Plex as an Epicor alternative: ERP, MES and quality in one cloud
A long-standing SaaS manufacturing platform, now part of Rockwell Automation, for plants where traceability and quality drive the system choice.
Contents
| Type | Manufacturing cloud (ERP and MES) |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Troy, Michigan, US |
| Founded | 1995 (Rockwell Automation since 2021) |
| Pricing | Not published |
| Website | plex.rockwellautomation.com |
Plex has offered manufacturing ERP as software as a service since 2001 and has been part of Rockwell Automation since 2021, when Rockwell acquired it for $2.22 billion1. For Epicor manufacturers in regulated or traceability-heavy sectors, it combines ERP and shop-floor execution in one platform.
Best for: Manufacturers with strict traceability, quality or food-safety requirements, in sectors such as automotive, aerospace, food and beverage and medical, that want ERP, MES and quality in one SaaS platform.
Not the right fit for: Shops that want to keep an on-premises system, or to see prices before talking to sales.
What it offers a manufacturer leaving Epicor
The Plex cloud combines ERP with integrated MES, quality management, CRM and supply-chain functions, and is used by manufacturers with strict traceability, quality and food-safety requirements in automotive, aerospace, food and beverage, and life sciences or medical manufacturing1. At Automation Fair 2026, Rockwell announced new AI innovations for the Plex Smart Manufacturing Platform and AI-powered quality management capabilities2.
A note on sources: Rockwell's product pages refused our automated requests on the day we checked, so this profile relies on Rockwell's own press release and a reference source. We will extend it when the product pages can be read.
Published evidence
We found no named manufacturing results in the sources we could read.
Strengths and limits
Strengths
- ERP, MES and quality management in one cloud, which removes a common integration project.
- Two decades of running manufacturing ERP as SaaS.
- Owned by an industrial automation company, Rockwell Automation, which is adding AI to the platform.
Limits
- Rockwell’s product pages refused our automated requests on the day we checked, so this profile relies on Rockwell’s press release and a reference source.
- Pricing is not published in the sources we read.
- No named customer results in the sources we read.
Choose another option if: You run a high-mix job shop where quoting and job costing matter more than lot traceability, or you need to run the system on your own servers.
Pricing
Not published in the sources we read.
Questions to ask Plex
- Which parts of ERP, MES and quality would we license, and at what price?
- Are any deployment options other than SaaS available?
- What do the new AI quality capabilities do, and are they included?
- Which manufacturers of our size and sector moved from Epicor, and can we speak to one?
The comparison table in the main guide sets Plex against the other seven options.
Sources
- Plex Systems. Wikipedia. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
- Rockwell Automation unveils record-breaking innovation lineup at Automation Fair 2026. Rockwell Automation (PR Newswire), 27 Oct 2026. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.