Plastics inventory doesn't behave like generic stock either. A batch of HDPE granules carries a resin grade, a colour code, and a supplier lot number that has to stay linked all the way through blending, molding or extrusion, into regrind, and finally into a finished part with its own shot count and cavity history. Spreadsheets and generic inventory tools lose that thread the moment regrind gets remixed into virgin material or a mold gets swapped mid-run.
We compared the platforms injection molders, extruders, and film/sheet converters are actually evaluating in 2026 — from molding-specific MES/ERP suites to general manufacturing platforms adapted for plastics. Here's how they stack up.
Jump straight to the comparison table below, or scroll to How to Choose if you want the criteria before the names.
Quick Comparison Table
| # | Software | Best For | Plastics-Specific Depth | Free Trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matrex Global | Plastics, metal & paper manufacturers needing one system end-to-end | Resin grade/colour + lot traceability, regrind tracking, slitting optimizer, landed cost engine | 30 days, no card |
| 2 | DELMIAworks | Injection molders needing tight MES/ERP integration | Machine-level shot, pressure & cooling monitoring | Demo only |
| 3 | Plex | Cloud-native molders wanting shop-floor analytics | Lot traceability, quality & production analytics | Demo only |
| 4 | Epicor Kinetic | Discrete plastics manufacturers needing broad planning | Configurable, not molding-native out of the box | Demo only |
| 5 | JobBOSS2 | Make-to-order plastics job shops | Job costing, quoting, shop floor control | Demo only |
| 6 | SYSPRO | Mid-size plastics manufacturers | Configurable supply chain & production planning | Demo only |
| 7 | Infor CloudSuite Industrial | Engineered & make-to-order plastics manufacturers | Strong MTO workflows, not plastics-native fields | Demo only |
| 8 | Cetec ERP | Budget-conscious small plastics shops | Basic lot tracking, low-cost per-user pricing | Yes |
| 9 | Odoo Manufacturing | Businesses wanting a customizable modular ERP | Configurable, needs plastics-specific setup | Yes |
| 10 | SAP Business One | Larger enterprises with complex operations | Powerful but generic, heavy implementation | Demo only |
1. Matrex Global (Best Overall)
Matrex Global is built specifically for plastics (including injection moulding, extrusion, and film/sheet converting), metal, and paper manufacturers who need the entire material lifecycle — resin intake to finished dispatch — on one connected system, rather than stitching together a shop-floor MES, a spreadsheet for regrind, a billing app, and email.
Why it stands out for plastics
- Resin grade & colour traceability — every batch of LDPE, HDPE, PP, PVC, BOPP, or LLDPE carries its resin grade, colour code, and supplier lot from GRN through blending and molding to the dispatch challan, so pedigree is traceable end to end.
- Regrind & scrap recovery tracking — regrind consumption and blending ratios (virgin vs. reprocessed %) are tracked per batch, with recipe rules that flag when a mix falls outside spec, so material cost leaks get caught before dispatch, not at month-end.
- Slitting optimizer for film & sheet — production orders for film and sheet lines run against a BOM with layout optimization, plus yield % tracked per shift, so trim waste on slitting runs actually gets measured.
- Config-driven industry fit — pick "plastics" and the app re-skins to resin grade, colour, cavity/shot-count fields, and multi-cavity tool maintenance thresholds — no custom development needed.
- Landed cost engine — freight, customs duty, CHA fees, and inland transport roll into one landed-cost sheet linked to the PO for imported resin, so real cost per kg is known immediately instead of weeks later.
- AI assistant + WhatsApp bot — ask plant questions in plain English inside the AI Assistant, and let sales or shop-floor staff check live stock or log a sale directly over a WhatsApp chat flow.
Pricing: 30-day free trial with full feature access, no credit card required. Affordable plans apply after the trial.
Best for: Injection molders, extruders, and film/sheet converters — especially those also handling metal or paper lines, or importing resin internationally.
Start Your Free 30-Day Trial2. DELMIAworks
An all-in-one ERP/MES platform built specifically for plastic injection molding, with machine-level monitoring of injection pressure, cooling time, and mold temperature, alerting via email or SMS when readings drift out of range.
Best for: Injection molders wanting deep, sensor-level machine integration.
Limitation: Heavy MES footprint aimed at molders specifically; less built out for import/export trade or multi-industry use.
3. Plex
A cloud-native smart manufacturing platform offering end-to-end ERP for plastics production, including lot traceability, quality workflows, and shop-floor analytics.
Best for: Molders wanting cloud-native shop-floor analytics tied to quality.
Limitation: Enterprise pricing and implementation timeline; less suited to smaller job shops.
4. Epicor Kinetic
A comprehensive discrete-manufacturing ERP with advanced planning, inventory, and shop-floor management modules that can be configured for plastics production.
Best for: Larger discrete manufacturers needing broad planning and finance depth.
Limitation: Not molding-native out of the box — resin grade, regrind, and shot-count tracking require configuration.
5. JobBOSS2
An ERP built for make-to-order plastics shops, with strong job costing, quoting, inventory, and shop-floor control.
Best for: Make-to-order molders whose core workflow is quote-to-job costing.
Limitation: Lighter on material-level traceability like resin lot or regrind blending ratios.
6. SYSPRO
A flexible, configurable ERP tailored for manufacturing industries including plastics, with supply chain and production planning modules.
Best for: Mid-size manufacturers wanting configurable supply chain planning.
Limitation: Plastics-specific fields (resin grade, colour, regrind %) aren't native — need setup effort.
7. Infor CloudSuite Industrial
An industry-specific ERP for engineered and plastics manufacturing with strong support for make-to-order processes.
Best for: Engineered plastics manufacturers running make-to-order production.
Limitation: Broad industrial focus rather than plastics-native; heavier implementation.
8. Cetec ERP
A low-cost, cloud-based ERP with basic lot tracking, popular with smaller manufacturers on tight budgets.
Best for: Small plastics shops wanting affordable per-user pricing.
Limitation: Basic traceability; lacks molding-specific depth like regrind ratios or cavity tracking.
9. Odoo Manufacturing
A modular, highly configurable open-source-rooted ERP that can be shaped to plastics workflows with enough setup effort.
Best for: Technical teams willing to invest in customization.
Limitation: Plastics-specific fields (resin grade, colour, regrind, shot count) aren't native.
10. SAP Business One
A powerful, established ERP suitable for larger operations with complex multi-department requirements.
Best for: Enterprises that already run other SAP products.
Limitation: Generic data model, long implementation timelines, and enterprise pricing.
How to Choose the Right Plastics ERP Software
Before you commit, check for:
- Resin grade & colour tracking out of the box — can you trace a resin lot and colour batch from GRN to finished part without a workaround?
- Regrind & blending visibility — can you see virgin-vs-regrind ratios per batch, not just at month-end?
- Mold & shot-count tracking — cavity counts and tool maintenance thresholds as first-class fields, not custom text boxes.
- Slitting/yield visibility, if you run film or sheet — trim waste and yield % tracked per shift.
- Landed cost, if you import resin — freight, duty, CHA fees, and transport rolled into one number per shipment.
- Real trial access — a self-serve free trial tells you more in a day than a sales call does in a month.
Most molding-specific MES tools nail machine-level monitoring but stop at the shop floor. Most general ERPs handle finance and scale but treat resin like generic SKUs. Matrex Global is one of the few that covers both — resin-to-dispatch traceability and landed cost in one connected system. See the full feature list or check pricing — it's a 30-day free trial to test against your own data before paying anything.
See Matrex Global run your plastics operation.
30 days. Full access. No credit card required.
Start Your Free Trial