How to choose MES software: options, vendor questions and pricing

Write down the problem first

Before you talk to anyone, write down the questions you want the MES to answer every day. In most shops the list is short:

• Which machine is this job on, and which step is it at?
• Will this order ship on time?
• How long does a part really take, and what did we put in the quote?
• How long do machines stand still, and why?
• How much scrap did each job make?

Judge every product against that list. Features shown in a demo that are not on it may look nice, but they should not make the decision. The value of an MES comes from the few screens operators use every day and the numbers that come out of them.

The kinds of MES software

Products sold as MES vary a lot in scope and in how they are deployed. Decide which kind fits your shop before you compare vendors.

Enterprise MES platforms

These are built for large, highly automated or heavily regulated plants, with detailed scheduling and broad machine integration. Rollout is usually a consultant-led project measured in months, and customization and yearly maintenance sit on top of the license. For a job shop with a few dozen machines, that is often more than the problem calls for.

The MES or shop floor module of your ERP

If you already run an ERP, the vendor's own module is the obvious first option. Data stays in one place and there is no separate integration. These modules tend to follow the ERP's way of working, though. Operator screens look like document entry, and when licensing is per user, putting a seat on every machine can get expensive. The difference is covered in detail in MES vs ERP.

Cloud MES (SaaS) for small and mid-sized shops

Sold as a subscription with no server to run, and usually in use within days. The thing to check is scope. Some products only monitor machines, while others start from work order tracking. If your data has to stay on site, ask whether the same product can also run on your own server.

Building your own, or using a low-code tool

This can make sense when your process is truly unusual and you have a team to build and maintain the system for years. The first version is rarely the real cost. Operator terminals, permissions, reports, backups and an ERP link pile up over time, and when the person who built it leaves, much of the knowledge leaves too.

Spreadsheets and paper

Fine with a handful of jobs and people. As both grow, records fall behind and several versions of the same spreadsheet start going around. How to tell you have reached that point is in MES vs Excel.

Cloud or on-premise MES?

Defense suppliers and companies that want production data to stay on site usually go on-premise. For everyone else, cloud gets going faster and leaves no server to look after. Either way, ask whether you can export your data whenever you like and what happens to it when the contract ends.

The operator terminal decides more than you think

Operators produce the data in an MES. If starting a job is a chore, records are skipped or entered late, and within a few weeks nobody trusts the numbers. So look at the terminal more closely than at the rest of the software:

• How do operators sign in? Scanning a badge or entering an employee code is far quicker than a username and password.
• How do they find the job? Scanning the barcode on the traveler, or picking the next job in the machine's queue, beats searching a long list.
• How many taps does a pause reason take? The list of reasons should be short and use the words your shop already uses.
• What does it run on? A tablet, a shop floor PC or the operator's own phone. Ask whether anything has to be installed.

Run the demo with your most experienced machinist at the controls, not the sales rep. If starting, pausing and finishing a job takes more than a few taps, the screen will not last long on the floor.

Machine data from operators or from signals?

An MES can collect data in several ways. Each gives you something different and needs different preparation:

A signal tells you when a stop began and how long it lasted, but it cannot tell you why. The reason still comes from the operator. That is why operator input is the right starting point for most shops, with signals added later on the machines that can send them.

Ask the vendor how signals come in, who installs the hardware and which record wins when the signal and the operator disagree. Also ask whether it works with no signals at all, since not every machine will be easy to connect.

Integration questions

If you run an ERP or accounting software, the connection carries real weight in the decision. Hearing that a connector exists is not enough. Ask for the details:

• Which ERP, which version? Has the connector run against a live system on your version, or was it written from the vendor's documentation?
• What goes which way? Do orders come from the ERP, what kind of document does finished production post as, and is scrap sent separately?
• What happens when the ERP is down? Are records queued and retried, and are errors shown somewhere you will see them?
• If your ERP runs on a server inside the company, how will a cloud MES reach it?
• Who maintains the connector when the ERP is upgraded?

If there is no ready connector for your system, look for webhooks or a generic JSON interface. If you do not use an ERP, make sure reports can at least be exported to Excel, because that is what most shops need on day one.

MES pricing models

Actual figures vary widely by vendor and scope. The pricing model matters more than today's number, because it decides what you pay as you grow:

Look past the license when you add up the cost. Hardware such as tablets and barcode scanners, sensors or gateways for machine signals, ERP integration and training all count. The item most often left out is the time your own people will spend on the rollout.

Questions to ask an MES vendor

1. How is it used in a shop with a mix of work and a machine count like ours?
2. How many days until our first work order is running? Can we import our parts and routings from Excel?
3. Which devices does the operator terminal run on, and does anything need installing?
4. Can it take machine signals, and how? Does it work without them?
5. Does it connect to our ERP, and exactly what does it send and receive?
6. Does it run in the cloud, on our own server, or both?
7. What makes the price go up? Users, machines, sites or modules?
8. Can we export our data at any time? What happens to it if we stop subscribing?
9. Can we use our own data during the trial?

A pilot plan for your trial

Clicking around sample data for a few minutes is a good way to learn the screens. To decide, though, run a small pilot with your own jobs. For a 14-day trial, a plan like this works:

1. Before you start, write down what success looks like. For example, being able to see on screen where every job in the pilot area is after two weeks.
2. In the first two days, pick one work center. Import its parts and routings, and set up its machines and operators.
3. On day three, open a few new orders in the system, print the travelers and give operators a half-hour hands-on walkthrough.
4. For the next week, run the pilot area's jobs through the terminal only. Look at missing records every day and ask the operator why they happened.
5. In the last few days, compare the times, stops and scrap in the system with what you know of the floor. Export a report to Excel, and if you use an ERP, try the connection.
6. Make the call against the success measure you wrote down on day one.

A short MES checklist

Where ModernMES fits

ModernMES is a cloud MES built for job shops that work to order and for small to mid-sized factories. It can also be installed on your own server, and its screens are in English and Turkish. It is not an ERP, so there are no bills of materials, purchasing or accounting.

Operators use a terminal that runs in the browser, or their own phone paired with a QR code. They sign in with a badge or employee code, then scan the barcode on the traveler or pick the next job in the queue. A machine's running or stopped state can come in over HTTP or MQTT from a PLC gateway, Node-RED or a sensor box. If you let the signal drive the machine's status, a stop longer than the time you set opens a downtime record on its own and the operator adds the reason. Counts always come from the operator.

Parts and routings can be imported from Excel, with a dry run that flags bad rows before anything is saved. You can also load a sample shop to try the terminal and remove it before entering real data. Reports export to Excel.

The ERP integration add-on works with SAP Business One, SAP S/4HANA, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and Odoo, as well as several Turkish ERPs, and there is a generic JSON connection for other systems. It is included in the Enterprise plan and can be added to the others. The connectors were written from each vendor's API documentation, so check the first postings in your own system. Details are on the integrations page.

The cloud version is sold as monthly or yearly plans sized by number of machines and users, listed in the pricing section. On-premise pricing is quoted per project, based on user count and facility size. The 14-day free trial needs no credit card.

Frequently asked questions