Architecture & scope
Dirk safeguarded the architecture and scope across manufacturing processes, MES, enterprise IT, logistics and automation.
Case study · Hessing
MES and IT/OT for Hessing’s new fresh food facility in Venlo.
A greenfield manufacturing environment in Greenport Venlo in which traceability, short lead times and high availability had to be designed into both processes and systems from day one.
- Organisation
- Hessing Supervers
- Environment
- New fresh food production facility in Greenport Venlo
- Domain
- MES/MOM and IT/OT
- Source
- Public Actemium customer story
01 — Context
Manufacturing context and published outcomes
According to Actemium’s published customer story, Hessing’s new fresh food production facility processes more than 320,000 kilograms of vegetables each day across more than 850 product types. A robust MES solution based on AVEVA System Platform provides the digital foundation for controlling manufacturing operations.
The stated requirements include end-to-end traceability, short lead times, high availability and just-in-time delivery. The scope therefore extends across manufacturing execution, material flows, integration and operational control.
02 — Contribution
Dirk Aalten’s contribution
Dirk Aalten contributed to the MES and IT/OT workstream for this greenfield manufacturing environment, from defining the architecture and aligning suppliers through integration, commissioning and operational handover.
Multi-supplier governance
He made design decisions, responsibilities and dependencies explicit across technical disciplines and suppliers.
Delivery & handover
He guided the transition from blueprint and integration through commissioning to a supportable operating environment.
03 — Insights
What this case demonstrates
- 01Traceability is not a standalone feature; it depends on consistent identification, transactions and system responsibilities across the value chain.
- 02Short lead times require deliberate choices about planning, execution, material movement and real-time information.
- 03A greenfield creates opportunities for standardisation, but also makes early integration and governance principles critical.
04 — About Dirk
Dirk Aalten — independent MES/MOM and IT/OT architect
More than 25 years in digital manufacturing across food, feed and pharma, spanning strategy, architecture and programme leadership.
Aalten Business Consultancy
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