What Is a Manufacturing Execution System?
Mix (15 tools)
- License: 4 open source · 11 proprietary
- Hosting: 11 self-hosted · 4 SaaS · 0 both
A Manufacturing Execution System (MES) is the software layer that manages, monitors, and controls manufacturing operations on the shop floor in real time. Defined by the ISA-95 (IEC 62264) standard, MES occupies Level 3 in the manufacturing automation hierarchy – sitting between ERP systems at Level 4 and PLC/SCADA process control at Level 2.
MES solutions span three manufacturing taxonomies:
- Discrete manufacturing – assembly of distinct, countable items (automotive parts, electronics, machinery)
- Process manufacturing – production of goods via formulas, recipes, or continuous flow (pharmaceuticals, chemicals, food & beverage)
- Hybrid manufacturing – combinations of discrete and process steps within a single production environment
This directory evaluates MES tools – both open-source and commercial solutions. For enterprise resource planning (financials, procurement, HR), see ERP & Accounting. For product lifecycle management (CAD, BOM, change management), see Product Lifecycle Management (PLM).
MES vs ERP
| Concern | MES (Level 3) | ERP (Level 4) |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | Shop floor execution | Enterprise planning |
| Time horizon | Real-time / shift | Days / weeks |
| Data | Machine signals, WIP | Orders, finance |
| Users | Operators, supervisors | Planners, managers |
| Scheduling | Detailed dispatching | Master planning |
| Quality | SPC, in-process checks | QMS overview |
| Inventory | WIP, material flow | Warehousing, procurement |
| Traceability | Lot/serial genealogy | Order history |
Core Capabilities
- Production scheduling / dispatching – finite-capacity scheduling and sequencing of work orders across machines and work centres
- Work order management – creation, release, tracking, and closure of manufacturing orders with routing and BOM consumption
- Shop floor data collection – real-time capture of production counts, machine states, operator inputs, and process parameters
- Quality management (SPC, NCR) – statistical process control, in-process inspections, non-conformance reports, and corrective actions
- Inventory / WIP tracking – real-time visibility into work-in-process inventory, material consumption, and inter-operation buffers
- Labour tracking – operator time and attendance, skill-based assignment, and labour-cost allocation per work order
- Equipment / maintenance management – machine status monitoring, downtime tracking, and integration with CMMS for preventive and predictive maintenance
- Traceability / genealogy – full lot and serial number genealogy linking raw materials to finished goods across all production steps
- Performance analysis (OEE) – Overall Equipment Effectiveness calculation (Availability x Performance x Quality) with drill-down by line, machine, shift, and product
- Electronic batch records – paperless batch execution records for process industries with electronic signatures and audit trails
- Recipe / BOM management – versioned recipes, formulas, and bills of materials with parameter set-points for process control
- Regulatory compliance (FDA 21 CFR Part 11, GxP) – electronic signatures, audit trails, access controls, and data integrity for regulated industries (pharma, medical devices, food)
About this data & disclaimer
The information on these pages was researched by a combination of human review and large language models. This catalogue serves as a reference for the resources, applications, devices, deployment payloads, and other components that the ResorsIT platform integrates, deploys, and manages. To suggest an addition or correction, please contact us. Prepared by Rhodium Systems Inc., author of the ResorsIT platform — a unified IT operations management platform for IT teams and MSPs that integrates a curated suite of open-source, commercial, and SaaS applications into a single system with shared identity, single sign-on, access control, and a common audit trail. This information is compiled on a best-effort basis: it may be incomplete, contain errors, and become out of date as tools, vendors, licences, and features change. Use this catalogue only as a starting point for your own research, and independently verify and review any tool carefully against your own requirements before relying on it.
Comparison
Deployment Model
| Tool | On-Prem | Cloud | Docker | Platform |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qcadoo | Yes | No | Yes | Linux/Win |
| Carbon | Yes | No | Yes | Linux |
| iPlus | Yes | No | No | Windows |
| Odoo Mfg | Yes | Yes | Yes | Linux/Win |
| Opcenter | Yes | Cloud | No | Windows |
| AVEVA MES | Yes | No | No | Windows |
| PharmaSuite | Yes | No | No | Windows |
| GE Proficy | Yes | Yes | No | Win/Linux |
| Plex | No | Yes | No | Web |
| Tulip | No | Yes | No | Web |
| MachineMetrics | No | Yes | No | Web |
| TrakSYS | Yes | Yes | No | Windows |
| 42Q | No | Yes | No | Web |
| DELMIA Apriso | Yes | Yes | No | Windows |
| Epicor MES | Yes | Yes | No | Windows |
Core MES Features
| Tool | Sched. | WO Mgmt | Quality | Trace | OEE | E-Batch | FDA 21 CFR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qcadoo | Yes | Yes | Basic | Basic | No | No | No |
| Carbon | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Basic | No | No |
| iPlus | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial |
| Odoo Mfg | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Basic | No | No |
| Opcenter | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| AVEVA MES | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| PharmaSuite | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| GE Proficy | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Plex | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Partial |
| Tulip | Basic | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Partial |
| MachineMetrics | No | No | Basic | No | Yes | No | No |
| TrakSYS | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 42Q | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Partial |
| DELMIA Apriso | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Epicor MES | Yes | Yes | Basic | Basic | Yes | No | No |
Best full-feature: Opcenter, AVEVA MES, PharmaSuite, GE Proficy (all MES capabilities including FDA 21 CFR Part 11 compliance)
Best OSS: Qcadoo (discrete manufacturing), Odoo Manufacturing (ERP-integrated MES)
SSO / Authentik Integration
| Tool | OIDC | SAML | LDAP/AD | Local |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qcadoo | No | No | No | Yes |
| Carbon | No | No | No | Yes |
| iPlus | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Odoo Mfg | OIDC | SAML | LDAP | Yes |
| Opcenter | No | SAML | Yes | Yes |
| AVEVA MES | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| PharmaSuite | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| GE Proficy | No | SAML | Yes | Yes |
| Plex | OIDC | SAML | Yes | Yes |
| Tulip | OIDC | SAML | No | Yes |
| MachineMetrics | OIDC | SAML | No | Yes |
| TrakSYS | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| 42Q | OIDC | SAML | Yes | Yes |
| DELMIA Apriso | No | SAML | Yes | Yes |
| Epicor MES | No | No | Yes | Yes |
Best Authentik integration: Odoo Manufacturing (OIDC + SAML + LDAP), Plex (OIDC + SAML + AD), Tulip (OIDC + SAML)
API Capabilities
| Tool | REST API | Webhooks | SDK | CLI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qcadoo | Yes | No | No | No |
| Carbon | Yes | No | Python | No |
| iPlus | Yes | No | .NET | No |
| Odoo Mfg | Yes | Yes | Python | Yes |
| Opcenter | Yes | Yes | .NET | Yes |
| AVEVA MES | Yes | No | .NET | No |
| PharmaSuite | Yes | No | .NET | No |
| GE Proficy | Yes | Yes | Java/.NET | No |
| Plex | Yes | Yes | REST | No |
| Tulip | Yes | Yes | REST | No |
| MachineMetrics | Yes | Yes | REST | No |
| TrakSYS | Yes | Yes | .NET | No |
| 42Q | Yes | Yes | REST | No |
| DELMIA Apriso | Yes | Yes | .NET | No |
| Epicor MES | Yes | Yes | REST | No |
Best API: Odoo Manufacturing (REST + webhooks
- Python SDK + CLI), Plex (REST + webhooks), Opcenter (REST + webhooks + .NET SDK)
Monitoring Integration
| Tool | Health EP | Logs | SNMP | Metrics |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qcadoo | Yes | Files | No | JMX |
| Carbon | Yes | Files | No | No |
| iPlus | No | Files | No | WMI |
| Odoo Mfg | Yes | Files | No | Prometheus |
| Opcenter | Yes | Files | No | WMI |
| AVEVA MES | Yes | Files | No | WMI |
| PharmaSuite | Yes | Files | No | WMI |
| GE Proficy | Yes | Files | No | WMI |
| Plex | Cloud | Cloud | No | Cloud |
| Tulip | Cloud | Cloud | No | Cloud |
| MachineMetrics | Cloud | Cloud | No | Cloud |
| TrakSYS | Yes | Files | No | WMI |
| 42Q | Cloud | Cloud | No | Cloud |
| DELMIA Apriso | Yes | Files | No | WMI |
| Epicor MES | Yes | Files | No | WMI |
Best monitoring integration: Odoo Manufacturing (health endpoint + log files + Prometheus metrics), Qcadoo (health endpoint + log files
- JMX metrics)
Pricing
Open Source / Open-Core
| Tool | License | Pricing |
|---|---|---|
| Qcadoo | AGPL-3.0 | Free core |
| Carbon | AGPL-3.0 | Free |
| iPlus | GPL-3.0 | Free |
| Odoo Mfg | LGPL-3.0 / Prop. | Free (CE) / subscription (EE) |
Commercial – Self-Hosted
| Tool | Licensing | Pricing |
|---|---|---|
| Opcenter | Per-site | Quote-based (enterprise) |
| AVEVA MES | Per-site | Quote-based (enterprise) |
| PharmaSuite | Per-site | Quote-based (enterprise) |
| GE Proficy | Per-site | Quote-based (enterprise) |
Commercial – SaaS / Cloud
| Tool | Licensing | Pricing |
|---|---|---|
| Plex | Subscription | Quote-based |
| Tulip | Per-user/mo | From ~$395/mo |
| MachineMetrics | Per-machine | Quote-based |
| TrakSYS | Per-site | Quote-based |
| 42Q | Subscription | Quote-based |
| DELMIA Apriso | Per-site | Quote-based |
| Epicor MES | Per-site | Quote-based |
Tools
16 tools.
42Q
42Q is a cloud-based manufacturing execution system developed by Sanmina Corporation, one of the world’s largest electronics manufacturing services (EMS) providers.
License: Proprietary (proprietary) · Kind: web · Deploy: saas · SSO: OIDC, SAML
ResorsIT usage: Web App with SSO
Access & Identity: Single sign-on · Directory / LDAP
AVEVA MES
AVEVA MES (formerly Wonderware MES / Schneider Electric MES) is an enterprise manufacturing execution system designed for both process and discrete manufacturing environments.
License: Proprietary (proprietary) · Kind: web · Deploy: direct · SSO: none
ResorsIT usage: Web App without SSO
Access & Identity: Forward-auth · Directory / LDAP
Carbon MES
Carbon MES is an open-source manufacturing execution system built on Python and the Django web framework. It focuses on production tracking, product genealogy, and quality management for small to mid-size manufacturing operations.
License: AGPL-3.0-only (OSS) · Kind: web · Deploy: direct · SSO: none
ResorsIT usage: Web App without SSO
Access & Identity: Forward-auth · Vaulted credential
DELMIA Apriso
DELMIA Apriso is an enterprise manufacturing execution system from Dassault Systemes designed for global manufacturing operations management.
License: Proprietary (proprietary) · Kind: web · Deploy: direct · SSO: SAML
ResorsIT usage: Web App without SSO
Access & Identity: Single sign-on · Directory / LDAP
Epicor Advanced MES
Epicor Advanced MES (formerly Mattec MES) is a machine monitoring and production execution platform from Epicor Software.
License: Proprietary (proprietary) · Kind: web · Deploy: direct · SSO: none
ResorsIT usage: Web App without SSO
Access & Identity: Forward-auth · Directory / LDAP
FactoryTalk PharmaSuite
FactoryTalk PharmaSuite is a purpose-built MES platform from Rockwell Automation designed for pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and life sciences manufacturing.
License: Proprietary (proprietary) · Kind: web · Deploy: direct · SSO: none
ResorsIT usage: Web App without SSO
Access & Identity: Forward-auth · Directory / LDAP
GE Proficy
GE Proficy Smart Factory MES (formerly GE Digital Proficy) is an enterprise manufacturing execution system from GE Vernova covering both process and discrete manufacturing operations.
License: Proprietary (proprietary) · Kind: web · Deploy: direct · SSO: none
ResorsIT usage: Web App without SSO
Access & Identity: Forward-auth · Directory / LDAP
iPlus MES
iPlus is an open-source MES and SCADA framework built on C#/.NET for Windows, combining manufacturing execution with process visualization, material tracking, recipe management, and native OPC-UA connectivity.
License: GPL-3.0-only (OSS) · Kind: web · Deploy: direct · SSO: none
ResorsIT usage: Web App without SSO
Access & Identity: Forward-auth · Vaulted credential
MachineMetrics
MachineMetrics is a cloud-based machine monitoring and analytics platform focused on real-time OEE, downtime tracking, and predictive analytics for discrete manufacturing.
License: Proprietary (proprietary) · Kind: web · Deploy: saas · SSO: OIDC, SAML
ResorsIT usage: Web App with SSO
Access & Identity: Single sign-on
Odoo CRM
CRM module of the Odoo ERP suite (Community Edition); Python + PostgreSQL; integrates tightly with the rest of Odoo.
License: LGPL-3.0-only (OSS) · Kind: web · Deploy: docker, direct, saas · SSO: OIDC, SAML
ResorsIT usage: Web App with SSO
Access & Identity: Single sign-on · Directory / LDAP
Evaluated under CRM / SFA.
Odoo Manufacturing
Odoo Manufacturing is the MES module within the Odoo ERP suite, providing shop floor execution capabilities tightly integrated with inventory, purchasing, sales, quality, and maintenance modules.
License: LGPL-3.0-only (OSS) · Kind: web · Deploy: direct · SSO: OIDC, SAML
ResorsIT usage: Web App with SSO
Access & Identity: Single sign-on · Directory / LDAP
Plex MES
Plex is a cloud-native manufacturing execution system and ERP platform from Rockwell Automation (acquired from Plex Systems).
License: Proprietary (proprietary) · Kind: web · Deploy: saas · SSO: OIDC, SAML
ResorsIT usage: Web App with SSO
Access & Identity: Single sign-on · Directory / LDAP
Qcadoo MES
Qcadoo MES is an open-source manufacturing execution system designed primarily for small and medium discrete manufacturing operations.
License: AGPL-3.0-only (OSS) · Kind: web · Deploy: direct · SSO: none
ResorsIT usage: Web App without SSO
Access & Identity: Forward-auth · Vaulted credential
Siemens Opcenter
Siemens Opcenter Execution (formerly SIMATIC IT) is an enterprise-grade MES platform for both discrete and process manufacturing.
License: Proprietary (proprietary) · Kind: web · Deploy: direct · SSO: none
ResorsIT usage: Web App without SSO
Access & Identity: Forward-auth · Directory / LDAP
TrakSYS
TrakSYS is a configurable MES platform from Parsec Automation (now part of Rockwell Automation) designed for both process and discrete manufacturing.
License: Proprietary (proprietary) · Kind: web · Deploy: direct · SSO: none
ResorsIT usage: Web App without SSO
Access & Identity: Forward-auth · Directory / LDAP
Tulip
Tulip is a no-code manufacturing platform that enables frontline operations teams to build and deploy shop floor applications without traditional software development.
License: Proprietary (proprietary) · Kind: web · Deploy: saas · SSO: OIDC, SAML
ResorsIT usage: Web App with SSO
Access & Identity: Single sign-on
