Top 12 Manufacturing Execution Software (MES) Software (Jun 2024)

Manufacturing Execution Software (MES) Buyer's Guide

Overview

Manufacturing software is a category of software designed to help businesses streamline and optimize their manufacturing processes. It encompasses a range of tools and applications that assist in various aspects of production, from inventory management to quality control.

Why Businesses Need It

Manufacturing software is essential for businesses looking to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance productivity in their manufacturing operations. By automating manual tasks, providing real-time insights, and facilitating better decision-making, this software can help companies stay competitive in the fast-paced manufacturing industry.

Main Features

Some of the key features of manufacturing software include inventory management, production planning, scheduling, quality management, resource optimization, maintenance tracking, and reporting and analytics. These features help businesses manage their manufacturing processes more effectively and efficiently.

Main Business Processes the Software Apps Can Help With

Manufacturing software can assist businesses in various critical processes such as inventory control, production scheduling, quality assurance, supply chain management, equipment maintenance, compliance management, and performance analysis. By automating and streamlining these processes, companies can improve their overall operational performance.

Steps on How to Buy This Software

When buying manufacturing software, businesses should first assess their specific needs and goals. They should then research different software vendors, request demos and trials, evaluate the software based on their requirements, consider pricing and scalability, negotiate terms, and finally, make the purchase.

Things to Consider

When selecting manufacturing software, businesses should consider factors such as scalability, integration capabilities with existing systems, ease of use, vendor reputation and support, security features, compliance with industry regulations, and future updates and upgrades.

Most Popular Vendors and Market Share

Some of the most popular vendors in the manufacturing software category include SAP, Oracle, Microsoft, Infor, Plex Systems, Epicor, and IQMS. SAP and Oracle are among the market leaders, with a significant share of the market due to their comprehensive solutions and industry expertise.

Trends and Next Steps

Current trends in manufacturing software include the adoption of cloud-based solutions, the integration of IoT and AI technologies for predictive maintenance and automation, the focus on sustainability and green manufacturing practices, and the emphasis on data analytics for real-time insights and decision-making.

10 Questions to Ask Software Vendors During a Demo

1. How does your software handle production scheduling and optimization?
2. Can your software integrate with our existing ERP system?
3. What kind of support and training do you provide to customers?
4. How secure is your software in terms of data protection?
5. Does your software offer real-time visibility into the manufacturing process?
6. Can your software help us comply with industry regulations and standards?
7. What analytics and reporting capabilities does your software offer?
8. How scalable is your software as our business grows?
9. What are the implementation timelines and processes for your software?
10. How does your software address maintenance and downtime issues?

Head to head Manufacturing Execution Software (MES) software leaders comparisons:

List of Manufacturing Execution Software (MES) Software:

Manufacturing Software Pricing

Businesses looking for manufacturing software can expect to pay between $120 to $200 per month. Note that many products are priced per user, per month, so a company planning to deploy software with up to 10 user accounts should expect to pay around $1,500 per month if the software costs $150. Alternatively, some manufacturing software are priced on a per-year basis. For example, PINpoint is priced at $2,000 per user, per year, while Infor CloudSuite Industrial costs $150 monthly per user. Others are SAP Business ByDesign, which costs $149 monthly per user, and Work Instruction Software pricing is around $850 monthly per 15 users.

Also, manufacturing tools in the market can have their prices set based on business size, and some products are specifically designed to serve some sizes of business more.

• Small Businesses should expect prices that range from $25 to $40 per user per month for manufacturing software. However, many products offer their entry-level package for free for small businesses, although with limited features. Some products within this price range are Pronest and Compass & HQ, which both cost $30 per user monthly each. However, some products can be bought perpetually; an example is DBA manufacturing, which requires a one-time fee of $2,000.
• Medium Businesses can expect to pay between $40 to $100 per user, per month for manufacturing software, depending on the robustness of the chosen products features. For example, Omono costs around $45 per user, per month and ERPAG pricing is around $50 monthly per user. Enterprise 21 ERP Package is priced at around $3,500 for a lifetime usage per user.
• Large Businesses can expect to pay between $120 to $200 per user per month for a manufacturing software enterprise plan. An enterprise plan comes with more features, and the prices are adjusted and discounted based on the size of an organization workforce. However, the above price range may not include fees for installation/setup and training. For instance, Dozuki costs $199 per user per month, Infor M3 $150 monthly per user, and Frepple offers a one-time fee of $5,000 for unlimited user accounts.

Manufacturing software best of breeds and their price ranges are as follows:

• Production Scheduling Software For production scheduling software, users can expect to pay a price that ranges from $10 to $50 and $50 to $150 monthly per user for entry-level offerings. Premium and enterprise offerings of production scheduling software cost between $500 to $1,000 per user, per month. For example, Monday.com pricing starts from $8 monthly per user, Katana costs $100 monthly per user, and MIE Track Pro costs $150 per user. For higher tier products, Optessa costs $5,000 monthly per 5 users, Master Control Manufacturing costs up to $1,000 monthly, and Prodsmart $1,000 monthly for unlimited user entries.
• Manufacturing Execution Software Many manufacturing software in the market have a one-time fee, while many others have undisclosed fees because they have to be adjusted to suit each organization needs. However, users can expect to pay between $30 to $200 monthly per user for manufacturing and executing products with monthly pricings. For example, Upkeep pricing starts from $35 monthly per user, while Realtrac costs $170 monthly per user. On the other hand, Fishbowl costs $4,500, and Shopkeeper System Jobs Control costs $7,500— both for perpetual licenses.
• MRP Software Users can expect to pay between $25 and $100 upwards per user, per month for an MRP software; however, the prices largely depend on the tier of products and the robustness of their features. For instance, Odoo pricing starts from $25 monthly per user, Xtuple and Abas ERP pricing starts from $150 each per user per month, and WhereFour costs around $400 monthly for a number of users.
• Quality Management Most quality management products in the market are priced on a per-user, per month basis. Their prices range from $10 and $50 upwards. These ranges are based on the tier of the products and their starting prices. For example, TRACKMEDIUM pricing starts from around $11 monthly per user, ISO Quality Management costs up to $10 monthly per user, and QualityKick pricing sits around $1,000 yearly per user.