Packaged MES or custom MES? It depends on how much your production looks like the catalogue one

For manufacturing SMEs with 10 to 50 employees that must trace batches, phases and checks and already have a management system. Categories and differences, no product names.

What is a packaged MES, and what is a custom MES?

Packaged: a product with standard modules (progress, times, downtime, quality), a licence per user or per workstation, configuration within the product's limits and a connector to the management system. Custom: a system built next to the management system you have, starting from ready modules (batch traceability, labels and QR codes, non-conformities, work instructions, product passport) and adapting them to your phases, machines and checks. Your code, priced per project.

When does the package pay off?

Production is standard and looks like the one the package was born for.
You accept adapting your phases to the product, and working in two programs (management system and MES) linked by a connector.
The number of users is low and stable, so the per-user licence does not weigh.
No special integrations with scales, test benches or label printers are needed.

When does custom pay off?

The phases are yours: traceability in a waste-treatment plant does not look like a battery pack line, yet both are in production with the same method, in six sectors from Veneto to Abruzzo.
The management system must stay in charge of the flow, and the MES be born next to it: no double entry, no connectors breaking at every update.
Integrations with machines, scales, test benches, shop-floor label printers are needed.
Users grow (every workstation, every operator) and the per-user licence becomes the main cost.
Specific deadlines arrive: digital battery passport from 18 February 2027, quality control from photos, adaptive work instructions.

The sums, and the timing?

A package has a list price per user plus onboarding; the cost grows with workstations. Custom starts from a clickable mockup in 15-20 days (from 1,500 to 3,000 €, fully deducted from the total), then a written quote paid in stages: the first module in production within a few weeks, one module every two weeks with a working demo. Contracts from a few thousand euros to 50,000 and beyond, with no ceiling and no per-user licences. Incentives apply to both if the technical requirements are met.

The questions to ask anyone, before signing

Does the management system stay in charge of the flow, or do I work in two programs?
How much does it cost at twice the workstations?
How does it integrate with my machines and measuring instruments?
If I stop, do code and data stay mine?
Can I see a case with numbers, even anonymous?

The detail page: custom MES for SMEs; the battery case: BattWISE.

The next step is small: 30 free minutes on your data, with a document of today's numbers that stays yours. Then decide with the numbers, not with the brochure.

Frequently asked questions

Does a custom MES cost more than a packaged one?

At first it depends on the modules; over time custom has no per-user or per-workstation licences, and the code stays yours. It starts from a mockup at 1,500 to 3,000 euros deducted from the total, then a quote in stages.

Do I need to change the management system to have a MES?

No: the custom MES is born next to the existing system, which stays in charge of the flow. That is how it works in the six sectors in production.

How long until the first module is in production?

A few weeks after the mockup, usually with batch traceability. Then one module every two weeks with a working demo.

Can I have only traceability, without the rest?

Yes: you start from the module you need (traceability with labels and QR codes, for example) and add the rest only if and when needed.

Do incentives apply to a custom MES?

Yes, if it meets the technical requirements (interconnection, traceability, integration with the management system). The certification is done by a qualified expert; grants are matched to the company profile.

What if the custom supplier disappears?

The code is yours, with tests and documentation, on your server or hosting: another software house can continue. It is the right question to ask a package vendor too.