Software
5 Best Inventory Software Solutions for Enterprise
- Written by Jana Gentry Smith
Your ecommerce enterprise is thriving, but inventory management is a nuisance. Choosing the perfect inventory software solution keeps you up at night.
When you finally drift off, you dream of organized warehouses, a team on the same page, and accurate inventory data propelling your enterprise’s success.
Rest easy, friend—your melatonin is right here. Read on for the five best inventory software solutions to streamline your operations.
Table of Contents
What is inventory management software?
What to look for in inventory management software
5 best inventory software solutions for enterprise businesses
1. Veeqo: Best overall inventory software solution for multichannel enterprises
2. Brightpearl: Top inventory software solution for retail operations management
3. Linnworks: Best inventory software solution with customer support options
4. NetSuite: Top inventory software solution with comprehensive ERP software
5. ShipHero: Best inventory software with 3PL services
How we selected the best inventory software solutions
Discover the ideal inventory software solution for your enterprise
What is inventory management software?
Inventory management software (IMS) systems equip businesses with a unified system to monitor stock and generate reports. They act as a bridge between your store, customers, and suppliers, overseeing inventory, orders, and delivery.
Ecommerce businesses with hefty volumes lean on digital inventory management systems (IMS) to dodge issues like inventory shortages, overselling, and slow delivery times.
You’re well past the days of creating an inventory management system in Excel. Finding the perfect inventory management software system can streamline your processes and make life easier for you and your team.
How to choose the right inventory management software solution
Choosing an inventory management software solution is like finding the perfect pair of sneakers.
It should fit your business needs and be simple to use while providing top-notch support. Here's what you should keep in mind when choosing your inventory management software:
Identify your needs
Gauge your customer base and product volume to decide if you need inventory management software. If you think you do, determine where your bottlenecks are. Is it related to your inventory at sales? Order picking? Shipping?
Once you’ve found your tangle, choose the IMS that helps you comb it out. Free trials are a helpful way to learn which best fits your enterprise.
Balance features and usability
Advanced features are great, but only if they're simple to use or unnecessarily hike up costs. Some ecommerce enterprises have the resources to hire a consultant to fine-tune and train.
But if that’s not your enterprise, you’ll likely choose a user-friendly inventory solution that is ready to go from day one.
Check for integrations
The software should work well with your current tech setup and be easy to use on mobile for teams on the go. While many IMS offer lots of integrations, it's worth checking customer reviews to see how well these actually work.
Besides syncing with your sales channels and other ecommerce tools, the inventory software should work well with your preferred shipping carriers and, even better, offer discounted rates.
Scope out customer support
While sifting through those reviews, visit the customer support center to confirm the IMS company’s customer service fits your needs.
When you run into snags, you’ll likely want a company with a reputation for great 1:1 customer support and an extensive self-service support site.
Assess the onboarding process
Know how long it takes to set up and what support is available during the transition. The worst-case scenario is needing an IMS yesterday but accidentally choosing one that takes three weeks to onboard.
Mind your budget
Get a handle on all potential costs, including tech support and hardware. Make sure to get everything in writing to avoid surprise costs.
These criteria will steer you toward the right inventory solution to relieve your inventory woes.
5 best inventory software solutions for enterprise businesses
With your criteria in mind, check out these five inventory software solutions for ecommerce businesses. One could be the catalyst that transforms your inventory management and boost your ecommerce enterprise growth.
Veeqo: Best overall inventory software solution for multichannel enterprises
Brightpearl: Top inventory software solution for retail operations management
Linnworks: Best inventory software solution with customer support options
NetSuite: Top inventory software solution with comprehensive ERP software
ShipHero: Best inventory software with 3PL services
1. Veeqo
Pros | Cons |
Easy to use Cost-effective Veeqo Scanner Amazon company Shipping, inventory and warehouse management tools | Some users find it takes time to get used to the software dashboard |
Suitable for businesses of all sizes, Veeqo is a cloud-based tool designed to streamline your ecommerce operations. Centralized shipping and inventory management dashboards help lower ecommerce costs, automate processes, and optimize operations.
Veeqo’s inventory management, warehouse management, and shipping software let you run much of your ecommerce operation from one central hub. Its automated inventory system provides near real-time inventory syncing to give you an accurate view of stock levels. It also offers shipping rate discounts and advanced tools for order management.
Since Veeqo is part of the Amazon family, you benefit from Amazon's solid tech infrastructure, even if you're not selling directly on their platform.
And if you ship orders from your Amazon store on time, you're eligible for Amazon's Buy Shipping protections.
Veeqo is a practical solution designed to make your inventory operations smoother. Here are some features Veeqo users can access:
Enterprise level tools at no cost
Mobile app and Veeqo Scanner
Real-time, automated order routing inventory tracking system
Advanced inventory and warehouse management
Integrations include Amazon, Shopify, Etsy, eBay, and more
Bundled shipping capabilities with discounted rates from major carriers like Amazon Shipping, USPS, FedEx, UPS, DHL
Some users find setting up the software a bit time-consuming, but it's worth it in the end. Veeqo also has unparalleled customer service if you need support.
Here’s what Veeqo users have to say:
One Veeqo user finds Veeqo unbeatable: “Veeqo is the solution it's taken me years to find. I needed a way to keep my Amazon and Shopify inventory in sync. Everything I looked at was either expensive or cumbersome (or both). Any such solution will have a learning curve, but Veeqo is as understandable as anything you'll find, and their support articles are concise and informative. My multi-channel inventory is synced, and I'm getting fantastic discounts on shipping from all the major carriers. With built-in Amazon Buy Shipping seller protections, it just doesn't get any better than this.”
Another user said: “Setting up the entire software is quite a time-consuming process, but if done properly, the efforts repay you.”
Veeqo pricing
Does the price tag of zero dollars pique your interest? Veeqo won't cost you a penny. There's no cap on users or shipments, and you can even earn back up to 5% in Veeqo Credits.
*Pricing last accessed July 2024
2. Brightpearl
Pros | Cons |
Explicitly designed for retail Customer Service User-friendly
| Setup could be simpler Inventory management requires add-ons Lack of transparent pricing Mobile phone app not offered |
Next up, Brightpearl is a one-stop shop specifically designed for retail business models. It’s a scalable and flexible platform that can grow with your business as you expand your operations, product lines, or sales channels.
Brightpearl brings together sales orders, inventory management, accounting, and more. Built to handle peak trading periods, it offers real-time insights and automation to help you stay on top of things.
You can also expect the following features:
iPad app
Real-time inventory tracking
Multi-channel order fulfillment
Data-driven demand forecasting
Multi-location inventory management
Accurate replenishment recommendations
Integrations include Amazon, Shopify, eBay, and more
Some of Brightpearl’s features demand extra time and resources from already time-strapped teams. Some enterprises with the means instead hire dedicated consultants to build their workflows and integrations.
Here's what Brightpearl users are sharing:
One user likes Brightpearl for product bundling: “Inventory Planner is a great tool for integrating various marketplaces such as Amazon and Walmart. It also makes it easy for us to bundle various categories by providing them tags, which makes it easy to filter out data even before downloading it.”
Other users want more report options: “The downside to using Brightpearl is not having the ability to export complete product lists. For example, season, supplier, category, and subcategory are items that don't export into the product list report. I have to filter and export multiple reports and merge to get a complete picture.”
Brightpearl pricing
Connect with Brightpearl’s sales team for a cost breakdown.
*Pricing last accessed July 2024
3. Linnworks
Pros | Cons |
Simple onboarding Many integrations Flexibility | Clunky user-interface Expensive |
Linnworks is another comprehensive platform that lets you manage your entire ecommerce operation from one place. Need a bunch of features? It has order and inventory management to analytics, forecasting, warehouse management, selling channel listings, and third-party logistics/fulfillment.
It can synchronize inventory levels across multiple locations and platforms with more than 70 marketplaces and multi-channel integration options. If you're stuck, customer support is easy to find. You can reach out through phone or online, check out tutorials or blog posts, and dive into their helpful knowledge base.
It's especially suitable for businesses with multi-warehouse operations looking for advanced features like these:
Mobile app
Warehouse stock transfers
Multichannel inventory syncing
Quantity buffer prevents overselling
Real-time inventory tracking and demand forecasting
100+ integrations, including Amazon, Shopify, Etsy, and eBay
While Linnworks offers a robust suite of features, some users find the UI tricky to navigate.
Here is what some Linnworks users are saying:
One user describes Linnworks’ reliability: “Flexibility in the platform is one of its best features, and it can be extended directly via its developer platform. The platform's stability is also a big plus. We've never had any downtime that has affected us.”
Another user doesn’t find Linnworks as flexible: “Linnworks is not giving database access. We can't develop more apps with Linnworks because of database nonavailability. One more thing is we can not add any custom field in the inventory view.”
Linnworks pricing
Linnworks offers a couple of packages* so customers can choose the one that best fits their ecommerce business. Here’s a look at both:
Core Skuvault package: includes inventory management, a product catalog, purchase order management, warehouse reporting, stock forecasting, shipping integrations, quality control, API access, and ten core integrations
2,000 orders = $449/month
2,001 – 5,000 = $849/month
5,001 – 10,000 = $1349/month
10,001+ = Custom pricing available
Advanced Linnworks package: includes inventory and automated order management, processing and fulfillment, a product catalog, purchase order management, reporting, shipping management, access to an app store and API, and 100+ key integrations
2,000 orders = $599/month
2,001 – 5,000 = $1149/month
5,001 – 10,000 = $1499/month
10,001+ = Custom pricing available
*Pricing last accessed July 2024
4. NetSuite
Pros | Cons |
Easy to use Customizable
| Complex customization requires programming expertise Many add-ons cost extra Hiring experienced NetSuite personnel may extend onboarding |
Looking for a solution that’s been around for a while? NetSuite has been a leading cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution for over two decades. You can access it virtually anywhere, and it scales with your business as it grows.
Initially, NetSuite concentrated on financials and ERP. Now, it includes features like NetSuite Inventory Management and HR as part of Oracle’s ERP business management suite.
A solid choice for businesses operating on a global scale, NetSuite offers features that handle multiple currencies, languages, and tax systems. NetSuite users can access some of the following features:
Dynamic sales data
Comprehensive ERP solution
Supply chain management capabilities
Integrations include Amazon, Shopify, eBay, and more
Real-time inventory tracking and multichannel management
Because of the comprehensiveness of Oracle’s ERP business management suite, you’ll likely need a tech-savvy expert to onboard. That might be a red flag for enterprises that don’t have the funds to hire NetSuite specialists to set up the workflow. Consider looking around if you want everyone on your team to feel confident using it—not solely the tech-savvy.
Here’s what NetSuite users have to say:
One NetSuite user said: “The number of features that NetSuite has is very comprehensive and can solve a variety of business needs from warehousing, inventory, financials, procurement, sales...its financial reporting is also extremely helpful and eliminates the manual data entry that many companies face. The customer support is also very helpful, and the NetSuite support team is knowledgeable and has helped our team resolve many issues we faced while using NetSuite. Many out-of-the-box features are also easy to use and implement and are features that businesses can benefit from without the need for a lot of customization."
This user notes that NetSuite isn’t easy to use: “Netsuite can be incredibly challenging to implement without the correct team or without a strong enough background knowledge. Migration from another ERP to NS (ex Fishbowl to Netsuite) is significantly easier than moving a team from Quickbooks to Netsuite to manage inventory. Netsuite, as a software, is not exactly easy to use, and there are certain little things (such as clicking cancel on a line after adding an item to a transaction) or that nothing autosaves, so sometimes all progress is completely lost if you miss a single field. It is also extremely challenging to teach those who are not technologically inclined to use Netsuite on a day-to-day basis.”
NetSuite pricing
NetSuite structures its licenses in three parts: the core platform, optional modules, and the number of users. After you pay an initial setup fee, you can add modules and users as your business expands.
For specifics on costs, it's best to contact their sales team directly.
*Pricing last accessed July 2024
5. ShipHero
Pros | Cons |
Ease of use Plenty of integrations End-to-end visibility Supportive onboarding | Pricing isn’t transparent |
Besides offering cloud-based warehouse management software (WMS) for ecommerce retailers and third-party logistics (3PL) providers, ShipHero also provides 3PL order fulfillment services. It also adapts to businesses at various stages, from small businesses to enterprises.
Some of ShipHero’s best features are advanced warehouse management, automated order fulfillment, and shipping software that integrates with shipping carriers and sales channels. It is a decent option if you want software that shows an overview of your inventory and helps manage stock levels across multiple warehouses.
Here are some other ShipHero features:
Automatic reorders
Mobile pick and pack
Cycle count dashboard
Multi-warehouse inventory tracking
50+ one-click integrations, including Shopify
While efficient, ShipHero has drawbacks. Users report that the user interface could be more intuitive, and accessing complete order details can be inconvenient.
Consider what these ShipHero users had to say:
This user likes how ShipHero helped improve their workflow: “The core product now has new features that are truly impressive. As a brand that does a lot of pre-kitting, Workorders has been a game changer for us. It has addressed our main pain point of manual inventory adjustments not being done properly.”
Another user notes an opportunity for improvement: “Horrendous inventory movement processes. Example: inventory that has been picked neither changes location nor is reflected anywhere that has data exporting capabilities. Aside from that specific order's page, there is no indication that inventory is picked and waiting to be shipped.”
ShipHero pricing
For pricing details, reach out to their sales team.
*Pricing last accessed July 2024
How we selected the best inventory software solutions
In our quest to cherry-pick the best inventory software solutions, we focused on several key factors:
Scalability and flexibility: The software should be able to grow and adapt to your business.
Integration capabilities: We looked for solutions that can integrate with your existing tech stack.
User-friendly interface: We scouted software that's intuitive and simple to use.
Vendor reputation and support: We looked for quality customer support and a good reputation.
Business needs alignment: We scouted solutions to cater to the unique needs of enterprise ecommerce businesses.
We understand no one likes being left in the lurch. That’s why our selection process ensures that our recommended solutions are the best picks for inventory software solutions.
Discover the ideal inventory software solution for your enterprise
Managing inventory across multiple platforms can be a logistical nightmare, often leading to inaccuracies that impact your business.
While all five options have features that fit the bill, solutions like Veeqo integrate seamlessly with platforms like Amazon and Shopify, consolidating your inventory management into one efficient system.
You’ll make fewer errors and save more money—because Veeqo costs nothing. Besides that, you’ll streamline operations and delight your customers.
Ready to turn your enterprise inventory nightmares into a dream? Try Veeqo today!