ERP & MES Software Guide

Manufacturing businesses that are looking to replace their enterprise resource planning (ERP) system should also consider their manufacturing execution system (MES) strategy at the same time.

To get the biggest return on investment from your business, having integrated ERP & MES systems is a must. Doing so reaps the biggest rewards by enabling you to plan and execute at both a shopfloor and factory or plant level as well as at a business level too. 

In this post, we'll look at some of the key questions around ERP & MES systems, the benefits and challenges of using them together and some of the most popular ERP/MES software on the market.

ERP & MES Software

SAP S/4HANA 

SAP S/4HANA is an ERP system that is very well suited to manufacturers in multiple domains, from pharmaceuticals to high tech, automotive, food production and more. It is available as both a Cloud or On-Premise solution and can be hosted and maintained by SAP on a hyperscaler such as AWS, GCP or Azure if you wish. 

Another benefit of SAP S/4 is that it is complemented by a range of SAP applications and services which expand it's capabilities. This includes HRIS, P2P and procurement, analytics but also supply chain and manufacturing execution (MES) systems.

SAP provides multiple On-Premise and Cloud MES systems which easily integrate with SAP S/4HANA, which gives users one 'throat to choke'.

Read our full SAP S/4HANA Guide >>>

Infor CloudSuite Industrial

Epicor

Epicor Kinetic is an enterprise resource planning system (ERP) which has a complementary MES system called Epicor Advanced MES. Epicor Kinetic is a cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) software solution designed for businesses of all sizes, from small and mid-sized companies to large enterprises. The software is built on a modern, user-friendly interface that enables organizations to manage their operations in a more efficient and effective manner.

The key features of Epicor Kinetic include financial management, supply chain management, production management, customer relationship management, and human capital management. These features allow businesses to streamline their operations, improve their decision-making, and increase their overall productivity.

Epicor Kinetic also provides businesses with the flexibility to adapt to changing market conditions and meet the needs of their customers. The software can be customized to fit specific industry requirements, enabling companies to manage their operations in a way that best suits their unique business needs.

Read our full Epicor Kinetic Guide >>>

What is MES software?

Manufacturing execution systems (MES) help manufacturing companies to monitor, track and coordinate their labour and materials at the shopfloor level. MES systems give manufacturers abilities such as wastage, scrap, quality management, labour management, resource planning, document management, machine & SCADA integration and more.

Who uses MES systems?

Is SAP an ERP or MES System?

SAP is a software vendor that provides both ERP & MES systems and software respectively. So 'SAP' can be both an ERP or an MES system. Typically the term 'SAP' is used interchangeably for both an MES or ERP system as a result.

How does ERP and MES work together?

ERP & MES serve different but complementary purposes within a manufacturing organization.

An ERPs primary purpose is to track, coordinate and optimise the usage and allocation of materials, labour and finance across the organization, whereas an MESs purpose is to do this at the shopfloor level alone. So in a sense, an ERP system manages a companys resources and business processes at a company level, whereas an MES system does this in the context of a manufacturing plant(s) or factory.

As a result, it's beneficial for your ERP & MES software to be able to work together. Your ERP needs to pass data to MES such as work orders, human resources information, stock levels and more. Your MES needs to pass data back to ERP such as completed work orders, wastage, payroll data and more. 

By working together, ERP and MES systems enable manufacturing companies to optimise quality, customer satisfaction, efficiency, profit margins and uptime.

How do you integrate MES and ERP?