從交易成本看製造執行系統廠商的演化

Abstract

製造執行系統在企業資源規劃與工廠製造設備間扮演著重要的角色。在今日的自動化工廠□，製造執行系統模組隨處可見，但我們亦觀察到日漸消失的製造執行系統廠商現象。本論文將從交易成本角度來分析此看來似乎互相矛盾的兩現象。換句話說，由於潛在客戶可能有不同企業資源規劃與製造設備的產品選擇，故必須有許多不同的軟體介面設計來連接兩者。但如果製造執行系統廠商能由企業資源規劃或製造設備廠商買入或合併，則界面設計的額外成本就成為多餘的。從降低交易成本的分析可以解釋為何到處可看到製造執行系統模組與製造執行系統廠商會消失的共存。此外這亦可提供製造執行系統廠商的出現與消失現象的演化闡釋。

Manufacturing Executing System (MES) plays a pivoting role between Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) layer and manufacturing equipment at the shop floor. Today MES modules are pervasive in automated factories, but we have also observed the phenomenon of diminishing MES-dedicated software vendors. In this thesis, both conflict-like phenomenons are studied from the tranaction cost viewpoint. In other words, many interface or adaptor designs are inevitable for integrating various products at the ERP layer and distinctive manufacturing equipment because the potential buyers may have different combinations in both ends. However, if the MES-dedicated software vendors can be acquired or merged into ERP or manufacturing equipment vendors, then such extra costs for designing interfaces or adaptors become a redundancy. A tranaction cost reduction analysis gives a clear explanation for the co-existence of the pervasiveness of MES modules and the diminishing phenomeons of MES-dedicated vendors. Moreover, this offers an evolutional interpretation for the emergence and extinction of most MES-dedicated vendors.