Manufacturing Execution Software for Indian Factories

Manufacturing execution software (MES) tracks how raw material becomes finished goods on the shop floor. It shows which work order is running, what material went into it and how much was made. Large plants buy a dedicated MES that connects to machines. Most owner-led Indian manufacturers need the same visibility tied to BOMs, purchase, stock and dispatch in one system. TranZact is a manufacturing AI software that runs work orders, process routing, sub-contracting and production costing alongside inventory and purchase. It goes live in 2–3 weeks.

What manufacturing execution software does

An MES is the live record of work on the shop floor. It answers one question: what is being made right now, from what, and how much?

The six jobs it does

• Release work orders to the floor.

• Track each step of the route a job takes.

• Record material used against what the BOM planned.

• Trace batches, so you know which lot went into which order.

• Measure output against the plan.

• Cost each job from the material and steps it used.

MES vs ERP vs SCADA: where each one sits

The common model here is ISA-95, which splits a plant's systems into levels. ERP sits at Level 4. It plans and records orders, purchase, stock and accounts.

MES sits at Level 3. It runs and tracks the shop floor: work orders, steps, material and output. SCADA and PLCs sit at Levels 0–2.

So MES vs SCADA is simple. SCADA and PLCs control machines. MES tracks the work order those machines are working on.

Is an ERP a manufacturing execution system?

Not on its own. ERP plans and records; MES runs and tracks the floor. That is why large ERP vendors sell MES as a separate product.

Some ERPs add a shop-floor module instead. Planning sits upstream of all this, and our guide to production planning and control covers that side.

Do you need a full MES? A 2-minute test

Tick what is true for you today.

Signs you need a dedicated MES

• You need live signals from machines, not just entries from people.

• You want OEE measured from sensors.

• You run many lines across several shifts.

• You have an in-house IT team to set it up and run it.

Signs you need connected production and inventory instead

• System stock and physical stock never match.

• Jobs stop halfway because material ran short.

• Stock sent out for job work goes missing on paper.

• Work order status lives in WhatsApp groups.

The second list is not a machine problem. It happens when the work order, the store, purchase and Tally sit in different places.

How a work order should flow

1. Sales order comes in

2. MRP shows what to buy

3. Material arrives, GRN logged

4. Work order runs its routing

5. Output costed, then dispatched

Four ways Indian factories track production

How TranZact runs production execution

AI runs your entire operations from enquiry to dispatch, and production is linked to stock and purchase. It is built on 7 years of learning from 10,000+ manufacturers.

• Production: multi-level BOM, work orders, process routing, sub-contracting and production costing. See production management.

• Planning and purchase: the MRP engine runs through your orders and BOMs, then tells you what to buy and when. Purchase runs MRP report → indent → RFQ → PO → GRN, as on purchase management.

• Inventory: stock in, bin card, issue, multi-store, reorder and AI stock alerts. Batch-wise stock tracking starts on Scale+. See inventory management.

• Tally: accounting stays in Tally and operations run in TranZact. Data syncs one way, with no double entry. Busy and Zoho integrations are also available.

• GST: TranZact generates the e-way bill from the GST invoice, with e-invoice (IRN) in the same flow, on all plans.

TranZact's AI reads a photo of a paper entry and turns it into a system entry. It matches supplier invoices to purchase orders and logs customer payments. It alerts the right person when something is stuck.

The result: your system stock and physical stock always match.

Where TranZact is not the right fit

TranZact's published production features do not include machine, PLC or SCADA connection, or sensor-based OEE. If you need live machine signals, a dedicated MES is built for that. Quality control and machine planning are on the Dominate plan.

Book a demo →

Production on the patchwork vs on TranZact

What to check before you buy

There is no single best MES software. The best one fits your size, your floor and your team. Use these ten checks on any option, including ours.

1. Work orders and routing

Can you release a work order and see which step it has reached?

2. Material use against BOM

Does it compare material issued with what the BOM planned, across multi-level BOMs?

3. MRP and purchase link

Does a shortage show up as a purchase need before the job stops?

4. Batch traceability

Can you trace which raw material lot went into which finished batch?

5. Sub-contracting / job work

Can you see what went to each job worker and what came back?

6. Tally sync without double entry

Your accountant should not re-type a single entry.

7. Go-live time and who sets it up

Ask for a go-live date, and whether a consultant is needed.

8. Can your operators use it

In the demo, watch an operator try it, not a manager.

9. Machine connectivity (only if you need it)

Pay for it only if you need live machine signals.

10. Total yearly cost for your user count

Add licence, extra users, hardware and setup for a full year.

What it costs

TranZact's plans are on our pricing page (checked 22 October 2026). All are billed yearly.

Extra users cost ₹2,000 per user per month on Grow and Scale+, and ₹2,500 on Dominate.

Dedicated MES is priced by vendor quote. One Indian MES vendor's 2026 guide puts mid-market MES at ₹10–50 lakh a year in licence. It adds ₹5–30 lakh to implement. Treat that as one vendor's estimate, not a market price.

See it on your own work order

Bring one real job to the demo: its BOM, its material and its job-work steps. We'll walk through it in TranZact with you.

Don't be the bottleneck. Become the AI-Run Factory.

Book a demo →