--- description: Review of ION Software: system overview, features, price and cost information. Get free demos and compare to similar programs on Software Advice New Zealand. image: https://gdm-localsites-assets-gfprod.imgix.net/images/software_advice/og_logo-55146305bbe7b450bea05c18e9be9c9a.png title: ION | Reviews, Pricing & Demos - SoftwareAdvice NZ --- Breadcrumb: [Home](/) > [Manufacturing Execution Software](/directory/164/execution-systems/software) > [ION](/software/106932/first-resonance-ion) # ION Canonical: https://www.softwareadvice.co.nz/software/106932/first-resonance-ion Page: 1 / 2\ Next: [Next page](https://www.softwareadvice.co.nz/software/106932/first-resonance-ion?page=2) > ION is a manufacturing operations platform developed by First Resonance. It is designed to help modern manufacturers streamline their operations, improve efficiency, and ensure quality control. Here are some key features and aspects of ION: Real-Time Data and Analytics: ION provides real-time insights into manufacturing processes, allowing users to monitor and analyze data as it happens. This helps in identifying bottlenecks, optimizing workflows, and making data-driven decisions. Traceability: The platform offers robust traceability features, ensuring that every part and process in the manufacturing chain can be tracked. This is crucial for quality control and compliance, especially in industries like aerospace, automotive, and medical devices. Collaboration and Communication: ION facilitates better collaboration and communication among team members. It integrates with various tools and platforms, enabling seamless information flow and coordination across different departments. Integration with Existing Systems: ION is designed to integrate with existing enterprise systems like ERP, MES, and PLM. This ensures that manufacturers can leverage their current investments while enhancing their capabilities with ION. Flexibility and Scalability: The platform is built to be flexible and scalable, catering to the needs of small manufacturers as well as large enterprises. It can adapt to different manufacturing environments and scale as the business grows. User-Friendly Interface: ION features an intuitive and user-friendly interface, making it easy for operators and managers to use the platform without extensive training. Quality Management: The platform includes tools for quality management, helping manufacturers to maintain high standards and reduce defects. It supports various quality control methodologies and practices. Supply Chain Management: ION helps in managing the supply chain more effectively by providing visibility into inventory levels, supplier performance, and order status. This ensures that materials and components are available when needed, reducing downtime. Customizable Workflows: Manufacturers can customize workflows to match their specific processes and requirements. This flexibility allows for better alignment with operational goals and practices. Support for Advanced Manufacturing Technologies: ION is designed to support advanced manufacturing technologies such as additive manufacturing, IoT, and automation. This makes it suitable for cutting-edge manufacturing environments. Overall, ION by First Resonance is a comprehensive platform aimed at modernizing manufacturing operations, improving efficiency, and ensuring high-quality output. It leverages real-time data, traceability, and integration capabilities to provide a robust solution for manufacturers looking to stay competitive in today's fast-paced market. > > Verdict: Rated **4.0/5** by 28 users. Top-rated for **Likelihood to recommend**. ----- ## Quick Stats & Ratings | Metric | Rating | Detail | | **Overall** | **4.0/5** | 28 Reviews | | Ease of Use | 3.9/5 | Based on overall reviews | | Customer Support | 4.8/5 | Based on overall reviews | | Value for Money | 4.4/5 | Based on overall reviews | | Features | 3.5/5 | Based on overall reviews | | Recommendation percentage | 80% | (8/10 Likelihood to recommend) | ## About the vendor - **Company**: First Resonance - **Location**: Los Angeles, US - **Founded**: 2018 ## Commercial Context - **Pricing model**: Per User - **Pricing Details**: First Resonance offers three pricing plans for their ION manufacturing operations platform: The Starter plan is best for small teams or pilot projects and includes essential tools for tracking and basic analytics. The Professional plan is suitable for growing teams with more complex needs and offers advanced features for collaboration, deeper analytics, and comprehensive traceability. The Enterprise plan is tailored for large organizations and provides full access to all features, advanced customization, scalability, and dedicated support. Please contact First Resonance for more information about pricing. - **Target Audience**: 11–50, 51–200, 201–500, 501–1,000, 1,001–5,000, 5,001–10,000, 10,000+ - **Deployment & Platforms**: Cloud, SaaS, Web-based - **Supported Languages**: English - **Available Countries**: Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Bulgaria, Canada, Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Czechia, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic and 53 more ## Features - API - Automated Scheduling - BOM Creation - Barcode/Ticket Scanning - Bills of Material - Compliance Management - Cost Tracking - Data Collection - Data Import/Export - Data Visualisation - Document Management - EDI - ERP integration - Estimating - For Manufacturers - For Small Businesses - Forecasting - Inventory Management - Inventory Tracking - Item Management ## Integrations (12 total) - Arena PLM - Arena QMS - Bild - Duro - Jira Workflow Steps for Slack - NetSuite - Odoo - QuickBooks Enterprise - Ramp - Smartsheet - SolidWorks Enterprise PDM - Teamcenter ## Support Options - Email/Help Desk - Knowledge Base - Phone Support - 24/7 (Live rep) - Chat ## Category - [Manufacturing Execution Software](https://www.softwareadvice.co.nz/directory/164/execution-systems/software) ## Related Categories - [Manufacturing Execution Software](https://www.softwareadvice.co.nz/directory/164/execution-systems/software) - [Aerospace Manufacturing Software](https://www.softwareadvice.co.nz/directory/215/aerospace-manufacturing-software/software) - [Manufacturing Inventory Management Software](https://www.softwareadvice.co.nz/directory/392/inventory-software/software) - [Manufacturing Software for Small Business](https://www.softwareadvice.co.nz/directory/490/small-business/software) - [Capacity Planning Software](https://www.softwareadvice.co.nz/directory/3279/capacity-planning/software) ## Alternatives 1. [Acumatica Cloud ERP](https://www.softwareadvice.co.nz/software/24043/acumatica-manufacturing) — 4.4/5 (243 reviews) 2. [DELMIAWorks](https://www.softwareadvice.co.nz/software/1617/iqms-enterpriseiq) — 4.1/5 (283 reviews) 3. [Odoo](https://www.softwareadvice.co.nz/software/77019/odoo-pos) — 4.2/5 (1294 reviews) 4. [Kinetic](https://www.softwareadvice.co.nz/software/3205/kinetic) — 3.8/5 (176 reviews) 5. [QT9 ERP](https://www.softwareadvice.co.nz/software/26755/qt9erp) — 4.9/5 (19 reviews) ## Reviews ### "Ion is a powerful manufacturing workflow tool with a very bright future." — 4.0/5 > **Charlie** | *3 June 2021* | Aviation & Aerospace | Recommendation rating: 10.0/10 > > **Pros**: The traceability, work instruction, and issue ticket modules work together well and provide the needed functionality. The Ion team is highly responsive and actively adding features. They provide real time support on both bugs and usability concerns. The technician facing interface is highly functional. Setting up and scaling the software instance is easy. The First Resonance team makes export control compliance easy. > > **Cons**: The GUI can be very clunky on older modules. Minor program errors are not uncommon while working in the tool. Data entry from our PDM system is very manual and time consuming. The lack of strong mobile support is a significant opportunity for the software, but a frustrating omission at the moment. > > Even where Ion has rough edges, it is far superior in usability and feature richness to the competition. In the months we have been using Ion the robust feature roadmap has been borne out. Every update increases usability and functionality, though sometimes comes with some workflow changes. I can unreservedly recommend this software. It is good now with the potential to be great. I have had a very good experience with the First Resonance team and believe they are an excellent team to work with. ----- ### "Clean, intuitive, feature rich, and constantly improving\!" — 5.0/5 > **Wade** | *7 July 2020* | Airlines/Aviation | Recommendation rating: 10.0/10 > > **Pros**: Easy to deploy and get acquainted with. Integrates well with our developing company process. Feature implementation, changes and fixes are extremely fast. > > **Cons**: Some functions are not super intuitive, but are still maturing. Not a major con but a function of a developing software platform. > > The team is very supportive, blazing fast response time, and it has greatly improved our shop floor activity tracking. ----- ### "It's an okay start" — 3.0/5 > **Mia** | *3 June 2021* | Aviation & Aerospace | Recommendation rating: 4.0/10 > > **Pros**: Very clean look. First Resonance has also been extremely receptive to feedback, even for new features that can take a while to implement. It's clear that this software is in it's early stages, but getting feedback and responding to it is a great wat to improve. > > **Cons**: There are soooo many improvements need to make this software productions ready. The instruction editor is still pretty annoying to use when incorporating images, ordered list, and any non-basic formatting needs. I wish there was an option to create a field that can take multiple inputs. I have never tried to used the part tracking and traceability in ION, but from what I have seen it does not look ready to go. I wish the devs did more controlled roll outs of improvements/changes. Sometimes, I feel that things are rolled out really quickly and result in a lot of glitches upon implementation. ----- ### "A good product with a lot of room to grow" — 4.0/5 > **Ben** | *3 June 2021* | Airlines/Aviation | Recommendation rating: 7.0/10 > > **Pros**: The interface is simple and the software is generally pretty easy to navigate. Creating items and procedures is smooth and I can generate work orders with no problem. The First Resonance team is responsive and updates are dropped frequently, so issues that I might have one week may get resolved the next. Always nice to wake up to new functionalities and have an evolving UI. > > **Cons**: The filtering is not great. Creating items or work orders is easy enough, but going back and finding work that was done previously is not an easy task. At the moment, this generally consists of scrolling through long lists. The search bar also is a little inflexible and queries have to be precisely defined, otherwise, it's back to scrolling through a long, long list. It's also not apparent what's going on in the backend of Ion and it's easy to mess up links among different items that are linked (i.e. it is pretty fragile). ----- ### "Easiest way to set up a production workflow" — 4.0/5 > **Sohil** | *24 May 2021* | Machinery | Recommendation rating: 9.0/10 > > **Pros**: ION is super easy to set up\! You can get running with it within a few days and immediately make an impact on your production workflow. Having your work instructions directly in the software and not in some other system is a huge benefit. The ability to track the as-built BOM and collect data during the execution of runs is extremely valuable. > > **Cons**: There are some edge cases and bugs that still need to be sorted out. There are some features that are lacking like in app reports, but there are good workarounds until they get a chance to implement it. Consumption of material for 3D printing applications needs to be improved. > > ION has brought great value to our company. It's very easy to use and set up. The customer service is amazing\! The team really listens to your feedback in order to improve the product. If ION can't do something you need right now, it will likely get added or there is a sufficient work around. Highly recommend using ION\! ----- Page: 1 / 2\ Next: [Next page](https://www.softwareadvice.co.nz/software/106932/first-resonance-ion?page=2) ## Links - [View on SoftwareAdvice](https://www.softwareadvice.co.nz/software/106932/first-resonance-ion) ## This page is available in the following languages | Locale | URL | | de | | | en | | | en-AU | | | en-GB | | | en-IE | | | en-NZ | | | fr | | ----- ## Structured Data