Technology solutions

How we connect to your ERP and shop floor

Two connection points come up in most of our Industry 4.0 projects: the machines on the line and the ERP that holds the business transactions. We built OpexFlow to sit between them. It is our own integration middleware, and it runs as one binary at the edge.

About OpexFlow →|flow.opexcg.com (opens in a new tab)

Machines and controllers

OpexFlow reads Modbus TCP and RTU, EtherNet/IP, OPC-UA (polled or subscribed), Fanuc FOCAS, MTConnect, MQTT and NATS JetStream. It also serves the tags it collects over a read-only OPC-UA server, so SCADA and MES clients can browse them but cannot write to machines.

Coding printers

Markem-Imaje, Hitachi, Videojet, Domino Ax-Series, Zebra, TSC and SATO printers, EOT-SUM lasers, and any printer that takes text lines. A production order from the ERP or MES becomes one job per printer, and every job is logged.

ERP and business systems

OpexFlow posts to NetSuite with token-based auth or OAuth 2.0, and calls any other ERP or REST API through its HTTP node (bearer, basic or OAuth 2.0 client credentials). It receives signed webhooks from DOKU, GlobalTix and any HMAC-SHA256 sender, and has SOAP, SFTP, email, IMAP and SQL connectors for systems without a REST API. A read-only or sandbox-only posting mode keeps a proof of concept from writing to production.

Delivery guarantees

With the durable queue on, each record is written to a SQLite file before the first send, delivered in order, retried with backoff and signed with HMAC. A record the receiver permanently rejects goes to a dead-letter queue, where you can edit it, replay it or discard it. Delivery is at-least-once, so the receiving side should drop repeats; OpexFlow has a dedupe node for that. Records can leave through a signed webhook (to OpexMX or any receiver that verifies the signature), NATS, MQTT, SQLite history, ClickHouse or Postgres.

Where it runs

One static binary under 60 MB with the flow editor built in, for Linux x86_64 and ARM64 (Raspberry Pi), Windows and macOS. It needs no Node.js and no database server, and Docker is optional.

ERP and OT work in our projects

Beyond the OpexFlow product, our implementation projects include synchronisation with the ERP that holds production schedules, bills of materials and inventory. Platforms in our projects include SAP S/4HANA and Epicor Kinetic. See our strategic technology pages for Siemens and Epicor. OPC-UA and PLC machine data capture has been used for machine utilisation and OEE. See the case study: Cross-Border Machine Telemetry, OPC-UA & Azure IoT Hub.

Opex software products

OpexMXMaintenance ExecutionAI maintenance execution: work orders, preventive maintenance, spare parts, and condition monitoring that turns alerts into work orders.SlingXEpicor Customization SuiteRich customized menus built directly on Epicor Kinetic, tailored to specific business requirements: machine service calls, sales commissions, and beyond.OpexFCDemand ForecastingDemand forecasting features to do what most ERP cannot do. It comes with statistical and Machine Learning algorithm, automatic best-method selection, and guided planning cycles from input to export to ERP.OpexMESManufacturing Execution SystemManufacturing Execution System: shopfloor digitization and digitalization, real-time status of production lines, machines and material, digital OEE tracking, digital work orders, and unit-level traceability from release to completion.OpexAIOAI Operations PlatformAI-enabled operations suite embedding intelligent agents and automated triage across help desk, ticketing system, PMO, timesheets, and CRM.OpexTRXTime & Activity TrackingTrack every hour: timer, weekly timesheet grid, and calendar views with utilization reports, approvals, and export: flexible time tracking for project teams.OpexFlowIntegration MiddlewareIntegration middleware in one binary. It connects PLCs, CNCs and coding printers to your ERP, payment and data systems, and delivers every record through a durable, signed queue.