Literature review on challenges and barriers for MES implementation

In the context of Industry 4.0, Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) are fundamental components, operating as a bridge between enterprise-level planning and real-time shop floor operations, thereby enabling smart manufacturing. Although MES are widely acknowledged for improving efficiency and enabling data-driven decisions, their effective deployment often faces multiple barriers that are both complex and interconnected. While previous studies highlight individual challenges, a holistic and categorized perspective on these obstacles is missing. This study aims to address this gap by providing a consolidated and structured framework of MES implementation challenges, enriching the existing body of knowledge through a detailed literature review. Drawing on a systematic literature review, this research identifies and categorizes these challenges into five distinct domains: technical, organizational, human/skills-related, contextual/external, and financial. This research contributes to a better understanding of MES implementation dynamics and offers a structured framework for identifying obstacles in both academic and industrial contexts. Future work will involve qualitative interviews with practitioners to bridge the gap between theory and real-world MES deployment strategies.