software layer between enterprise planning tools and factory machines; OEE, or overall equipment effectiveness, is the score plants use to track downtime, speed loss, and defects on a line. TeepTrak says consultants often make the shortlist decision during diagnostic work, before any formal request-for-proposal begins. (teeptrak.com 1) (teeptrak.com 2) The vendor-evaluation guide says the strongest predictor is how fast a system can produce “first reliable data.” TeepTrak says vendors that can generate validated OEE data within 48 hours of arriving on site “consistently succeed,” while systems that need two to four weeks “consistently struggle.” (teeptrak.com) The same guide says consultants should test whether operators actually use the software, not just whether a demo looks polished. TeepTrak sets one benchmark at an 85%+ operator entry rate over 90 days and says vendors below 60% fail because the data becomes unreliable. (teeptrak.com) The second playbook is built for lean manufacturing engagements that TeepTrak says usually run eight to twelve weeks. It tells consultants to get real-time OEE data from at least two production lines during the first two diagnostic weeks, then use that output in a steering-committee deck by the end of week two. (teeptrak.com) TeepTrak says the 48-hour proof of concept should be proposed at kickoff, and only if the vendor team can arrive with equipment in hand. The company says it has run 200+ consultant-led proofs of concept and that a travel delay pushing delivery to day three or four can undermine the “48 hours” promise to the client. (teeptrak.com) The pitch lands in a market where full MES projects are still measured in months. TeepTrak’s own MES explainer says most manufacturers spend 12 to 18 months deploying a full system before seeing any OEE improvement, because MES covers a broad list of functions from scheduling to quality and genealogy tracking. (teeptrak.com) TeepTrak frames its guidance as a consultant’s shortcut through that complexity. The April 22 articles cite six years of deployments at 450+ plants and conversations with consultants from firms including BCG, McKinsey, Bain, Kearney, Roland Berger, and Sia Partners. (teeptrak.com) The articles are also explicit about who is speaking. Both pieces are published by TeepTrak and attribute the framework to founder and chief executive François Coulloudon, who the company identifies as a former BCG operations consultant from 2011 to 2015. (teeptrak.com 1) (teeptrak.com 2) For consultants, the documents turn a software search into a timing test: how quickly a vendor can capture live factory data, how many operators will keep feeding it, and whether those results are ready before the client’s week-two decision meeting. (teeptrak.com 1) (teeptrak.com 2)