MES software (manufacturing execution system) controls and records what happens on the shop floor: which production orders are running, on which machines, with which materials, which operators and what quality. It links the ERP, which plans at company level, with the automation systems that control the machines.
What is an MES?
An MES tracks and documents the transformation of raw materials into finished goods, in real time. It was born from a gap: shop-floor automation and business IT did not communicate. The ERP knew what had to be produced, the controllers knew what they were doing, but nobody saw in real time how orders were progressing, or the stoppages and scrap.
The term MOM (manufacturing operations management) is also used for all shop-floor software: the MES, but also quality laboratory, warehouse and maintenance management.
Where the MES sits in the ISA-95 standard
The ISA-95 standard, adopted internationally as IEC 62264, describes the plant in levels:
- Levels 0 to 2: sensors, machines, controllers and supervision.
- Level 3: manufacturing operations management, where the MES sits.
- Level 4: business planning and logistics, where the ERP sits.
The standard mainly covers the interface between levels 3 and 4: what information the ERP sends to the MES (orders, bills of materials, routings) and what the MES sends back (quantities produced, consumption, time spent). Part 1 of the international standard dates from 2013.
MES functions
In the 1990s, the MESA International association defined eleven functions to set the scope of an MES. Without repeating that list word for word, most software includes:
- Release and tracking of production orders: what is in progress, on which resource, how far along.
- Detailed scheduling of the shop floor, station by station.
- Production data collection: quantities, cycle times, stoppages and their causes, often automatically from the machines.
- Performance: overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), downtime rate, scrap rate.
- Quality: in-process inspections, statistical process control, non-conformities.
- Traceability: which material lots, machines and operators were used for each product.
- Work instructions sent to operators, and the related document management.
- Links with maintenance and labour: machine availability, operator qualifications.
MESA International ceased operations on 30/06/2026; its content has been taken over by ISA.
MES, ERP, SCADA: what is the difference?
- The ERP manages the company: orders, purchasing, stock, finance, requirements planning. It works in days or weeks and does not see what happens on a machine.
- The SCADA supervises and controls the installations: machine states, alarms, set points. It works in seconds, but does not know the production orders.
- The MES links the two: it receives orders from the ERP, tracks their execution on the shop floor, and reports back to the ERP what was actually produced and consumed.
In many plants, SCADA and MES run side by side rather than one above the other. PLM, for its part, manages product design and gives the MES the definition of what is to be made.
What manufacturers said at Tech for Industry Show
At Tech for Industry Show 2026, at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles:
- Safran explained it has invested over five years in digital continuity (PLM, next-generation ERP, MES rolled out across sites) to guarantee traceability and compliance, with group standards limited to two MES and two PLM systems. Forvia described an MES deployed in 200 plants over five years, now moving to the cloud. Read the article
- Bel Group replaced around 650 small applications with a single platform made up of an ERP, a PLM and an MES. Read the article
- Alstom has built GS1 part marking into its MES: when the operator scans a part, the system blocks the production order if it is the wrong reference and records the part for traceability. Read the article
- Velotic showed a production manager querying the MES in natural language, for example to list a line's latest stoppages. Read the article
The talks are available as replays: Toward the autonomous factory: what vision for 2030?, The reinvention of Bel Group.
Other examples in France
- Clarins chose a Dassault Systèmes MES (DELMIA Apriso) in 2024 for its Pontoise plant and its new Sainte-Savine site, with around 400 users (vendor press release, 29/02/2024).
- Mecafi, part of the Nexteam group, equipped its new LEAP engine blade plant in 2020 with Alpha-3i's MES, deployed in one week across machining operations (Le Monde Informatique, 09/03/2020).
- Dedienne Multiplasturgy Group launched an MES in 2021 on 19 machines in Saint-Aubin-sur-Gaillon and 21 machines in Romania, in less than a year, for an investment of 180,000 euros per site according to Industrie Mag.
How much does MES software cost?
Large vendors do not publish their prices: an MES is quoted case by case, depending on the number of sites, machines and users and on integration with the ERP and automation systems. A few published reference points:
- Tulip, a shop-floor application platform, lists 100 dollars per month per interface for Essentials and 250 dollars for Professional, billed annually with a minimum of 10 interfaces; Enterprise and regulated industries editions are quoted on request (vendor page, checked on 04/11/2026).
- Dedienne Multiplasturgy Group: 180,000 euros per site, including integration, according to the article quoted above.
The cost of a project depends as much on machine data collection, integration and change management as on the licence.
How to run an MES project
1. Start from shop-floor problems: traceability required by a customer or a regulation, poorly understood stoppages, paper records, scrap.
2. Analyse the existing setup: machines and their ability to report data, ERP, automation systems, documents.
3. Check master data in the ERP: up-to-date routings, rates, cycle times. An MES fed with wrong routings measures wrong gaps.
4. Choose the functions you need, rather than switching everything on at once.
5. Write the specification and compare solutions on your own cases.
6. Start with a pilot on a few machines or one line, with a project team bringing together production, methods, quality and IT.
7. Roll out in waves and measure the gains before extending.
An MES is first and foremost an organisational project: it changes how operators report and how teams run the shop floor.
2027 exhibitors equipping production management
To meet at Tech for Industry Show 2027 (in alphabetical order):
- 4CAD Group: integration of PLM, ERP, MES and CRM solutions;
- Azumuta: work instructions, quality control and audits on the shop floor;
- Elisa Industriq: planning, scheduling and MES.
Frequently asked questions
What is MES software, in one sentence?
Software that controls and records, in real time, the execution of production orders on the shop floor.
What is the difference between an MES and an ERP?
The ERP plans and manages the company in days or weeks; the MES tracks execution on the shop floor in real time and reports back to the ERP what was produced.
What is the difference between an MES and a SCADA?
The SCADA supervises machines and their alarms; the MES tracks production orders, quality and traceability.
Is an MES useful for an SME?
Yes, when traceability, stoppage tracking or ending paper records matter. Subscription offers make it possible to start on a few machines.
How long does an MES project take?
From a few weeks for a limited scope to several years for a multi-site rollout. A pilot on one line measures the gains before extending.
