This year, the global inventory management system market will exceed $5 billion due to the rapid transition from using manual spreadsheets to using real-time, multi-channel tracking systems.
The marketing of the majority of vendors is generic, leaving purchasers unaware of the limitations that will be imposed on their orders, users, and storage facilities. The breakdown in this guide provides a complete overview of the capabilities, limitations, and costs associated with the leading SaaS inventory management solutions available.
Continue reading to identify which software best fits your actual order volume and operational sequence.
How to Determine the Real Costs of Selecting a System
Most companies don't discover that the system they chose to implement couldn't keep pace with their growth until they exceed the maximum operating limitation of their system.
According to 62% of businesses, there were inefficiencies experienced during the busy times of year when their systems are being used for high volume order processing, either because they had used manual tracking systems or a poorly outfitted system.
Most vendors offer an attractive entry price point but do not disclose the exact point in time at which their customers will need to upgrade their package to a higher tier. A company may offer their base price at $49 per month, but as an example, if the company's order volume suddenly increases or the company adds a third warehouse, then the monthly price could increase to well over $100 per month.
It is critical for any business to be aware of when these upgrades will need to happen prior to purchasing.
Another important aspect of selecting an inventory management system is to consider the total cost of ownership for the first year of operation. The monthly software subscription costs may be only one component of the budget. Other expenses associated with implementing a system will include:
Implementation Timeline: The time period required to clean SKU data, create location mapping, and conduct parallel testing will all need to be established.
Hardware Requirements: The majority of warehouse employees will require the use of a barcode scanner, rugged mobile devices, and a dedicated label printer that is cloud-connected.
Third-Party Add-Ons: Native connections are sufficient for many businesses that need simple functions. However, when you have complex accounting workflows or third-party logistics (3PL) workflows, you usually need paid middleware to handle those functions.
Data Migration Fees: To migrate thousands of item records from an old system to a new one typically requires using paid professional services.
Your real first-year spend includes hardware and setup time, which will look quite a bit different than what the vendor's initial quote reflects.
Best SaaS Inventory Management Systems by Use Case
The platforms listed below have been ranked by target market, known limits, and actual use cases observed in the field.
1. Zoho Inventory
Zoho offers small businesses, especially those with multiple selling channels, an excellent place to start. The platform integrates well with Zoho Books and has a user-friendly interface that can help with growing operations.
The free account allows you to create 50 orders per month and permits the use of one user and two warehouses. As you grow, you can upgrade to the standard plan ($29/month), which gives you access to 1,500 orders and three users. There is also a professional tier ($79/month), which gives you up to 7,500 orders, the ability to track batch and serial numbers, and access to five warehouses.
Finally, there is a premium tier ($129/month), which gives you a maximum of 15,000 orders. To avoid overselling on your channels, you will have to closely monitor your monthly order count, as this is the means to estimate your costs.
2. Cin7 Core
Cin7 Core is focused on high-volume retailers and wholesalers that need connectivity for tracking stock and simple manufacturing functions. Also, Cin7 Core manages businesses with three or more sales channels and ensures all channels remain synchronized.
Pricing for the standard plan starts at $349 monthly, which allows for five users and 6,000 orders per year. The pro plan costs $599/month for 10 users and 24,000 orders. The advanced plan costs $1,199/month and provides access to 15 users and 120,000 orders.
QuickBooks and Xero integrations decrease the amount of manual data entry needed. Cin7 Core is used often when basic systems cannot keep up with the complex, multi-channel routing capabilities.
3. Katana Cloud Inventory
Katana is a light manufacturing resource planning software that works with the Shopify ecosystem that enables businesses to purchase components and manufacture products.
A free tier is offered for businesses with no more than 30 products (SKUs) to sell. The core plan is priced at $299/month and includes an unlimited number of users and SKUs. No restrictions apply to your product costs, as the core plan pricing is based on component usage.
Katana provides an enterprise advantage tier for businesses that require a more customizable solution. The software allows small manufacturers to simultaneously track their bills of materials (BOMs), work orders, and components and ultimately minimize the sourcing delays that can hinder production.
4. inFlow Inventory
inFlow supports small and medium businesses looking to manage their inventory, purchasing, and fulfillment without costly full-fledged enterprise solutions.
The entry-level plan is approximately $129/month when billed annually and includes one location and two users. Higher tiers allow for additional locations and users.
inFlow is well-suited for companies who rely on one or two digital sales channels, as well as traditional wholesale orders, enabling them to avoid the complexities of Cin7 and Katana for simpler manufacturing needs.
5. Sortly
Sortly provides an easy-to-use visual method for managing supplies, tools, and equipment. It is designed with a user-friendly mobile application to allow teams in the field as well as office personnel to quickly scan and check inventory items.
Its free plan permits tracking of approximately 100 items, with the advanced plan providing access to 500 items and two users for $49 per month. The ultra plan provides 2,000 items for $149 per month and 5 users to include purchase orders and barcode labels. Finally, premium membership is offered at $299 per month to have access to 5,000 items and 8 users.
Great for basic inventory management, however, it can be challenging to manage this system due to rapid turnover rates and multiple daily entries of updated stock.
6. Fishbowl Inventory
Fishbowl is an advanced inventory management tool designed specifically for businesses that have already invested heavily into QuickBooks or Xero software.
Pricing for either cloud-based versions or on-site warehousing modules begins at approximately $3,950 per year for two users; additional manufacturing modules have increased prices. This product offers much more than just basic inventory tracking, and therefore requires the customer to allocate time for implementation prior to actually using it.
In addition to being very strong in providing detailed reporting and a solid inventory system, this product is recommended for those who are using the above-mentioned accounting software but require additional control over their inventory processes.
7. Finale Inventory (Descartes)
Finale targets distributors with large warehouses who have high-volume sales. They have recently revamped their pricing model to better accommodate enterprise-level organizations as per their recent acquisition.
Their essential pricing structure begins at $499 per month; the growth plan begins at $799 per month, and enterprise-level pricing is customized based on each company’s specific needs. Most contracts have varying lengths from 12 to 36 months.
Their system is designed specifically for companies that have a focus on high-traffic retail environments and warehouses. The platform has a very high number of SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) numbers and provides fast fulfillment cycles; however, in order to be able to utilize the platform, the user will be required to attend a gated sales demonstration.
8. Megaventory
Megaventory is a business tool that provides small to medium-sized businesses with the tools they need for stock control, purchasing, sales, and manufacturing all in one tool.
Megaventory's pricing model is dependent on the integration sources selected when setting pricing. Megaventory pricing typically will be slightly less than Katana and Cin7. Many organizations have cited Megaventory as a practical option for businesses that need limited manufacturing tracking capabilities, without having to pay for an enterprise-level system.
9. Odoo Inventory
Odoo Inventory is a modular ERP. The Odoo inventory module interacts with the manufacturing, sales, and accounting apps all integrated into one platform.
Odoo community version is a free version, but the Odoo enterprise version is a cost of approximately $25.00 to $38.00 per user per month, based on how many of the Odoo apps are activated in your business.
Odoo is a great choice for businesses that want to grow towards a full ERP in the future. The amount of features and depth of the manufacturing warehouse apps are determined solely by the configuration of the apps used within Odoo.
10. Unicommerce
Unicommerce is a business management platform for sellers that sell on multiple third-party marketplaces. The Unicommerce platform will allow users to centralize their orders, warehouse data, and returns into one dashboard.
The pricing for Unicommerce is only available on request and is typically priced for enterprise. Unicommerce assists marketplace sellers in synchronizing their business processes across multiple digital channels and simplifies the chaos that can occur when trying to manage your inventory levels on multiple websites.
11. Increff Warehouse Management System
The Increff warehouse management system was designed by Increff to manage inventory for multiple locations for retailers who require accurate inventory levels.
Price information is provided on request. This solution keeps track of inventory in real-time and syncs orders across multiple warehouses and channels. Inventory is updated in real-time when a retailer sells a product through one of their channels. This reduces the number of canceled orders.
12. SAP Integrated Business Planning (IBP)
SAP IBP is an enterprise-level application that allows for global supply chain planning beyond simply keeping track of inventory.
Pricing for this solution is provided via quote and tied to large enterprise-level contracts. SAP IBP offers demand forecasting, inventory optimization through multiple levels of the supply chain, and scenario modeling. SAP IBP is used by large multinational companies to align supply chain needs with future demand for inventory.
13. Manhattan Active Warehouse Management
The Manhattan Active warehouse management application targets large-scale, multi-site warehouse environments. It provides an integrated warehouse management system (WMS) for stock, labor, yard, and automation.
Pricing for this application is quoted for enterprise clients. Manhattan Active consistently ranks at the top for large 3PL and distribution center customers due to its breadth of systems execution features and its ability to manage high-speed automated material sorting.
14. InvGate Asset Management
InvGate provides a different approach to asset management by focusing on the internal IT assets vs the retail stock. InvGate includes discovery, lifecycle tracking, and compliance tracking of IT assets.
Pricing begins at $1,499/year for the starter tier. A 30-day free trial is available. InvGate is used by IT teams to replace manual spreadsheets in preparation for security audits.
A no-code platform that simplifies the way to manage laptops, servers, and software licenses in a business is an example of their asset management and license tracking software solution.
15. SolarWinds Service Desk
SolarWinds provides an integrated ITSM and asset tracking solution for fast-growing IT departments with small to medium-sized teams.
It has a low cost of entry starting at $39 per month per technician on their essentials plan, which includes 30 days of free trial for teams to try out workflows. SolarWinds service desk is highly rated for integrating help desk ticketing and physical devices tracking in one workflow.
16. Lansweeper
Lansweeper specializes in ongoing agentless device detection for large networks of both physical and virtual assets.
The starter plan provides coverage for a maximum of 2,000 assets for $239 per month and a 14-day free trial is available. Lansweeper is commonly used by IT departments that support environments requiring frequent audits because it enables security and compliance teams to see precisely what devices are connected to a company's networks.
How to Plan Your SaaS Inventory Management Rollout
The need to effectively manage software solutions means there will not be a "quick fix" to implementing a SaaS inventory management solution. Although vendors may promote their software as easily implemented, a successful rollout will require planning ahead and a solid data management plan.
If you are working in multiple warehouses or selling through three (or more) different channels, do not believe a vendor marketing timeframe of 2 weeks for implementation. A two-week timeline will work well for simple, single-site implementations only.
Implementing this software means thorough cleaning up of your SKUs. Messy data to start? Don't worry, when you move to a new system it will just move the mess quicker.
To successfully implement your team's new software solution, they will need to map all of their physical items/locations into the appropriate digital locations in the software. It's also highly recommended to plan for testing in parallel with both the old spreadsheet and the new software for 2 weeks to ensure the new system is counting things correctly before going live.
A further consideration would be that if you are running a real-time claim system, you must have a flawless WiFi connection for the warehouse in order for real-time visibility to work. You have to really understand how the software behaves when there is no WiFi connectivity.
For example, if a worker scans a barcode in a "dead zone" (meaning no WiFi connection) the system should store (cache) that data until the device re-establishes connectivity, then sync the data immediately. If the data is lost during this process, all counts will be wrong by the end of the shift.
The Options Available in the Market
The options available in the marketplace are clear depending on size and industry type; for example small sellers will generally favor Zoho or inFlow, growing manufacturers will find success with Katana, while large distributors will typically require the more robust offerings of either Manhattan Active or SAP.
Do not make decisions based upon feature lists that are generic. For instance, all options claim to prevent stockouts. Look at the caps on future upgrades instead.
Take the current average volume of monthly orders and compare this to the vendor pricing tier. See how much more it will cost if the business grows by 20%, and choose a tool based on the operations that you currently operate under, but ensure that you can continue to scale without spending a fortune on the technology.
Common Questions About Software Limits and Bottlenecks
What fails when demand is at its peak?
Many generic software applications experience latency (lag) during high-volume sales events. For example, if a software platform claims that it's able to sync in real-time, but actually works on a batch process every 5 minutes through the use of an API, this would mean that a flash sale will likely lead to large amounts of overselling.
Moreover, the API request limits set by shopping carts like Shopify and others may severely throttle your inventory systems. Therefore, it's important that you get your vendor to specify their actual API call limits, along with the results of their peak testing.
If an integration stops, who is responsible for fixing it?
Unfortunately, integrations break down. For example, when an EDI link to a supplier disconnects or when the connection to your shipping carrier stops working, it is imperative that you know who will fix it. You also need to know whether or not the integration is a native integration maintained by the software vendor or whether it will be completed through a 3rd party partner.
You must establish SLAs (Service Level Agreements) for response times to prevent your shipment from sitting idle waiting on a responding outside third party developer.
What hidden limits impact your actual software costs?
Typically, the starting prices do not give a true representation of the total cost of ownership. The most common occurrence is that vendors will advertise low monthly rates; however, they may actually impose very strict caps on the number of warehouses that can be tracked, the number of users that are allowed to log in at the same time, or the total number of orders that may be processed within a given timeframe.
Once you've exceeded any of these limits, you will be forced into a higher priced tier. Therefore, it is very important to map your average order volume/moving average to the limits imposed by the vendor to estimate accurately your first year's total spend.
