What to Expect During a Pulp and Paper MES Implementation

By David Pawelke, President, MAJIQ

Last Updated: June 2026

TL;DR

 

Considering an MES often raises practical questions: How long will this take? How will it affect daily operations? Who needs to be involved—and when?

MES implementations happen in live pulp and paper environments, so structure, planning, and experience matter. With a proven approach, timelines stay predictable, operations stay stable, and teams know what’s coming. This post outlines what to expect. Our full guide goes deeper into readiness, execution, and the decisions that keep MES projects on track.

Preparing for an MES Implementation: What to Expect

 

If you’re reading this, you likely already understand what a pulp and paper MES is and why mills invest in one. (If not, start with our overview of what pulp and paper MES is and how it’s used.)

At this stage, evaluation shifts to practical questions:

• How will this affect day-to-day operations?
• How long will it take?
• What will be required from our team?
• How much disruption should we expect?

Those concerns are understandable. MES implementations take place in 24/7 operating environments, alongside active production and customer commitments.

Knowing what to expect—and how the process unfolds—reduces uncertainty and helps teams move forward with confidence.

First, a quick clarification

 

The insights we share in the post reflect what it’s like to work with MAJIQ, implementing either Elixir MES or Ether MES.

Our clients’ experience is precise and predictable because it’s built on more than 40 years of installing MES systems exclusively for pulp and paper mills.

How Long Does It Take to Implement MES?

 

The answer to this is that it depends. Your exact timeline is determined once the initial discovery takes place to understand your needs.

The most important aspect, however, is having a timeline you can count on. Precision matters, because rollout directly ties to business commitments, operational windows, and leadership expectations. Sometimes, deadlines are even tied to Transition Service Agreements (TSAs) established during mergers and acquisitions.

Our client Thunder Bay Mill met a similar challenge head on. Following their acquisition, Thunder Bay needed to replace their large legacy ERP in under a year.

MAJIQ applied several proven processes to help them meet their ambitious 9-month timeframe. They were able to comply with the TSA, transitioning from their legacy ERP to Elixir MES—on schedule and without production downtime.

What Happens First?

 

Once the project officially kicks off, the first thing that happens is getting your resources in place. MAJIQ, for example, creates a project team that will be with you throughout the implementation.

This includes:

• A Project Manager who serves as your primary point of contact and directly manages all phases of the project.
• Functional and technical leads who guide system configuration, training, and integrations.
• A senior leader who acts as an executive sponsor and provides oversight.

Another early step is to establish a project charter. This is your north star—documenting the scope, objectives, roles, responsibilities, timeline assumptions, and success criteria for the implementation.

It creates a shared understanding across both teams and serves as a reference point throughout the project, especially when decisions need to be made or changes are considered. Having this level of clarity upfront helps keep the project aligned and moving forward as planned.

Who from My Team Will Be Involved?

 

This is one of the most frequent questions we get asked. And rightfully so. Pulling together internal resources is sometimes challenging, especially when juggling other roles. But it’s also one of the most important factors that lead to your success.

On the mill side, three types of resources play a role:

• Project leadership to coordinate work, manage priorities, and make decisions.
• Technical resources to support infrastructure, interfaces, and system integration.
• Functional subject matter experts (SMEs) who understand real workflows and data.

Choose your project management team carefully. The individuals selected should have authority to make decisions, have production experience and understand mill systems and workflows, and be a great communicator and problem solver.

What Are the Key Milestones of an MES Implementation?

 

MES implementations should follow a defined sequence. Each phase builds on the one before it, and the order matters.

At a high level, the flow looks like this:

• Project preparation
• Discovery and alignment
• Implementation and testing
• System acceptance
• Go-live and stabilization
• Transition to long-term support

This structure exists for a reason. It ensures teams align early, validate assumptions before building, test realistically before going live, and stabilize the system before shifting to steady operations.

Will Our Day-to-Day Operations Be Impacted?

 

An MES implementation happens in the midst of 24/7 operations. Avoiding and limiting downtime in production is always the goal. This reality shapes every decision that’s made.

This is where meticulous planning is key, aided by templates and best practices. Clear visibility into what’s coming—and when—makes a real difference.

For example, space is always a constraint in a mill environment. When teams know a major milestone like system acceptance testing or cutover is approaching, they can prepare ahead of time. In practice, that may mean freeing up space on the floor, designating buffer areas for product, or planning where material can be staged if something doesn’t go exactly as expected.

Thinking through those contingencies in advance—where product could go, who to call, and how issues would be handled—helps teams absorb issues without disrupting live operations.

How Do Teams Get Ready for Go-Live?

 

There are plenty of considerations when it comes to MES readiness. Training is one of the biggest enablers of success. Using a phased approach—not a one-time event—makes a difference in reaching the ultimate goal of MES ownership.

Typically, training is divided into three phases:

• Hands-on discovery
  This is where the MES experts work directly with your team to teach them how to use your MES. For MAJIQ, we use a scenario-based approach that is very effective at uncovering real process or system gaps. Teams work in a MAJIQ database populated with samples of their own data, so the training is practical and relevant to real-world use cases.
• Train-the-trainer sessions
  Your core project team, with support from MES experts, expands the group of trained users. This helps strengthen internal knowledge and prepares the organization to support the system long term.
• End-user training
  End-user training is held four to six weeks before go-live and focuses on preparing floor users. This is one of the final steps before the system is launched.

Training is supported by resources such as videos, online courses, documentation, and template databases that help teams continue learning and build confidence over time.

Want the Full Playbook?

 

This post provides a high-level view of what to expect during an MES implementation—how the workflows, who’s involved, and why structure matters.

Our Guide to a Smooth MES Implementation goes deeper. It walks through each phase in detail, explains governance and readiness, and shows how successful pulp and paper MES projects stay on track from discovery through go-live and beyond.

If you’re planning or evaluating an MES initiative, the guide gives you the practical depth needed to prepare your organization and move forward with confidence.

You can download the guide here.