As an emerging business, you can no longer operate in silos. You have to coordinate with different departments and systems to cope with the increasing competition and evolving customer demands.
This is where ERP software acts as a game-changer. It is a suite of customizable applications that synchronize different functional modules for effective collaboration.
For instance, you can integrate accounts payable, stock control systems, pricing changes, order monitoring, & customer management into one system with ERP software. With this interconnected process, you can improve accuracy and productivity and ensure that only updated info flows through your entire business system.
In this article, we picked some of the best ERP software available and reviewed them to help you find the most suitable ERP software for your business.
If you’re into the manufacturing business and want to gain complete visibility over every moving part, Katana is my best recommendation.
Katana is a powerful manufacturing ERP Software that gives full visibility and control across every stage. It boosts your productivity by 82% via smart automation capabilities and ensures that you make data-backed decisions for effective resource management & planning.
You can manage everything in a single platform, from sales to business operations. It lets you manage live inventory, optimize production, and scheduling, sync sales channels, automate material reallocation based on priority, and track manufacturing costs based on your bill of materials (BOM).
Another distinctive aspect is using Katana’s Shop Floor App to track floor-level operations. With this app, you will get a clear picture of what’s happening on each floor to align sales and production. From scheduling to task prioritization, everything lies at your fingertips.
Thus Katana enables manufacturing businesses to keep running fast via seamless integration and connectivity. It is designed to meet industry-specific requirements with ease and flexibility.
Key Features –
Live-Inventory Management – Automate inventory transactions, manage product variants, use barcodes to receive & count stock, monitor inventory across multiple warehouses, and get total inventory control.
Real-Time Master Planning – Prioritize production based on raw material availability, ensure optimal inventory levels, automate manufacturing cost calculations, and task-level control for shop floor management.
Production Planning – Drag-and-drop priorities for manufacturing tasks, identify delay risks, view accurate expected completion dates, and track availability for sales order fulfillment.
Purchase Order Management – Ensure on-time purchasing based on requirements, understand when to purchase missing raw materials, track delay risks, and use multiple currencies to convert purchase order values automatically.
Pros of Katana –
Easy to set up and use
Delivers high speed and accuracy
Top-tier onboarding and excellent customer support
Make on-point pricing decisions based on product margins
Access native integrations with eCommerce, reporting & accounting tools
Custom workflows via Katana API
Cons of Katana –
Must pay an additional fee for including teammates
Advanced reporting options can be added
Pricing Plans – Katana has 4 pricing plans based on the number of monthly shipped sales order lines. They are as follows –
Essential Plan – $129/month – up to 500 monthly shipped sales order lines
Advanced Plan – $349/month – up to 2000 monthly shipped sales order lines
Professional Plan – $999/month – up to 25000 monthly shipped sales order lines
Enterprise Plan – Custom – Unlimited monthly shipped sales order lines
Katana also offers a 14-day free trial on all the paid plans with no credit card required. So sign up for your preferred plan and test whether it best suits your requirements.
Infor is a cloud-based ERP software that caters to various industries like manufacturing, distribution, services, hospitality, etc. It simplifies your resource planning process as its solutions are preconfigured to meet your business demands. This lets you drive optimized outcomes that boost your overall profit and ROI.
Infor offers specialized ERP solutions to accelerate your work process based on the industry. It also provides end-to-end solutions to maximize your business impact. It also has built-in analytics that deliver real-time insights and can handle massive loads of multi-dimensional data to strengthen your existing systems.
Thus Infor’s cloud suite and industry-specific products make it easier to map processes and maintain large applications. With its user-friendly UI and backend technology, you need not depend on your subject matter expert.
Key Features –
Finance & Accounting – Co-ordinate financial and costing transactions with day-to-day operations
Planning & Scheduling – Utilize data-driven insights to manage flow, synchronize operations, and ensure efficient scheduling
Supply chain management – Accomplish complete visibility of your production, shipment, service, warranty, and refurbishing.
Customer & order management – Get a complete picture of your customers, their order history, pricing, and conditions.
Project Management – Manage all your business’s projects and resources within a single interface without hassle.
Acumatica is one of the fastest-growing ERP Software that makes you digitally sustainable and competitive. It lets you access data from any device, easily integrates with your existing tools, syncs automation across multiple workflows, and scales users & resources up or down.
It offers tailor-made solutions specific to your industry that can be customized to satisfy your needs. It also provides personalized role-based views and dashboards. This clarifies and focuses by displaying only the right data to the right people.
Acumatica gives you all the tools to meet and scale customer demands. Other than conventional systems, it also has a robust built-in CRM that empowers your sales, marketing, and service teams with 360-degree customer visibility and automation via embedded AI & machine learning.
Thus Acumatica helps growing small and mid-market businesses with its full suite of integrated business management applications.
Key Features –
Financial Management – From managing the general ledger to advanced expense management, it has got you covered with everything.
Multi-Entity & Intercompany Accounting – Ability to streamline accounting & reporting across multiple entities to eliminate errors and inaccuracy
Warehouse Management – Reduce errors via barcode scanning, lot & serial tracking, and monitor warehouse operations with personalized dashboards, clear data visualizations, & automated data capture.
Service Management – Streamline your dispatch system, gain control over field service technicians, route & resource tracking on maps, multi-language & localization, warranty management, etc.
Pros of Acumatica –
Exclusively built for mobile and telework scenarios
Multiple data storage locations
Low-code/no-code customization
Access to coordinated views of current accounts
Flexible deployment options: public or private
Implement ERP with zero hidden fees
Built-in enterprise-grade security
Unique all-inclusive licensing model
Ocean of integrations available via its marketplace
Cons of Acumatica –
Catered to support mid-market companies and not large enterprises
Supports only Shopify and BigCommerce as native integrations
Magento integration comes with an additional fee
Pricing Plans – You will have to contact the sales team to discuss the pricing requirements.
Oracle Netsuite is our top-recommended ERP software as it automates core processes and delivers high control. It is an all-in-one ERP software that boosts your business’s overall financial and operational performance by giving you 360° visibility into the modules pipeline to make better decisions.
It lets you manage accounting, inventory, order processing, warehouse, and inventory from one application. You can streamline tax management, visualize your business’s financial performance, manage global operations, track inventory, process goods, and optimize warehouse operations – leading to an agility-driven approach to maximize your business.
With Oracle NetSuite, you can scale your business with stepped implementations. It is a centralized data hub that integrates every facet of your business. It also opens the door for customization to deliver an exceptional customer experience.
Key Features –
Accounting – Optimize Accounts Receivable, transform the general ledger, and view the cash flow and financial performance.
Financial Management – Fasten the financial close process, and manage other aspects ranging from bank reconciliation to automating the complex process.
Supply Chain Management – Supply planning, analyzing demand, adding stock, controlling costs, and improvising all the supply chain assets
Warehouse Management – Real-time inventory updates, RF device-directed putaway, and advanced capabilities like wave management, cartonization, cycle count planning, & shipping system integrations
Pros of Oracle NetSuite –
Powerful automation to level up your business
Extensive dashboards to give you a full picture
Excellent order management capabilities
Supports 27 languages and 190 currencies
Guarantees for 100% uptime
Manage multiple subsidiaries, legal entities, and business units
Full control over your resources
Native Business Intelligence
Cons of Oracle NetSuite –
Incurs a steep learning curve
Setup might be long and tedious
UI could be much improved
Pricing and Plans – Netsuite offers an annual license fee that is made up of three components: core platform, optional modules, and the number of users. You can activate new modules and add users when your business size expands. There’s also a one-time implementation fee for the initial setup.
Dynamics365 is a robust ERP software used by luxurious retail brands like Coca-Cola, Benz, Loreal, etc. It offers multiple product bundles in different categories like sales, marketing, commerce, customer data, service, finance, etc., – designed to work together with your existing systems.
It lets you create omnichannel experiences and deliver personalized shopping experiences across every touchpoint. Moreover, you can boost your ad performance by combining search and native ad campaigns to increase the traffic & conversion rates of your digital prospects.
With Dynamics 365, you can foster next-gen customer experiences by accessing its suite of powerful tools. It interpolates every data, process, and team to build a hyperconnected business that thrives in the commerce space.
Key Features –
Finance – Improve financial visibility, deliver projects on time, gear up to meet changing demands, and proactively prepare to avoid disruptions.
Supply Chain – Perform predictive maintenance with AI, build a sustainable manufacturing process, automate & optimize fulfillment, and improve visibility of the supply chain.
Marketing – Get a holistic customer view, predict customer intent, connect all aspects of customer experience, track business goals, and journey, and unify operations to deliver frictionless engagement.
Sales – Prioritize your leads, collaborate with teammates, streamline sales through suggested next actions, and apply real-time insights to increase customer interaction.
Commerce – AI-powered automation, personalize digital customer engagement, and optimize commerce & back-office operations with intelligent applications.
Pros of Dynamics365 –
Highly scalable
Delivers connected commerce experiences
Web traffic monetization
Maximize pipeline velocity
Intelligent and unified routing to resolve customer issues
Ability to connect physical & digital shopping channels
Transform manufacturing operations with mixed reality
Cons of Dynamics365 –
Might sound complicated for beginners
Pricing is quite expensive
Customer support isn’t available 24×7
Pricing and Plans – It offers separate pricing plans for each product bundle available. To view the complete pricing details individually for all the modules, click here.
Sage Business Cloud X3 is a popular ERP software designed to support and uplift your business to the next level. It is configurable as per company requirements and user roles. It can process thousands of orders and provides personalized access to relevant data, so you never miss out on key insights.
Sage includes integrated functionality for financial, production, and supply chain management. It simplifies budget & accounting, tracks fixed assets, manages the purchasing process from start to end, enables real-time inventory monitoring, boosts sales, and delights customers with outstanding salesforce automation.
Therefore Sage is a one-stop solution that caters to all your business needs. Everything is available at your fingertips, from visual processes to documentation management.
Key Features –
Financial Management – Handles cash flow management, bank management, accounts payable, receivable, handles transfers from one country to another, and accesss 350+ standard reports.
Inventory Management – Manages order releases, stock movements, balances inventory, quality control & sampling, replenishment, and inter-site transfers.
Sales Management – Capabilities include inventory inquiries, allocation, customer returns, sales commissions, pricing, discounts, product configurator, options, and variants.
Customer Service – Customer call center support, warranty/service order management, contact management, solution knowledge base, and running marketing campaigns
Production Management – Assists with BOM planning and shop floor control and helps retain the highest quality standard via proactive monitoring. and traceability
Pros of Sage –
Catered to serve a wide range of industries
Fast, simple, and flexible
Robust financial reporting
Seamless collaboration by integrating documentation workflows
Highly responsive on Android, iOS smartphones, and tablets
Access to Quality control procedures with analysis requests
Advanced project duplication
Supplier and product category management
Multi-level signature management
Cons of Sage –
Can include additional capabilities to support enterprises
Live Chat support is very slow
Pricing Plans – You must contact the Sage team to discuss the pricing details.
Brightpearl is an excellent ERP software for retailers and wholesalers. It smartly connects your sales orders, inventory, accounting, planning, warehousing, fulfillment, and reporting to unify the information flow. The best part is – it accounts for a 97% successful implementation rate via its expert-led approach.
It also provides a powerful automation engine with which you can create rules to automate every workflow in your business. Besides, its pre-built conditions and actions let you automatically fulfill your orders, invoicing, dropshipping, and optimize order routing to improve overall sales enablement.
Brightpearl also takes into account your business’s hyper-scalability. This is possible via its huge library of plug-and-play integrations, trusted network partners, and open API access. So you’ll be ready to disrupt the retail ecosystem and thrive in the digital space.
Key Features –
Inventory Management – Stay on track with inventory, get data-driven demand forecasting & replenishment recommendations, automate workflows, analyze product performance, and integrate accounting with your inventory.
Order Management – Multi-channel order management, automate everything from picking to shipping, manage fulfillment, and access to expert setup & support.
Shipping & Fulfillment – Get real-time insight into your order status, manage shipping carriers, sync data in real-time, and eliminate errors via automation.
Warehousing Management – Process returns/refunds smoothly, access to partial counts by zone, in-depth insights, and complete visibility across your entire warehousing operations
Purchasing & Supplier – Automate the purchase order creation process, manage all suppliers, and know in advance items to be replenished and re-ordered
Pros of Brightpearl –
Designed to handle growing traffic
Superior automation capabilities
Tailored implementation and configuration
Multi-location inventory management
Combine data from all your sales channels
Reward loyal customers via retail-focused CRMs
Native connectors to Amazon FBA and 3PL providers
Integrated POS syncs online & offline channels
Cons of Brightpearl –
Difficulty in exporting product lists
Requires manual work to figure out revenue for individual product
Pricing and Plans – You’ll have to contact the sales team for pricing details.
Aptean is a full-fledged distribution ERP software that lets you overcome the challenging needs of good consumer distribution. It streamlines and optimizes your entire supply chain with robust built-in functionalities like retail compliance management, forecasting, and chargeback management tools.
The best part is it has embedded EDI to manage all your communications. As a result, Aptean’s team will monitor and manage your day-to-day EDI processes and transactions to ensure everything is going smoothly – so you can focus on other aspects of your business.
Thus Aptean’s fully integrated tools are geared up to fulfill your specific requirements hassle-free. It breaks down the chaos in your product distribution by letting you get rid of time-consuming and labor-intensive processes.
Warehouse Management – Access to built-in warehouse management tools for improving inventory, including receiving, picking, and putaway of goods
Chargeback Management – Reduce the chargebacks via optimized tracking and better maintenance of related records.
Financials & Accounting – Streamline finance process via primary ledger, and manage accounts receivable and payable
Transportation & Logistics – Access to route management, dynamic routing, bill of lading, and packing slips
Pros of Aptean –
User-friendly and easily accessible options
View the profitability of every customer, supplier, and product
Vessel and container tracking for smooth import
Complete control over the product’s entire life cycle
Excellent order processing and warehousing
Business Intelligence powered by Microsoft Power BI
Cons of Aptean –
Customer support takes a long time to respond
CRM functionalities could be enhanced better
Pricing and Plans – You need to contact their sales team for pricing information.
Which is the best ERP Software for your business?
ERP Software is critical to the smooth functioning of your entire business. It interconnects various business and operational touchpoints to synch the information flow, allowing for seamless growth and digital transformation.
Now, it is your turn to identify what you are looking for in ERP software and pick the one that matches your business needs.
That being said, let’s wrap up the articles with our top picks for the ERP software that you can consider trying –
Katana – Best ERP software for manufacturing business
