Enabling Continuous Innovation in Medical Device Manufacturing Through MES Modernization & Integration

Client Overview

A U.S.-based global leader in continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) has been pioneering real-time health insights for over 25 years. Their advanced biosensing solutions empower millions of patients and clinicians worldwide to improve outcomes through continuous innovation.

Business Challenge

As the client scaled manufacturing and R&D operations, their existing Manufacturing Execution System (MES) faced mounting pressures to:

Manage increasing production complexity and higher data throughput.
Deliver real-time integration across shop-floor equipment, enterprise applications, and MES.
Sustain high system performance despite shorter innovation cycles and accelerated product releases.

Athena’s Engagement

Since 2020, Athena has served as a strategic MES partner, delivering remote professional services to stabilize, upgrade, and integrate MES environments—migrating from earlier Siemens Opcenter releases to the latest high-complexity versions.

Key Milestones & Contributions

MES Stabilization & Operational Support
1. Delivered technical stabilization for Opcenter 5X, optimizing performance in collaboration with client architects.
2. Provided continuous development support during critical operational transitions.
Major Upgrade: Opcenter 5X → 8X
1. Led a full-scale upgrade to Opcenter 8X via Athena’s dedicated offsite development team.
2. Modernized Manufacturing Integration and Orchestration (MIO) for tighter interoperability with enterprise systems.
R&D Enablement & Iterative Enhancements
1. Delivered post-upgrade production support to accelerate R&D-driven MES feature development.
2. Advanced Opcenter from 8X to version 24.04, providing QA and developer support.
Advanced System Integration
1. Integrated MIO with shop-floor equipment for real-time data capture.
2. Connected MES with ERP (SAP, Oracle EBS), asset management (Maximo), and LMS platforms.

Business Impact

Athena’s partnership has enabled the client to operate on a robust, scalable, and integration-ready MES platform, resulting in:

Accelerated upgrade cycles across multiple Opcenter versions.
Reliable, real-time data flows between MES, ERP, and factory systems
Seamless middleware integration via MIO
Sustained operational excellence to support ongoing innovation in CGM manufacturing

Discover how a global leader in continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) partnered with Athena to modernize and integrate their Manufacturing Execution System (MES). By upgrading across multiple Siemens Opcenter versions, enabling real-time system integration, and supporting advanced R&D initiatives, Athena helped the client achieve scalable, reliable, and future-ready manufacturing operations.

Read the full case study to see how Athena drives MES performance, accelerates innovation, and empowers medical device leaders to deliver life-changing technologies at scale.