Vol.15, No.2, May 2026.                                                                                                                                                                          ISSN: 2217-8309

                                                                                                                                                                                                                        eISSN: 2217-8333

TEM Journal

TECHNOLOGY, EDUCATION, MANAGEMENT, INFORMATICS

Association for Information Communication Technology Education and Science

Ant Colony Optimization for Order Processing and Labeling Automation in Food Manufacturing Using ERP–MES–IoT Integration

Borislav Borisov, Vladimir Todorov

© 2026 Borislav Borisov, published by UIKTEN. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License. (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

Citation Information: TEM Journal. Volume 15, Issue 2, Pages 960-969, ISSN 2217-8309, DOI: 10.18421/TEM152-01, May 2026.

Received: 28 August 2025.
Revised: 14 January 2026.
Accepted: 28 January 2026.
Published: 27 May 2026.

Abstract:

This paper presents an integrated system for automating order processing and labeling in a food manufacturing enterprise. The solution links the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system with a custom Manufacturing Execution System (MES) and enables real-time communication with industrial IoT devices such as labeling scales, mobile terminals, and thermal transfer printers. Production orders include attributes such as quantity, deadline, price, unit, barcode, and identifiers, which are dynamically printed on labels. A software agent retrieves orders, distributes tasks, and monitors operator interaction. To increase efficiency, an Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) algorithm generates production plans that balance workloads and reduce delays. The developed architecture ensures traceability, flexible label customization, and improved operator productivity. Experimental evaluation shows that the ACO-based optimization decreases processing time and supports timely order fulfilment under dynamic conditions. The study demonstrates that ERP–MES–IoT integration combined with optimization methods enhances responsiveness and efficiency in food manufacturing processes.

Keywords – Smart manufacturing, Ant Colony Optimization, order management, real-time labeling, IoT.

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