MES vs ERP vs SCADA: who does what in a factory

By PlantWired · Last reviewed October 16, 2026

The ISA-95 standard describes manufacturing systems in levels. ERP sits at the business level (level 4): orders, inventory, finance and planning over days and weeks. MES sits at manufacturing operations (level 3): dispatching work orders, tracking production, genealogy, quality and OEE over shifts and hours. SCADA and HMI sit at supervisory control (level 2): live monitoring and control of equipment in seconds.

In practice the lines blur: some ERPs ship shop-floor modules, some SCADA platforms add MES modules, and frontline-app platforms cover parts of MES. The useful question is not the label but which system is the source of truth for each piece of data.

Below are the ERP, MES and SCADA tools in our directory with their listed integrations. Integration data is editorial; always confirm with the vendor.

ERP (ISA-95 level 4)

Business planning, orders, materials and finance.

Plex Smart Manufacturing Platform · Rockwell Automation · SaaS subscription
Cloud-native MES and ERP suite (Plex) aimed at discrete and process manufacturers.
Listed with: FactoryTalk View, FactoryTalk Historian
SAP S/4HANA · SAP · Enterprise license
Enterprise ERP that MES layers typically exchange orders, materials and confirmations with.
Listed with: Sepasoft MES Modules, AVEVA MES, Opcenter, Proficy Plant Applications, Tulip, ThingWorx, Teamcenter

MES & frontline apps (level 3)

Execute and track production on the shop floor.

Sepasoft MES Modules · Sepasoft · Per-module license
Add-on modules that bring OEE, track & trace, batch and scheduling functions directly into Ignition projects.
Listed with: Ignition, Canary Historian, SAP S/4HANA
AVEVA MES · AVEVA · Enterprise license
Manufacturing execution suite covering work orders, quality and performance on top of the AVEVA stack.
Listed with: AVEVA System Platform, SAP S/4HANA, AVEVA PI System
Proficy Plant Applications · GE Vernova · Enterprise license
MES application set for efficiency, quality and batch execution within GE Proficy environments.
Listed with: Proficy Historian, Proficy iFIX, SAP S/4HANA
Opcenter · Siemens · Enterprise license
Siemens manufacturing operations management portfolio spanning execution, scheduling and quality.
Listed with: SIMATIC WinCC, SAP S/4HANA, Teamcenter
Tulip · Tulip · SaaS subscription
No-code platform for building operator apps, digital work instructions and light MES functions.
Listed with: Ignition, SAP S/4HANA
Siemens Opcenter Execution Pharma · Siemens · Enterprise license
Life-sciences-focused execution system with electronic batch records inside the Opcenter family.
Listed with: Opcenter, SAP S/4HANA
FactoryTalk ProductionCentre · Rockwell Automation · Enterprise license
Rockwell's on-premises MES for regulated and complex discrete/process production.
Listed with: FactoryTalk Historian, SAP S/4HANA
Proficy Operations Hub · GE Vernova · License
Web app builder for dashboards and operator apps on top of Proficy data.
Listed with: Proficy Historian, Proficy Plant Applications
MachineMetrics · MachineMetrics · SaaS subscription
Machine monitoring and OEE tracking for CNC and discrete shops.
Critical Manufacturing MES · Critical Manufacturing · Enterprise license
Modern MES for high-tech discrete industries like electronics and semiconductors.
Listed with: SAP S/4HANA
Parsec TrakSYS · Parsec · License
Configurable MES/OEE platform used across food, beverage and CPG.
Listed with: SAP S/4HANA

SCADA / HMI (level 2)

Supervise and control machines and processes in real time.

Ignition · Inductive Automation · Per-server license, unlimited tags
Web-deployed SCADA/HMI platform licensed per server with unlimited tags and clients; widely used as a hub for plant-floor data.
Listed with: Kepware KEPServerEX, Sepasoft MES Modules, Canary Historian, HiveMQ, Cirrus Link MQTT Modules, Tulip, AWS IoT SiteWise, Litmus Edge, Flow, Inductive Automation Ignition Perspective, Apache Kafka / Confluent, MongoDB, HighByte Intelligence Hub
AVEVA System Platform · AVEVA · License/subscription
Object-based supervisory platform (Wonderware lineage) for standardized SCADA across lines and sites.
Listed with: AVEVA PI System, AVEVA MES, AVEVA InTouch HMI
AVEVA InTouch HMI · AVEVA · License/subscription
Long-established HMI package (formerly Wonderware InTouch) for operator screens and alarming.
Listed with: AVEVA System Platform, Kepware KEPServerEX, AVEVA PI System
Proficy iFIX · GE Vernova · License
HMI/SCADA product from the GE Proficy family, common in process and utilities applications.
Listed with: Proficy Historian, Kepware KEPServerEX, Proficy Plant Applications
SIMATIC WinCC · Siemens · License
Siemens SCADA/HMI family tightly integrated with TIA Portal and SIMATIC controllers.
Listed with: Kepware KEPServerEX, Opcenter, Siemens Industrial Edge, Insights Hub
FactoryTalk View · Rockwell Automation · License
Rockwell HMI software (Machine and Site editions) designed around Logix controllers.
Listed with: FactoryTalk Historian, Kepware KEPServerEX, Plex Smart Manufacturing Platform, FactoryTalk Optix
FactoryTalk Optix · Rockwell Automation · License/subscription
Newer, browser-friendly HMI platform from Rockwell with modern design tooling.
Listed with: FactoryTalk View, FactoryTalk Historian
Inductive Automation Ignition Perspective · Inductive Automation · Included per Ignition server license
Ignition's HTML5 visualization module for responsive operator screens on phones, tablets and desktops.
Listed with: Ignition
AVEVA Edge · AVEVA · License
Compact HMI/SCADA for machine builders and embedded panels (InduSoft lineage).
Listed with: AVEVA PI System, AVEVA System Platform
WinCC Open Architecture · Siemens · License
Highly scalable, platform-independent SCADA from Siemens (ETM) used for large distributed systems like utilities and transport.
Listed with: Siemens Industrial Edge
WinCC Unified · Siemens · License
Web-based successor generation of WinCC, engineered in TIA Portal for panels and PC stations.
Listed with: SIMATIC WinCC, Siemens Industrial Edge
Proficy CIMPLICITY · GE Vernova · License
Client/server HMI/SCADA from GE used in discrete manufacturing and infrastructure.
Listed with: Proficy Historian

Questions to answer before you choose

Which system owns work orders, and which owns actual production counts?
How do orders flow down and confirmations flow back up (API, files, middleware)?
Do you need full MES, or would OEE/frontline apps cover the gap?
Is the plant regulated (e.g. pharma, food) and needing electronic batch records?

Sources

Tool descriptions, pricing models and integration links come from the PlantWired directory, compiled from each vendor's public website (linked on every tool page). See our methodology. Not a recommendation; verify with vendors.

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