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ERP · head to head

Plex Manufacturing Cloud vs QAD Redzone

P

Plex Manufacturing Cloud

ERP

Multi-tenant manufacturing ERP with MES built in, owned by Rockwell Automation

From
$500/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
QAD Redzone logo

QAD Redzone

Manufacturing

Connected workforce platform for food and beverage plants, sold per production line with coaching included

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Plex Manufacturing Cloud there is no on premise option, so a plant whose line-side terminals must keep working through a network outage needs a mitigation plan, and connectivity becomes a production dependency rather than an IT concern.; QAD Redzone licensing is per production line and per site, so a plant running many short lines pays far more than a plant with a few long ones producing the same volume, and the pricing unit is not comparable with per user or per machine products.
  • They diverge on capability: Plex Manufacturing Cloud covers Built-in MES, QAD Redzone covers Line side tablets.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Plex Manufacturing Cloud and QAD Redzone actually diverge.

Attributes where Plex Manufacturing Cloud and QAD Redzone differ
AttributePlex Manufacturing CloudQAD Redzone
Starting price$500/monthOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsCloud, Mobile, WebWeb, iOS, Android
CategoryERPManufacturing
Founded1995Unknown

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Plex Manufacturing Cloud

  • Built-in MES
  • Quality management
  • Lot and serial traceability
  • Production scheduling
  • Inventory and warehouse
  • Supply chain and EDI
  • Financials
  • Single version delivery

Only in QAD Redzone

  • Line side tablets
  • Crew based performance
  • Structured escalation
  • Digital quality checks
  • Coaching programme
  • Plant and network reporting

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Plex Manufacturing Cloud

  • An automotive component supplier that must hold complete traceability and pass customer quality auditsnot QAD Redzone
  • A manufacturer replacing a separate ERP and MES pair that never reconcile with each othernot QAD Redzone
  • A multi-plant discrete manufacturer that wants one system of record across sites rather than one per plantnot QAD Redzone
  • An organisation that has repeatedly deferred an ERP upgrade and wants the upgrade problem removed from its futurenot QAD Redzone

QAD Redzone

  • A food plant losing output to unrecorded short stoppages that nobody escalates during a shiftnot Plex Manufacturing Cloud
  • A CPG manufacturer wanting crews to own line targets rather than receive them from a weekly reportnot Plex Manufacturing Cloud
  • A plant replacing paper food safety and quality check sheets with time stamped digital recordsnot Plex Manufacturing Cloud
  • A multi site group looking for comparable productivity reporting across plants running similar linesnot Plex Manufacturing Cloud

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Plex Manufacturing Cloud

  • There is no on premise option, so a plant whose line-side terminals must keep working through a network outage needs a mitigation plan, and connectivity becomes a production dependency rather than an IT concern.
  • Every customer runs the same version on the vendor's schedule, so you cannot defer a release to fit around a plant shutdown or a customer audit and must absorb regression testing on the vendor's cadence.
  • Customisation is limited to the platform's own configuration and extension tools, which is what makes the single version model possible but means a process you cannot express within those tools has to change rather than be accommodated.
  • The financial modules are less developed than the operational ones, so groups with complex multi-entity consolidation, statutory reporting in several countries or sophisticated planning requirements often keep a separate finance system alongside it.
  • Country localisations and language coverage are narrower than the tier one vendors offer, which limits the product for a manufacturer expanding into markets with demanding local tax and reporting rules.

QAD Redzone

  • Licensing is per production line and per site, so a plant running many short lines pays far more than a plant with a few long ones producing the same volume, and the pricing unit is not comparable with per user or per machine products.
  • The result depends on a change programme, and where plant leadership treats it as a software rollout and skips the coaching discipline, the tablets become expensive downtime logs and the promised gains do not appear.
  • Data comes largely from crew input plus simple sensors rather than deep controller integration, so a plant expecting automatic capture from its process control system will need additional work or a different product.
  • QAD acquired it in 2022 and QAD is owned by a private equity firm, so buyers who do not run QAD ERP should ask directly how long standalone deployments remain a strategic priority and what integration commitments exist in writing.
  • It suits repetitive process lines and fits badly in low volume high mix discrete manufacturing, where crews, targets and changeover patterns do not have the regularity the model assumes.

Pricing, plan by plan

Plex Manufacturing Cloud

$500/month
  • Standard$500/month
    • Core manufacturing
    • Financials
    • Inventory
  • Enterprise$1500/month
    • Advanced modules
    • IoT integration
    • Advanced analytics

QAD Redzone

On request
  • QAD Redzone$undefined/year
    • Per production line and per site licensing
    • Line side tablet application
    • Initial coaching and deployment programme

Which should you pick?

Choose Plex Manufacturing Cloud if

  • You need built-in mes.
  • You work on Cloud, Mobile, Web.
  • You also want quality management.
Plex Manufacturing Cloud review

Choose QAD Redzone if

  • You need line side tablets.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want crew based performance.
QAD Redzone review

Questions people ask

Is Plex Manufacturing Cloud or QAD Redzone better?
Neither clearly leads. Plex Manufacturing Cloud starts at $500/month and QAD Redzone at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Plex Manufacturing Cloud or QAD Redzone?
Plex Manufacturing Cloud starts at $500/month and QAD Redzone at On request.
Does Plex Manufacturing Cloud or QAD Redzone run on more platforms?
Plex Manufacturing Cloud runs on Cloud, Mobile, Web. QAD Redzone runs on Web, iOS, Android.
What is Plex Manufacturing Cloud best used for?
Plex Manufacturing Cloud is most often used for an automotive component supplier that must hold complete traceability and pass customer quality audits, a manufacturer replacing a separate erp and mes pair that never reconcile with each other, a multi-plant discrete manufacturer that wants one system of record across sites rather than one per plant, an organisation that has repeatedly deferred an erp upgrade and wants the upgrade problem removed from its future. Of those, an automotive component supplier that must hold complete traceability and pass customer quality audits and a manufacturer replacing a separate erp and mes pair that never reconcile with each other are not what QAD Redzone is typically brought in for.
What can Plex Manufacturing Cloud do that QAD Redzone cannot?
Plex Manufacturing Cloud covers Built-in MES, Quality management, Lot and serial traceability, Production scheduling. QAD Redzone covers Line side tablets, Crew based performance, Structured escalation, Digital quality checks.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Plex Manufacturing Cloud: Can I run Plex on my own servers?

No. It is delivered as multi-tenant cloud software only. If you need an on premise deployment, this product cannot meet that requirement at any price.

QAD Redzone: Who owns Redzone?

QAD acquired it in 2022. QAD itself is owned by Thoma Bravo.

Plex Manufacturing Cloud: What happens to my customisations at upgrade time?

There are no customisations in the traditional sense. Extensions are built with the platform's own tooling and are carried forward by the vendor. That is the trade you are making: less freedom to modify, no upgrade project.

QAD Redzone: Is the coaching optional?

In practice no. The customers who skip it are the ones who report no measurable improvement.

Plex Manufacturing Cloud: Has Rockwell's ownership changed the product?

It has placed Plex inside a portfolio with Rockwell's automation, maintenance and analytics products, which pulls the roadmap towards integration with that estate. Whether that helps depends on whether your plant runs Rockwell equipment. Ask about the specific roadmap items you care about.

QAD Redzone: Does it connect to my PLCs?

It can take signals from equipment, but the model is built around crew input at line side tablets rather than deep controller integration.

Plex Manufacturing Cloud: Is the finance module enough on its own?

For a single country manufacturer, usually yes. For a group consolidating several entities across countries with statutory reporting obligations, ask specifically about your requirements, because this is the part of the product most likely to fall short.

QAD Redzone: How is it priced?

Per production line and per site, not per user, which changes the comparison against most other manufacturing software.

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