Panel-shop MES vs ERP and MRP: which system owns what
ERP and MRP run the business. A panel-shop MES runs the build. Most shops that struggle have one of them and are trying to make it do the other job.
Short answer
An ERP or MRP system manages orders, purchasing, stock and finance — the commercial record of the business. A panel-shop MES manages execution on the floor: which stage each panel is at, whether its BOM is ready, who approved what, and what evidence exists. KonstanTrack is the MES layer. It works alongside ERP and MRP and does not replace accounting, purchasing or enterprise planning.
Ask a panel shop where a job is and you usually get two answers. The office answer comes from the ERP: the order is on the system, the materials were raised, it is due week 34. The floor answer comes from whoever walks past the panel: it is wired, it is waiting on a busbar set, the customer changed the schedule and nobody told production.
Both are true. They describe different things. ERP and MRP were built to plan and account for work; they were not built to control a low-volume, high-mix build with hold points, drawing revisions, inspection sign-off and an evidence pack at the end. That control layer is what a manufacturing execution system does, and it is the layer most panel shops are missing.
Who owns what
| ERP / MRP | KonstanTrack | |
|---|---|---|
| Primary question answered | What did we sell, buy, hold and invoice? | What is happening to this panel right now, and can we prove what happened to it? |
| Unit of work | Order lines, part numbers, stock movements. | The job and its build stages — engineering release through to handover. |
| Bill of materials | Costed and purchased; stock levels and lead times. | Readiness against a specific panel: is everything here to start this build? |
| Drawing revisions | Usually not held at all. | The released revision is attached to the job, so the floor cannot build to a superseded drawing unnoticed. |
| Approvals and hold points | Financial approvals — purchase orders, credit. | Production hold points — supervisor sign-off before a stage can be closed. |
| Quality and NCRs | Rarely, and usually detached from the job. | NCRs raised and closed against the job and the stage, with a full audit trail. |
| FAT and handover pack | Not in scope. | Assembled from evidence captured as the build progressed. |
| Typical user | Accounts, purchasing, directors. | Production manager, supervisor, wireman, QA, contracts manager. |
Where they genuinely overlap
- The bill of materials. ERP owns the commercial BOM — cost, supplier, stock. The MES cares only whether the parts for this panel are physically ready. The same list, asked a different question.
- Job or works-order status. ERP status is usually a coarse flag set by a human. MES status is the by-product of work actually being done and signed off, so it does not need chasing.
- Delivery dates. ERP holds the promise; the MES shows whether the promise is still realistic while there is time to act.
A worked example: the busbar that was never coming
A shop runs eleven live jobs. The ERP says all eleven have materials raised. On the floor, three are waiting on parts, one of which was cancelled by the supplier three weeks ago and re-raised against a different job.
In ERP terms nothing is wrong: the purchase order exists. In execution terms one panel cannot start, and nobody finds out until a wireman walks to the rack. A readiness view per job asks the only question that matters on the floor — can this panel be built today — and answers it before the labour is committed.
Illustrative example based on common panel-shop practice — not a customer case study or a measured result.
When KonstanTrack is the wrong answer
- You need purchasing, supplier accounts, stock valuation, invoicing or payroll. That is ERP work and KonstanTrack does not do it.
- You need multi-site capacity planning and enterprise scheduling across a group. That is enterprise planning, not panel-shop execution.
- You build the same product in volume on a line. A high-volume MES aimed at repetitive production will fit that better than a shop built for high-mix, build-to-order work.
Limitations worth knowing
- KonstanTrack does not import your ERP's stock ledger or write back to it. Treat it as an adjacent system, not a replacement.
- If your ERP is the only place a job exists, someone still has to create the job in KonstanTrack. That is a deliberate boundary, not an oversight.
Common questions
Do we need both an MES and an ERP?
Most panel shops end up with both, because they answer different questions. ERP is the commercial record; the MES is the execution record. If you only have ERP, the gap you feel is status chasing and missing evidence — that is the MES gap.
Does KonstanTrack replace our MRP?
No. KonstanTrack tracks BOM revision and material readiness against each panel job so the floor builds from the current list and shortages surface early. It does not do inventory accounting, purchasing or stock valuation.
Can KonstanTrack integrate with our ERP?
We do not publish a list of certified ERP connectors, because we would rather describe what exists than what is planned. KonstanTrack supports structured import of job and BOM data and full export of your own records. If a specific exchange is essential, raise it in the quote and we will tell you honestly whether it is in scope.
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Work out which layer you are actually missing
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