For a number of reasons, every organization has a unique approach to IT. With manufacturing in particular, the approach often is dictated by the type of products and processes involved. For some companies aiming to improve manufacturing operations capabilities, it may make sense to build on the enterprise backbone, which is typically ERP. For others, however, it makes sense to build upon existing manufacturing operations management (MOM) or industrial automation investments.
Since there are various types of IT foundations found in today's complex organizations, it's important to understand the various approaches to building out MOM capabilities. Based on the three IT models described above, there are three corresponding approaches: a top-down or ERP-centric approach, a center-out or MOM-centric approach, or a bottom-up or industrial automation-centric approach. The following is an explanation of some of the main pros and cons of each.