CPG (Consumer-Packaged Goods) software gives complete inventory and supply chain visibility to ensure optimized production and efficient processes. We used our advanced review methodology to select the top options for all CPG manufacturers and distributors.
- NetSuite: Best Overall
- Fishbowl Inventory: Best Inventory Management System
- Acumatica: Most Scalable ERP
- Dynamics 365 Business Central: Best for Mid-size Companies
- SYSPRO: Best for Food and Beverage Distributors
- Acctivate Inventory: Best QuickBooks Integration
- JAGGAER ONE: Best Procurement Tools
- Global Shop Solutions: Best Manufacturing CPG
- Agiliron: Best Retail and eCommerce Tools
- Infoplus: Best for Warehouse Management
1 NetSuite - Best Overall
Why We Chose It: NetSuite lands in our top spot because it fits the needs of both CPG manufacturers and distributors. After demoing the product, we found NetSuite’s inventory management, demand planning, and supply chain management features effective for CPG companies. Its multi-channel visibility across the entire supply chain helps businesses make more informed decisions and manage processes effectively. It also includes industry-specific features like lot tracking and item visibility for efficient traceability.
We appreciate its financial management module, which gives companies insight into their economic performance by running reports, planning budgets and forecasts, and recognizing revenue. This benefits businesses by using the data to plan and prepare for future projections to meet customer demand while minimizing excess inventory. These features are included in one unified platform, making it easier for management to oversee every business section efficiently. With this comprehensive set of features, we wouldn’t recommend NetSuite for small businesses, as it better suits medium to enterprise-level companies.
2 Fishbowl Inventory - Best Inventory Management System
Why We Chose It: Fishbowl Inventory is a popular inventory management software that works well for CPG distributors and manufacturers due to its automation and scalability. It features systemwide specific traceability, with filters such as creation date, serial, and lot number to ensure every product is accounted for. The system integrates with QuickBooks and Xero, ideal for growing businesses that want advanced inventory features without removing their existing accounting software.
We also like that it includes features specific to the food and beverage industry, a large CPG market. Features like quality and safety assurance, traceability, and SKU complexity help businesses stay compliant and track every product for complete supply chain control. While the software contains effective features, one flaw is its outdated user interface, which lacks a modern look and feel.
3 Acumatica - Most Scalable ERP
Why We Chose It: We found Acumatica a strong option for growing CPG manufacturers and distributors because of its inventory management features and scalability. Its modular, open architecture enables rapid integration if companies require more features. Acumatica also allows for unlimited users, letting growing businesses add more as they expand without extra costs.
Acumatica’s inventory management module is a good option for CPG manufacturers. It has advanced tracking, demand forecasting, and batch-processing features. The system also contains modules for both perishable and nonperishable products. These include lot control and regulatory compliance for food manufacturers and general features like purchase order automation for other CPG products, such as cleaning products.
One drawback of Acumatica we found is it has a steep learning curve for new users. Its search function is unintuitive, and its navigation lacks a straightforward one-click system.
4 Dynamics 365 Business Central - Best for Mid-size Companies
Why We Chose It: Dynamics 365 Business Central is a full ERP system that is a good option for users familiar with Microsoft products like Excel and Teams. In our demo, we found its supply chain management strong for mid-sized CPG manufacturers and distributors. It uses AI to improve forecasting and demand planning, automates procurement, and helps companies make smarter purchasing decisions using data.
Along with its manufacturing features, Dynamics 365 Business Central contains a strong financial management module. It automates processes like cash flow projections, budgets, and asset tracking to help companies gain deeper insight into their performance. However, it lacks advanced inventory management features like product lifecycle management, making it unfit for large manufacturers.
5 SYSPRO - Best for Food and Beverage Distributors
Why We Chose It: SYSPRO is ERP software that optimizes manufacturing and distribution processes. It’s a good option for food and beverage CPG distributors because of its strong traceability, purchasing, and quality control features. Additionally, its supply chain management module helps companies optimize their sourcing and procurement by adding strategies and policies to ensure they get the best product value.
We also found SYSPRO’s quality and compliance tools noteworthy. The automated system allows businesses to efficiently conduct a total product recall, identifying and retrieving defective goods. This is essential for food and beverage manufacturers looking to stay compliant and on top of regulations more efficiently, as recalls and expirations are frequent occurrences.
6 Acctivate Inventory - Best QuickBooks Integration
Why We Chose It: Acctivate Inventory is a good option for CPG companies because of its effective purchasing, reporting, and traceability features. The software is designed to integrate with QuickBooks for seamless financial reporting, which is ideal for small businesses that lack the budget for a complete ERP system or simply desire an industry-specific option.
Acctivate can handle multi-warehouse inventory while facilitating efficient order fulfillment, which automates the distribution process. Its CRM features include unlimited contacts and purchase history to help companies keep accurate transaction records. Acctivate can be pricey for some, as their Starter plan is $10,995/year with a $5,995 initial license fee. This price is cheaper than a complete ERP system but may be a barrier for small businesses looking for more affordable options.
7 JAGGAER ONE - Best Procurement Tools
Why We Chose It: JAGGAER ONE is a software designed for sourcing, procurement, and supply chain management. This system can help CPG distributors lower costs in these areas by implementing direct procurement, which streamlines the process and provides more purchasing options through its marketplace.
JAGGAER ONE uses AI to generate spend analytics, identifying wasteful spending and helping companies save money along the supply chain. It also features an on-time delivery predictor tool that helps mitigate disruptions and late delivery risks. One drawback of JAGGAER ONE is that its pricing is not publicly available, so companies must request a quote to receive a custom price.
8 Global Shop Solutions - Best Manufacturing CPG
Why We Chose It: Global Shop is an ERP system for small to mid-size manufacturers, including CPGs. It includes automated purchasing, inventory, and job costing features that help manufacturers optimize processes. The automated purchasing tool saves businesses time by consolidating all purchasing requirements into one location for easy access.
Global Shop Solutions offers CRM and eCommerce modules as well as inventory and production modules. These capabilities allow manufacturers to analyze the production cycle and optimize various areas. While the software contains a wide range of features, it could be viewed as too general for CPG companies that don’t need features like shop floor management.
9 Agiliron - Best Retail and eCommerce Tools
Why We Chose It: Agiliron is a retail management system that works well with CPG distributors to optimize eCommerce by syncing all orders, inventory, and CRM records from channels like eBay and Amazon. The mobile-enabled design templates also allow customers to purchase goods easily from any device.
We like that Agiliron integrates with other programs like QuickBooks, Amazon, and Shopify. These integrations can combine the company’s accounting with eCommerce to eliminate manual data transfer. Its base Premier plan is $89/month billed annually, making it an affordable option for small CPG companies. However, the Premier plan does not include its warehouse mobile app or unlimited phone support.
10 Infoplus - Best for Warehouse Management
Why We Chose It: Infoplus is a WMS for small to mid-sized CPG companies. The software gives businesses full control over inventory by automating operations and gaining insights into processes with real-time tracking. It also runs reports and has customized dashboards for warehouse management performance and trends.
We also found its shipping tools significant, as it offers fulfillment for 3PLs and eCommerce. These features streamline the fulfillment process with multi-location and channel capabilities, creating smoother order processing and higher customer satisfaction. One negative about the system is that some users reported difficulty navigating with hard-to-find features.
What is CPG Software?
Consumer Packaged Goods software is a system designed to automate or help with manufacturing and distribution tasks, such as order fulfillment, inventory management, and supply chain management. It aims to simplify production by helping businesses manage their products through every supply chain step.
CPG systems commonly use complete ERP systems, which combine financial and inventory management into one package. However, smaller CPG companies often use manufacturing software and integrate an existing accounting system, like QuickBooks or Xero. This combination lets businesses use real-time data to view trends and plan budgets.
Key Features
The best CPG software typically includes these key features:
| Key Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Inventory Management | Tracks inventory on every level of the supply chain in real time. Controls all aspects of the warehouse, including picking, packing, shipping, and reordering, in one place. |
| Order Fulfillment | This automates order processing, ensuring accuracy by eliminating manual entries. All orders are stored in a database for easy reference and documentation. |
| Data Management | Keep your company’s data organized in the software. |
| Compliance | Stay compliant with all regulations and laws for your business, especially those in the food and beverage industry, which have strict rules to adhere to. Lot and batch tracking help make recalls and traceability easy and efficient. |
| Financial Management | Run reports and financial analysis using real-time data from the software. Visualize profits, expenses, and cash flow. |
| CRM | Manage accounts, contacts, and sales teams to enhance customer relationships. |
| Sales | Streamline different sales channels such as eCommerce, B2B, and wholesale for fast data consolidation. Manage all revenue streams directly from the system. |
| Demand Forecasting | Create budgets and demand plans based on your business’s real-time and historical data. |
Primary Benefits
There are several advantages to implementing CPG software for your manufacturing or distribution business. Some of the most impactful include:
Efficient Product Development
The processes of producing consumer goods can be complex, with many variables susceptible to causing delays, such as recalls and incorrect orders. CPG software aims to manage every aspect of the manufacturing and distribution process for various products. This helps make companies more efficient because managing the product lifecycle is much easier with oversight of every process.
Enhanced Traceability
Businesses can use CPG systems to track every product that gets packaged and shipped, making it easier to trace the product and where it gets shipped and delivered. Features like lot and batch tracking enable businesses to locate products and trace them back to their source. This is useful during product recalls, as companies must locate all the products involved.
Customer Management
Maintaining strong customer relationships is essential for CPG distributors. Systems can help businesses retain clients by housing detailed customer information to give each a personalized experience. Track shipments to specific customers to ensure deliveries are made on time and products are not damaged to keep customers happy.
Organized Production Data
Supply chain management and visibility are critical for all CPG manufacturers and distributors. CPG systems allow total supply chain control from procurement to the final sale. This level of oversight enables businesses to enhance daily processes, automate tasks, and identify market shifts and trends.
Pricing
Most CPG manufacturers and distributors use ERP systems, which start at $1,740 to $4,620/month for small businesses. Midsize businesses pay about $5,000/month, and enterprise companies average around $9,500/month. The smaller-priced systems are most commonly industry-specific software like Agiliron, which starts at $89/month. Companies can then integrate with other software like QuickBooks for accounting.
The price of CPG software depends significantly on your business size and the features you need. Most systems use a tiered system where the price goes up and more features are included. Unfortunately, many ERP systems like NetSuite and Acumatica don’t reveal pricing information, requiring companies to receive a quote based on different parameters.
