This study examines the operational performance of a Manufacturing Execution System (MES)-based smart factory and presents a case study to provide practical insights for the effective adoption of smart factories by small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Korea. While Industry 4.0 and Korea’s Manufacturing Innovation 3.0 policy have accelerated the digital transformation of manufacturing sites, the emerging paradigm of Industry 5.0 places greater emphasis on human-centricity, sustainability, and resilience. The case company, S Corporation, is a mid-sized automotive parts manufacturer that implemented an MES-based integrated platform encompassing production management, materials management through a Warehouse Management System (WMS), quality management via a Quality Management System (QMS), and equipment management. This integration enabled real-time monitoring and control of shop-floor operations, thereby enhancing data-driven decision-making. The case analysis, supported by a review of related literature, identifies significant quantitative improvements, including increased productivity, reduced defect rates, shorter lead times, and improved inventory turnover. In addition, several qualitative benefits were observed, such as enhanced process visibility, operational standardization, faster managerial decision-making, and a reduced workload for shop-floor operators. Overall, this study demonstrates a smart factory operational model that integrates the technological foundations of Industry 4.0 with the value-oriented principles of Industry 5.0. The findings provide meaningful implications for SMEs seeking to achieve sustainable and human-centered digital transformation in manufacturing.

The objective of this study is to identify the priority of elements for effective implementation of MES in small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises trying to develop into smart factories. For this purpose, the Delphi method and the Analytic Hierarchy Process(AHP) mothod are applied. As a result of the study, the cooperation of the members in the supply chain is the most important factor for small and medium-sized enterprises in order to survive in the global competitive environment. Therefore, the enterprises need to make various efforts to create synergies through the technical strength of suppliers and the cooperation in the process of introducing and operating MES.

Production management in the automobile parts industry is carried out according to the production plan of the customer, so it is important to prevent shortages in product supply. As the product composition became increasingly complex, the MES System was built for the purpose of efficient production plan management and inventory management, but its utilization is low. This study analyzed the problems of the MES system and sought to improve it. Through previous studies, it was confirmed that the inventory management of the pull approach that actually occurred in the warehouse is more suitable than the push approach based on the forecast of the warehouse for the volatility, complexity, and uncertainty of orders in the auto parts industry. To realize this, we tried distributed MRP by using the ADO function of VBA to link the standard information of the MES system with Excel and change the structure of the BOM table. Through this, it can help increase the accuracy of production planning and realize efficient inventory management, thereby increasing the utilization of the MES system in the auto parts industry and enhancing the competitiveness of the company.