For mills, digitalization is no longer a strategic choice but an operating necessity. TIPS, the AI-enabled Manufacturing Execution System developed by TIETO, can turn production data into faster decisions, protect process knowledge and help teams run leaner under sustained cost and sustainability pressure.
What modern MES changes
When the objective is to achieve more with fewer resources, technology must assume a greater share of the operational workload. Mills cannot simply replace every expert who retires, and few organisations have the capacity to continue increasing headcount. This is why digital systems have become so important. They reduce dependence on scarce expertise, allow smaller teams to achieve more and help transfer operational knowledge before it is lost.
A modern MES connects business planning with real-time production control. It centralises planning, automates manual activities, reduces waste and improves decision-making throughout the order-to-cash process.
Flexible deployment lowers the barrier
The deployment model has become an integral part of the business case. MES platforms can now be implemented on-premises, as customer-hosted subscription solutions or as fully managed Software as a Service, SaaS.
Each model responds to different requirements: on-premises deployment offers maximum control; customer-hosted subscriptions provide infrastructure ownership combined with flexible licensing; and SaaS reduces operational effort while offering more predictable costs. This flexibility allows companies to select the model that best supports their IT strategy, investment approach and long-term business objectives.
AI moves execution closer to real time
The next stage is decision support at machine speed. Artificial intelligence can identify patterns, translate signals into actions and, within predefined limits, initiate tasks and monitor outcomes more rapidly than manual processes. The most advanced MES platforms are now incorporating agentic AI. This moves the system beyond recommendation towards controlled execution: using approved data, operating within defined boundaries, triggering tasks and tracking results against a specific target. In practical terms, it can be regarded as a new member of the operating team.
The shift is already visible
Tieto’s TIPS Industry Solutions & Services, a Manufacturing Execution System positioned between ERP and shop-floor automation, brings MES functionality directly into daily mill operations. TIPS OMS combines operating instructions, meeting records, root-cause analysis, work permits and anomaly tracking, while TIPS Costing provides visibility into both standard and actual production costs.
A dedicated version for tissue
The tissue industry has its own dedicated version of TIPS, reflecting a sector that has moved from the crisis management of the Covid period towards a phase of reinvention. Tieto’s Global Tissue Industry Study 2025 indicates that concerns surrounding energy and raw materials have eased since 2022, while continuing cost pressure is directing attention towards structural efficiency, OEE, advanced process control and IT/OT integration.
Customer satisfaction now ranks ahead of profitability and sustainability as the industry’s principal strategic priority. Digitalisation and artificial intelligence are already used daily across production, maintenance, quality and supply-chain activities.
For paper mills, regardless of their specific product portfolio, AI-enhanced manufacturing execution is no longer a theoretical concept. The real question is how long they can afford to postpone its adoption. More than 100 decision-makers from 82 companies worldwide contributed their insights to the Tissue Study.
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