Industry 5.0 is for every factory. Climb it one step at a time.
A maturity check and eight steps from Excel to Intelligence, for SME manufacturers on SAP Business One and the Boyum Solutions. Each step is scoped to deliver value on its own.
- 9 steps: a maturity check and eight more
- SAP Business One
- Delivered mainly through ViSA
The smartStep ladder: step 00 Maturity check, then eight steps: Digital core, Plan, Make and control, Cost and margins, Store and trace, See, Connect, Predict.
A practical roadmap from Excel to Intelligence. Built for SME manufacturers in India.
smartStep breaks the journey into a maturity check and eight steps. Steps 1 to 4 build the digital core, steps 5 and 6 add control and visibility, and steps 7 and 8 make the factory connected and intelligent. You begin where you are, prove the value, and climb only when you are ready. Each of steps 1 to 4 is a complete step on its own.
Step 00 Maturity check
Where the plant stands today, step by step.
Steps 1–4 The digital core
One system, a real plan, live shop-floor data and true product cost.
Steps 5–6 Control and visibility
Warehouse control and daily numbers for management.
Steps 7–8 Connected and intelligent
Machine data and AI, on clean, connected data.
What changes at each step. And who delivers it.
Each step solves a problem SME manufacturers meet every day. Choose a step to see where you are when you are on it, what it gives you, what it is built with and who delivers it.
Maturity check
You are here when…
✗No clear picture of where the plant stands today.
What you gain
- An as-is score for every step of the ladder
- A gap register, and As-Is and To-Be process models
- A clear next move
Digital core
You are here when…
✗Data sits in spreadsheets and is typed in more than once.
What you gain
- One system of record for sales, purchasing, stock and finance: SAP Business One
- B1UP adds function buttons, field changes through the Item Placement Tool, and data validations on SAP Business One screens
On the ladder
Built with
- SAP Business One
- B1UP
Delivered by
First ERP: MEIS (on this page), our sister company. B1UP: procEnact → toolDeploy
SAP Business One is the system of record at every step after this one.Plan
You are here when…
✗Shortages are found on the shop floor, and delivery dates are guesses.
What you gain
- The MRP Wizard calculates material requirements from sales orders, forecasts, minimum stock and current stock, with purchase and production recommendations
- MRP2 shows resource workload against capacity, per MRP scenario
- APS schedules work orders against each resource’s planned capacity, shift schedule and factory calendar
APS needs the Beas APS licence.
Make & control
You are here when…
✗Job status, inspections and job work live on paper.
What you gain
- Times, statuses and quantities reported at the Beas Desktop Terminal or the Beas WebApps
- QC-inspection plans on items and routing operations create QC orders; goods are released or blocked
- Outsourced operations bought as service items, with provided parts posted against the work order
The terminal needs the Production Data Collection licence; QC on terminals needs the Quality Control licence.
Cost & margins
You are here when…
✗Prices are set on material cost plus a markup.
What you gain
- Post-calculation per work order: accrued against planned cost, marginal and full
- Calculation schemas add material and production overhead, and define which WIP accounts are posted
- Absorption Costing distributes actual accounted costs to items
Absorption Costing needs the Beas Cost Accounting extended / Business Performance licence.
On the ladder
Built with
- Beas Manufacturing
Delivered by
costAbsorb needs Beas Manufacturing running.Store & trace
You are here when…
✗Stock is in the system, but nobody can find it.
What you gain
- Warehouse work on Produmex WMS, on SAP Business One
- Beas sends material requests to Produmex WMS for picking, and production goods issue and receipt run through the integration
See
You are here when…
✗Owners wait for month-end reports.
What you gain
- Daily management numbers, sent on autopilot
- By email, on WhatsApp, on the phone and inside SAP Business One
On the ladder
Built with
- misBoost
Delivered by
A BPAS Custom Library, alongside the seven ViSA services.Connect
You are here when…
✗Machine status is known only by walking the floor.
What you gain
- Machine data and OEE flowing into the system
On the ladder
Built with
- Machine data (MES)
Delivered by
With an MES specialist
Not a BPAS service.Predict
You are here when…
✗Answers wait for someone to build a report.
What you gain
- AI that advises, on top of clean, connected data
- The Beas AI Assistant creates work orders and receipts from a chat, and retrieves Beas and SAP Business One data
The Beas AI Assistant needs Beas 2025.09 or later and an OpenAI key.
On the ladder
Built with
- AI inside SAP Business One
Delivered by
Needs real manufacturing history.Across the ladder
devCenter →Steps 01–05, where standard configuration stops. maxValue →Every step, from the day after each go-live.
The biggest barrier is a belief. That this is only for large companies.
Industry 4.0 means connected, data-driven operations. Industry 5.0 puts people at the centre, with technology that helps operators, supervisors and owners decide better. Both are usually shown through big plants with robots. The real gains come from simpler things: knowing what is happening on your floor, planning against real capacity, and seeing your true costs.
- Myth: You need a large budget and an IT teamThe smartStep reality: Small steps, sized to your plant
- Myth: It means robots on day oneThe smartStep reality: Better data and planning, not robots
- Myth: You must replace everything at onceThe smartStep reality: One platform, extended step by step
- Myth: Results take yearsThe smartStep reality: Each step is scoped to deliver value on its own
Industry 5.0 is not a ninth step. It is how every step is done.
Every step is human-centric, sustainable and resilient.
- For people
Human-centric
- Change that people adopt and keep, with ADKAR® change management
- Goals each team owns
- Gains that stay in place after go-live
On all nine steps
- For the planet
Sustainable
- Accrued against planned cost per work order, so variances are visible
- QC orders record inspections, and goods are released or blocked
- Material planned from sales orders, forecasts and stock levels
On all nine steps
- For continuity
Resilient
- Shortages seen in MRP before they reach the line
- Outsourced operations on purchase orders, with provided parts posted against the work order
- Delivery dates checked against resources and material from the sales order line (Capable-to-Promise needs the APS licence)
On all nine steps
smartStep is the map. ViSA is how each step is delivered.
Seven ViSA services, each one a complete engagement on its own. The Boyum Solutions and the BPAS Custom Libraries are what gets built at each step.
In a BPAS gap review you get a short list of what is costing your plant dates and money today, and the order to fix it in.
Daily numbers for the people who decide. misBoost.
misBoost
A management layer for SAP Business One
235 boosters in ten domains. The packs build themselves from your SAP Business One data and arrive on their own, so nobody prepares or sends them.
proBoost
BPAS Custom Libraries for SAP Business One
BPAS Custom Libraries, alongside the seven ViSA services: pre-built libraries that configure straight into SAP Business One, one tuned to each set-up. You choose the boosters your plant needs.
- 313proBoostSAP Business One
- 409mfgBoostSAP Business One + Beas
- 409wmsBoostSAP Business One + Produmex
- 529scmBoostSAP Business One + Beas + Produmex
From firefighting to project-driven planning.
An Indian made-to-order processing-machinery maker
Processing machinery built to order. Every machine is a project, with deep multi-level bills of materials and heavy subcontracting.
Before: reactive firefighting on every project.
Real customerName and a reference call on request. Ask us →
- Material requirements and recommendations for every machine order, from the MRP Wizard
- Each project with its tasks, budget and milestones in SAP Business One
- Outsourced operations on purchase orders, with provided parts posted against the work order
- Actual against planned cost for every work order, through post-calculation
Went live without disrupting operations.
Business improvements, built on a solid base.
smartStep builds each capability on the one before it, on one platform.
From where you are
The maturity check shows the step your plant is on today, so each investment fits the plant you actually have.
Budget in stages
Each step has its own scope and payback. No single large commitment.
People at the centre
Every step makes the work easier for planners, supervisors and operators, to help adoption.
One platform
SAP Business One is the system of record at every step, so data moves from the shop floor to finance with less re-keying.
SAP Business Onethe system of record under every step
Plan your next step. A little every month.
Two newsletters and a webinar series, each written for a different person in the plant.
-
Newsletter · For owners and CXOs
smartStep CXO Compass
Navigating Towards Industry 5.0
A five-minute monthly briefing: one step of the smartStep ladder each month, explained in business terms, with one practical thing to do before the next issue.
- How often
- Second Wednesday of every month
- Format
- A five-minute read, by invitation
For SME manufacturers.
-
Newsletter · For your power users
For the internal champions and power users
One SAP Business One practice, one Boyum practice, a ten-minute quick win and stories from factories like yours, for the people who keep the system healthy.
- How often
- Third Wednesday of every month
- Format
- Practices you can apply in ten minutes
-
Webinar series · For owners, CXOs and plant heads
smartStep webinars
Industry 5.0 is for every factory
Twelve monthly sessions that take SME manufacturers from Excel to Intelligence on SAP Business One and the Boyum Solutions, one step of the ladder at a time. Every session stands on its own.
- How often
- Third Thursday of every month
- Format
- 12 sessions of 40 minutes: a 30-minute session and 10 minutes of live Q&A · free, online
No ERP yet? Start with MEIS
For SME manufacturers putting in their first ERP, MEIS implements SAP Business One.
Live in weeks, not months.
Visit meis.in ↗ (opens in a new tab)- Still on spreadsheetsNo ERP yet
- MEIS implements SAP Business OneYour manufacturing ERP, live
- Add the Boyum Solutions
- Beas Manufacturing
- B1UP
- B1 Print & Delivery
- Produmex WMS
- Produmex Scan
- Perfion PIM
- Choose your ViSA servicesSeven services, from gapScan to aiEnable
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