This tutorial reviews and compares top MRP Systems to help you decide the best MRP Software solution per your requirement:
MRP, which is an abbreviated form of Manufacturing Resource Planning, is the term used for the whole process of judicious planning, operational execution of the manufacturing process, and forecasting the final results based on different input combinations.
The concept of MRP signifies the optimal management of a company by utilizing the available human as well as material resources in an efficient way so as to render the highest possible productivity.
There are MRP systems that aid in the planning and execution process of manufacturing and provide forecasting tools to help you out in deciding the optimum quantity of resources to be used for the production process.
Table of Contents:
What Is MRP Software
The first MRP system was built in 1970. With due course of time and technological advancement, most of the MRP systems have now become Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, which offer more features to their users.
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In this article, we will analytically examine the top 12 best MRP/ERP systems based on the features they offer, their prices, and verdicts about them and compare them based on different criteria.
Pro-tip: When you go for buying the most suitable MRP/ERP system for yourself, always keep in mind to have a look at the reviews about the customer service it provides because the time to time software updates and the long learning curves can be a headache if the software team is not supportive enough.
Another point to be kept in mind is that do not run behind the ones offering a plethora of features, as that software may be bulky and not so easy to get along for new users, but can prove to be a great help for large enterprises at the same time.
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List of Best MRP Systems
Here is a list of the best MRP/ERP systems available in the market:
- Katana MRP Software
- MRPeasy
- Acumatica
- Epicor Software
- Genius ERP
- Oracle NetSuite
- ERPAG
- IQMS
- JobBOSS
- Fishbowl
- Odoo
- Global Shop Solutions
Comparing Top MRP Software
Tool Name | Best for | Price | Free Trial | Deployment |
---|---|---|---|---|
Katana MRP Software | One platform for multiple solutions | Essential Plan- $99/month Pro Plan- $349/month | Available for 14 days | On Cloud, SaaS, Web based |
MRPeasy | Simple and easy operations meant for small manufacturers | Starter- $49/month Professional- $69/month | Available for 30 days | On Cloud, SaaS, Web based, Android/ Apple mobile devices |
Acumatica | A scalable MRP solution, excellent customer service and CRM feature | Contact directly for price quotes | Not available | On Cloud, SaaS, on premises, Android/ Apple mobile devices |
Epicor Software | Tackles complex and challenging needs of customers | Contact directly for price quotes | Not available | On Cloud, SaaS, web based, on premises, windows desktop, Android/ Apple mobile devices |
Genius ERP | engineering and manufacturing needs | Contact directly for price quotes | Not available | On Cloud, SaaS, Web based, Windows desktop, on premises |
Let us review the best and even free MRP Software.
#1) Katana MRP Software
Best for providing solutions to multiple business needs.
Katana MRP Software is one of the best ERP MRP systems that offers smart features to ease up the manufacturing process. This powerful MRP ERP system allows you to take control of your business needs with much ease through some cool features like automated resource allocation, multichannel sales management, and much more.
Features:
- Makes the production process smooth by automatically allocating just the right quantity of available raw material into production when required.
- Tracks inventories, production operations, and the fulfillment process.
- Create bills of cost of materials used in your products and let the system make automatic inventory adjustments and calculate the cost of manufacturing.
- Multichannel sales management and digital floor level operations tracking to ensure the flawless production process.
Verdict: Most of the users of this manufacturing resource planning software are thrilled by their experience with the software. One user even states that the software’s customer support team is excellent in the way that they listened to their needs and even went for the suggested developments.
Price: Pricing plans are as follows:
- Essential Plan- $99 per month
- Pro Plan- $349 per month
#2) MRPeasy
Best for small manufacturers (10-200 employees) who want simple, easy, and efficient tools.
MRPeasy is one of the best MRP/ERP systems which is simple to use and best suitable for the business needs of a small manufacturer. This MRP solution helps its users by providing features for planning and reporting, tracking inventories, and much more.
Features:
- Provides you full insight into the inventory levels, lets you know when the purchase is required, and more.
- Multi-platform integration to ensure proper communication between production house, sales unit, warehouse, administration, etc.
- Let’s you maintain a record of your stock operations so that you do not go out of stock.
- Manages sales by calculating the production costs and lets you track the sales process from quotations to delivery.
- Give you information about the demand and availability of resources.
- Accounting features that let you know your business performance.
Recommended Reading => Top Business Planning Tools
Verdict: MRPeasy is a powerful MRP solution that is loaded with all the needed features from tracking the availability of inventories/stocks to prepare business reports and forecasting. A handful of users complain about the customer service being deteriorated after a month or two of usage.
Price: There is a free trial for 30 days.
The pricing plans are as follows:
- Starter- $49 per user per month
- Professional- $69 per user per month
- Enterprise- $99 per user per month
- Unlimited- $149 per user per month
#3) Acumatica
Best for being a scalable MRP solution, excellent customer service, and an inbuilt CRM feature.
Acumatica is a cloud-based manufacturing resource planning software for small or medium-sized business organizations which adapt to your business needs and offer features like accounts or financial management, business intelligence and reporting, and much more.
Features:
- Smart features for your business needs, like project accounting, business intelligence, and financial reporting.
- A fully integrated overview of distribution, CRM, project management, and finances.
- Manages sales throughout the process, from making quotes to tracking inventories and helping to improve customer service.
- The mobile-friendly application lets you transfer transactions and labor within different plans.
Verdict: Acumatica is recommended by most of its users for being a scalable platform that does not charge extra money for increasing the number of users. Plus, the inbuilt CRM feature is also liked by most of the customers.
Price: Contact directly for price quotes.
#4) Epicor Software
Best for tackling complex and challenging needs of customers.
Epicor Software lets you manufacture, move or sell your product with ease by offering plenty of helpful features which can tackle business needs of all scales.
Features:
- Helps you out with sales, with features like predicting the quantity of demand, manages distribution, and fulfillment procedures.
- Gives an estimate of the total cost based on bills of cost of materials.
- Helpful for automotive, distribution, retail, manufacturing, and building supply industries.
- Inventories management to ensure you never go out of stock and business intelligence to ensure maximum possible revenue.
Verdict: Epicor Software is undoubtedly one of the best MRP Software available in the business industry right now, which is powerful, flexible, and efficient. The only major drawbacks pointed out by some users are the high prices and a wide learning curve.
Price: Contact directly for price quotes.
Suggested Reading =>> Top Warehouse Management Software Systems
#5) Genius ERP
Best for engineering and manufacturing needs.
Genius ERP is one of the best MRP ERP systems, established over 25 years ago, which offers great features for small to medium-sized businesses so that you can manufacture, price, and deliver your product with efficiency and on time.
Features:
- Helpful for industrial machinery and equipment, automotive industry, transportation, pressure vessel and tank, food and bakery equipment, mold, tool & die industries.
- Prepares for you the bills of materials so as to help you with pricing, planning, and production.
- Converts CAD designs into Bills of Materials.
- Manages inventories and your projects so that you can deliver on time.
- Business intelligence tools to track your performance and efficiency.
Verdict: Genius ERP is suitable for small to medium-sized businesses. Some users complain about the software being slow in doing operations. Another drawback pointed out is about the fees, which they charge on every step, be it a training or even a software update, that too after paying the yearly subscription fees.
Apart from this, the software has some really good reviews too, about the flexibility and customizable features of the MRP software.
Price: Contact directly for price quotes.
#6) Oracle NetSuite
Best for being a complete MRP solution.
Oracle NetSuite is a big name in the list of best MRP systems that let you make the right decision with the help of business intelligence tools, controls inventories and fulfillment procedures, and much more.
Features:
- Forecasting tools that lead to improvement in sales performance.
- Order management features help you fulfill your orders perfectly and on time.
- Manages and controls inventories and simplifies the ordering process for your customers.
- Control the production process with the help of automatic workflow status updates, completing and closing orders updates.
- Distribution Requirement Planning (DRP) features to manage the Global supply of your products.
Verdict: Oracle NetSuite is an easy-to-use MRP system that is loaded with almost all the features that you want in your ERP MRP software. This MRP solution is a great tool for your business, but it is costly, as is pointed out by many users.
Price: Starts at $499 per month
#7) ERPAG
Best for simple operations.
ERPAG is cloud-based, one of the best MRP software for small enterprises. It is easy to use, but powerful at the same time, that’s why it can prove to be a good tool for big enterprises as well.
Features:
- Sales and CRM feature to help you increase revenue.
- Shop Floor control features, accompanied by inventory management.
- An engine that fulfills orders efficiently.
- Integration with Shopify, QuickBooks, Xero, WooCommerce.
- Customers can easily put orders and track the fulfillment process.
Verdict: ERPAG, which is one of the best MRP ERP systems, can be a great choice for small enterprises.
Price: There is a 15-day free trial.
The pricing plans are as follows:
- Basic- $24 per month
- Standard- $39 per month
- Premium- $74 per month
- Professional- $550 per month
#8) IQMS
Best for being scalable yet affordable.
IQMS, which has now become DELMIAworks, is a cloud-based MRP solution, built to make your work more efficient by making it digitalized, and with the help of some very useful automation features, you can save time and cost of production.
Features:
- Manages supply chains by providing up-to-date information about the market demand, managing the order fulfillment process, and more.
- Business intelligence tools and graphical reports to help you in getting an overview of your sales performance set prices and plan accordingly.
- Manages your finances and provides you full access to your sales, distribution, and manufacturing data.
- Manages your orders with tracking features, provide complete order history, and give instant response to your customers’ queries.
Verdict: The reason for this MRP solution to be one of the best MRP ERP systems is that it offers wide features which are beneficial for a company and you do not need to switch to another software when you grow big. Moreover, constant innovations in the features based on customers’ requirements is what makes this system a hit.
Price: Contact directly for a price quote.
#9) JobBOSS
Best for flexibility.
JobBOSS is a flexible MRP software that can be implemented on the cloud or on-premises. The MRP/ERP system lets you save your time and cost by providing total manufacturing features from cost analysis to order processing and accounting.
Features:
- The cost analysis feature provides you knowledge about the total cost of an in-process job so that you can adjust selling prices and figure out the profitability of that particular job.
- Controls inventories so that you do not go out of stock and works for the fulfillment process.
- Helps to figure out the results of ‘what if’ scenarios so that you can decide the due date and deliver on time.
- Accounting features let you have an insight into your financial statements, compare budgets of previous years, and make future plans.
Verdict: JobBOSS is an affordable and simple MRP software suitable for small to medium-sized businesses’ manufacturing needs.
Price: Contact directly for a price quote
#10) Fishbowl
Best for asset tracking solutions.
Fishbowl is one of the best MRP software which has a powerful asset tracking system for seamless order and inventory tracking, managing multiple warehouses, and much more. This manufacturing resource planning software is suitable for organizations of any size.
Features:
- Integrates with multiple e-commerce platforms, syncs quantity of inventories from across different marketplaces.
- Order fulfillment procedures from picking, packing to shipping.
- Automation features including creating bills of materials and custom, batch, and repair work orders.
- Asset tracking features allow you to track fulfillment procedures, manage multiple warehouses, and much more.
Verdict: What most of the users like about this MRP software is the cost analysis features, excellent customer service, and the ease of use the software offers to the users. On the other hand, some complain that the software lacks some accounting features.
Price: There is a 14-day free trial. Price starts at $4395 for a lifetime purchase of the software.
#11) Odoo
Best for flexibility and integrated applications that save you from painful integration procedures.
Odoo is a free MRP software and offers a paid version as well. It is an integrated applications-based platform capable of tackling almost all your business needs from quality control methods to reporting and fulfillment procedures. The applications provided by Odoo can work online as well as offline, and the applications can run on a desktop or a mobile device.
Features:
- Helps you uplift your sales performance through email marketing, stock levels forecasting tools, create invoices, and much more.
- Organizes your projects and reminds you of your deadlines
- Creating bills of materials and quality control measures helps you inefficient disposal of affairs.
- Provides Overall Equipment Efficiency (OEE) Reports so that you can optimize productivity.
Verdict: Odoo is a great MRP solution for small businesses and large ones alike. You pay for what you get. You can deploy the software on the cloud or on-premises.
Odoo is one of the best MRP ERP systems which offers simple solutions to your manufacturing needs. A handful of users complain about the customer service for not being up to the mark, in spite of paying for it.
Price: There is a 15-day free trial. Then you pay for what you use. Contact directly for a price quote.
#12) Global Shop Solutions
Best for dealing with complex requirements of big organizations.
Global Shop Solutions aims to make your business more profitable by offering you some very beneficial features such as shop floor efficiency tools, CRM tools, inventory control methods, and much more.
Features:
- Provides you solutions to enhance shop-floor efficiency.
- Lets you deliver on time with the help of scheduled reminders and analyze total cost based on bills of materials.
- Create quotes, track orders, and give excellent customer service so that you can grow your sales and revenue to new heights.
- Inventory control methods and tools to help you set the right labor cost.
Verdict: Global Shop Solutions has numerous features to look after your business requirements. There is a long learning curve for understanding the complex functions of this heavy MRP ERP system.
If yours is a big enterprise, this software can prove to be a great choice for you. On the other hand, it is less recommended to small enterprises because they won’t be having enough resources and time to put on this bulky software to get used to it.
Price: Contact directly for a price quote.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is MRP software?
MRP software assists you in the planning and execution process of manufacturing and provides forecasting tools to help you in deciding the optimum quantity of resources to be used for the production process.
What is the difference between MRP and ERP systems?
The basic difference between MRP and ERP systems is that an MRP system helps to optimize the manufacturing process only, while an ERP system offers many more features for the working of an enterprise.
What is the difference between MRP and MRP II?
MRP or MRP-I or Material Requirement Planning was a system developed in the 1970s which could generally help its users in deciding just the right amount of inputs to be taken up for the production process to achieve the best possible outcome, while a Manufacturing Resource Planning or MRP-II is the more broadened or technologically advanced and more feature-loaded version of MRP-I itself.
Which is the best MRP software?
Global Shop Solutions, Odoo, Katana MRP Software, Epicor Software, or Acumatica are the ones that have the largest list of features to help with the manufacturing process. These are most suitable for large enterprises and are known to save your time and cost of manufacturing efficiently.
Conclusion
In this article, we went through the basic features, prices, and other details about the top 12 best MRP software.
Based on our research, we can now safely conclude that Global Shop Solutions, Odoo, Katana MRP Software, Epicor Software, or Acumatica are the ones that have the largest list of features to help you out with the manufacturing process. These are most suitable for large enterprises and are known to save your time and cost of manufacturing efficiently.
MRPeasy, Genius ERP, ERPAG are meant for small enterprises because of their simple operations and easy implementation process.
Fishbowl is also suitable for small enterprises, which lacks some accounting features, as pointed out by some users. JobBOSS is another small business MRP solution that is known for its flexibility.
IQMS, which has now become DELMIAworks, is scalable yet affordable and offers plenty of features. The software is suitable for any size of a business, while Oracle NetSuite, which is a well-known name in the business software industry, is a bit costly one, but quite useful for big enterprises.
Research Process:
- Time taken to research this article: We spent 10 hours researching and writing this article so you can get a useful summarized list of MRP Software with a comparison of each for your quick review.
- Total tools searched online: 25
- Top tools shortlisted for review: 10