What ERP does
ERP is the system of record for money and materials: purchase orders, vendor payments, stock, GST invoicing, payroll interfaces and management reporting. It answers 'what is the state of the business?'
What MES does
MES is the system of record for production: work-order routing, machine and operator tracking, rejection and rework capture, and real-time dashboards. It answers 'what is happening on the shop floor right now?'
- Live machine and line status
- Production counts, rejection and rework by shift
- Traceability of batches and raw-material lots
- OEE-style performance and downtime analytics
Which comes first?
Start with ERP if inventory and finance are the pain points. Start with MES or shop-floor tracking if delivery dates, quality or machine downtime are the pain points. A pilot on one line or one module is the fastest way to prove value.
How they work together
Integration lets production consumption update inventory automatically, orders flow from ERP to MES, and completion data return to finance — eliminating manual reconciliation between office and shop floor.