MAXiMUS

MAXiMUS is an integrated ERP and PPS (Production Plannings- und -steuerungssystem — the German term for production planning and control) product from MAX SYSTEME GmbH, based in Dresden in eastern Germany. The vendor has developed business software for more than twenty-five years and serves Mid-Market (mid-market) and craft businesses in Saxony, Berlin and the wider German-speaking region. MAXiMUS bundles order processing, materials management, costing, production preparation and analysis in a single turnkey solution. The product's positioning emphasises fast usability: users reach daily functions such as quotation, order confirmation or inventory posting directly by mouse click without navigating through nested menu structures. The vendor targets owner-managed businesses and manufacturing organisations with between ten and several hundred employees that want a pragmatic complete solution with personal support. Alongside the standard product, MAX SYSTEME offers individual custom-extension programming so that industry-specific requirements can be integrated directly into the ERP database.

Functional sweet spot

MAXiMUS is classically ERP-oriented and covers the typical commercial and production-related processes. In the sales module, enquiries, quotations, order confirmations, delivery notes and invoices can be created; an integrated dunning workflow, commission calculation and statistics round out the commercial area. In materials management, MAXiMUS handles suppliers, purchase orders, goods receipts, inventory stock and stocktaking. An order pool and automatic purchase suggestions enable demand-driven procurement. On the production side, the product supports BOMs (Bills of Materials), routings, production orders and shop-floor feedback. The functional sweet spot is integrated commercial-plus-production workflow for SMB manufacturers between ten and one hundred users where the standard product fits the workflow without heavy customisation.

DACH positioning

MAXiMUS is a Tier-3 specialist in the DACH market, with regional anchoring in Saxony and a customer base concentrated in owner-managed Mid-Market manufacturers and craft businesses. The product's competitive position rests on direct vendor access, the willingness to deliver customer-specific extensions as part of the standard service, and the German engineering origin. GoBD-compliant bookkeeping (the German principles for proper digital record-keeping), DATEV connector for the German tax-adviser exchange standard, and ZUGFeRD and XRechnung e-invoicing are part of the standard scope. Deployment is mainly cloud with on-premises options available. The vendor's small size is both a strength (direct access to the developers, fast customisation cycles) and a risk (limited partner alternatives if the relationship breaks down).

Pricing and implementation

MAX SYSTEME does not publish list prices and quotes individually based on user count and module scope. For an indicative 20-user SMB manufacturer deployment, all-in five-year TCO usually falls between approximately 100,000 and 280,000 euro, depending on deployment model and customisation appetite. The standard product is intentionally light on complexity, which keeps implementation timelines short — typically three to seven months for a focused SMB scope. The custom-extension model is more programming-led than configuration-led, which means that buyers should be specific about which extensions they will commit to before signing the contract; otherwise the project scope can drift.

Selection considerations

MAXiMUS is a defensible choice for DACH SMB manufacturers and craft businesses between approximately ten and one hundred users with a strong preference for direct vendor access and willingness to live with a smaller installed base. It is less compelling for buyers seeking a default standard product (where myfactory, weclapp, microtech or Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central fit better), for organisations with strong international consolidation needs (NetSuite, Business Central), for upper-Mid-Market manufacturers above approximately 100 users where proAlpha, abas ERP or APplus provide more depth, or for buyers that prefer the comfort of a large vendor with extensive partner ecosystem. The custom-extension model works particularly well when the buyer has specific industry needs that horizontal ERPs would only cover through heavy add-on work.

Comparable vendors

Direct functional comparables in the DACH SMB-manufacturer segment include exonn ERP, bossERP, Cometa ERP and DELECO ERP, all of which target similar mid-market manufacturers with regional anchoring and high customisation willingness. On the standard-product side, myfactory, weclapp, microtech and Sage 100 are the obvious alternatives if the buyer prefers a larger vendor. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central with KUMAVISION or other manufacturing extensions competes at the upper end of the segment. MAXiMUS's differentiator is the direct vendor relationship and the custom-extension model, which suits buyers that value adaptability over scale.

Related Topics

• myfactory
• exonn ERP
• ERP for small business

Fazit

MAXiMUS ist eine bodenständige, mittelstandsorientierte ERP- und PPS-Solution aus Dresden, die ihren Reiz aus dem Zusammenspiel von solidem Functional scope, persönlicher Betreuung und individueller Programmierung zieht. Für inhabergeführte Produktionsbetriebe, klassische Mittelständler und Handwerksunternehmen, die eine zuverlässige Komplettlösung ohne Großkonzern-Komplexität suchen, ist MAXiMUS ein interessanter Kandidat. Wer dagegen eine moderne SaaS-Plattform, internationale Rollouts oder branchenspezifische Tiefe in regulierten Märkten sucht, sollte ergänzend Alternativen wie weclapp oder spezialisierte Industrieslösungen prüfen und die Auswahlbegleitung mit einbeziehen.

Vendor homepage of MAXiMUS

Current view of the website https://www.maxsysteme.de/