# The Buyer's Guide to Manufacturing Operations Software > A free guide to choosing MES, WMS, quality and maintenance software: build, buy or hybrid, seventeen criteria, a cost worksheet, scorecard and RFI and RFP… Source: https://www.fuuz.com/resources/buyers-guide Free guide A practical guide for plant, operations, IT and OT leaders choosing MES, WMS, quality or maintenance software, or deciding whether to build on a platform instead. Build, buy or hybrid, software or a stack of parts, seventeen criteria, the real cost of ownership, a scorecard and RFI and RFP guidance. [Get the guide](#get) [Talk to our team](https://www.fuuz.com/contact) What you get - **Build, buy or hybrid** What you build and maintain under each model, and how to weigh flexibility, scalability and extensibility. - **Seventeen criteria** Data ownership, APIs, upgrades and downtime, code ownership and more: what to ask and what a strong answer sounds like. - **Cost worksheet** Seventeen cost lines most quotes leave out, set up to compare three years. - **Scorecard and RFI and RFP guidance** A weighted scorecard, and how to write an RFI and RFP that asks only for what you need. What is inside ## Ten Chapters, One Process Written to be used: work through the early chapters before you talk to vendors, and keep the later ones open while you run the selection. 1. **Start with the problem, not the product** Write the problem statement, test whether you are really as standard as you think, and name the decision owner before any vendor calls. 2. **What you are actually buying** The nine functions to scope, and where the ERP boundary falls. 3. **Build, buy or hybrid** What you build and maintain under each model, and how flexibility, scalability and extensibility differ. 4. **Software, or a stack of parts?** Count the logos, the licenses and the downtime before you sign. A worksheet for the parts. 5. **Seventeen criteria that decide it** What to ask on data, APIs, code ownership, upgrades, accountability and more, and what a strong answer sounds like. 6. **The real cost of ownership** Seventeen cost lines most quotes leave out, and how to compare three-year totals. 7. **Running the selection** A twelve-week plan, your own RFI, RFP and demo script, and why a throwaway proof of concept disappoints. 8. **Red flags** Twenty warning signs that show up before you sign. 9. **Where Fuuz fits, and where it does not** A plain description of when a hybrid platform approach is the right one. 10. **Appendices** A weighted vendor scorecard, a checklist for writing your own RFI and RFP, and reference-call questions. A preview ## Seventeen Criteria That Decide It Each one comes with what to ask, why it matters and what a strong answer sounds like. These are the headings. The guide has the questions. 1. **Data ownership, retention and reporting** 2. **Software, or a stack of parts?** 3. **Connection to equipment and the systems you already run** 4. **API architecture and getting data out** 5. **Fit to your process without customization debt** 6. **Writing your own integrations and APIs** 7. **Code ownership, and who can change it** 8. **Updates, patches and downtime** 9. **Scale, availability and resilience** 10. **Your customers' technology rules** 11. **Security and compliance** 12. **Modern requirements: AI, MCP and remote work** 13. **Documentation, training and skills** 14. **Time to first value, and the path after** 15. **Total cost and pricing clarity** 16. **Implementation and accountability** 17. **Vendor viability, support and community** Who it is for ## Built For The People Who Live With The Choice Operations software is a long relationship. This guide is for the plant managers, operations and OT leaders, IT leaders and finance partners who will rely on the system for years, not for the vendor's demo. It describes kinds of solutions, not named products, and it is written to be vendor-neutral. Fuuz has one chapter, near the end, that says where we fit and where we do not. - Plant, operations and OT leaders - IT and enterprise architecture - Quality, compliance and finance partners - Anyone replacing a legacy or homegrown system Use it to **Define the problem** Before you shortlist a single vendor. **Count the parts** Logos, licenses, updates and downtime, not just the quote. **Compare fairly** The same questions, the same scenarios, the same scorecard. **Run the selection** A twelve-week plan, from the long list to the contract. 2026 edition The Buyer’s Guide to Manufacturing Operations Software How to choose MES, WMS, quality and maintenance software, and the platform underneath it. Free download ## Get The Guide A PDF with the criteria, cost worksheet, scorecard and RFI and RFP guidance. Enter your work email and we will show you the download and email you a copy. Questions ## Before You Download Is it really free?Yes. We ask for your work email so we can send you the guide and, if you want it, help you apply it. We use your details as described in our [privacy policy](https://www.fuuz.com/company/privacy). Will someone from Fuuz contact me?If you want to talk, email sales@fuuz.com or use the [contact page](https://www.fuuz.com/contact) and tell us what you run today. We will not make you sit through a pitch to get the guide. Is it written for Fuuz?No. It is vendor-neutral, and it is meant to be useful whichever product you choose. Fuuz appears in one chapter, which includes when we are not the right fit. Can I share it with my team?Yes. Share it inside your company. If a colleague wants to receive their own copy, they can request one on this page. What format is it?A PDF with worksheets, a scorecard and templates you can copy into your own documents. Rather talk it through ## Want Help Running The Evaluation? Tell us what you run today and what you need next. We will show you Fuuz on your problem and help you hold every vendor to the same standard. [Talk to our team](https://www.fuuz.com/contact) Prefer to talk? Call [1-877-801-FUUZ (3889)](tel:18778013889)