Best Inventory Management Software for Manufacturing in 2026: BOMs, MRP and Open-Source Options

The best inventory management software for manufacturing depends on how much planning you need on top of stock counts. Katana and MRPeasy are hosted products built for small manufacturers that track raw materials, bills of materials and finished goods together, ERPNext and Odoo are the open-source suites to self-host, and Fulcrum suits job shops that quote and schedule individual jobs.

This guide is for small and mid-sized makers and groups 13 tools by the job each does: inventory with light production, MRP and accounting links, open-source suites, and job-shop ERP. Many products in this space are ERP or MRP suites rather than pure inventory tools, so each entry says what is included. Live pricing and GitHub data appear in the table and cards, and several vendors publish no prices.

How we picked

Each product tracks stock and also does at least one manufacturing job, such as bills of materials, work orders, lot traceability or production scheduling, according to the vendor's own pages or Enlisted's data. For open-source tools Enlisted checks the licence, GitHub activity and whether you can self-host, and for hosted products it reads the published pricing model. Enterprise suites aimed at large plants, such as Epicor and Infor, are in the wider ERP category and are left out here. For the method, see how Enlisted ranks tools.

Inventory management software for manufacturing: three kinds of tool

Before the picks, it helps to separate what you might actually be shopping for.

• Inventory control with light production. Tracks materials and finished goods, and lets you assemble or build items from a bill of materials. Katana, inFlow Inventory and InvenTree sit closest to this end.
• MRP software. Plans purchasing and production from demand, bills of materials and capacity. MRPeasy, Megaventory, Unleashed, ERPNext and Odoo describe this kind of planning.
• Manufacturing ERP. Adds accounting, quoting, shop-floor data and quality in one system. Deskera, SYSPRO, Fulcrum and Global Shop Solutions are here.

If you also sell online, the guide to inventory management software for ecommerce covers channel sync, and the guide to inventory management software for small business is a broader starting point.

Best for small makers who want stock and production in one tool

1. Katana: best for small product makers selling through Shopify

Katana is cloud inventory and manufacturing software for small product makers that connects materials, production and sales orders. Its site describes a real-time view of what is in stock, what is in production and which materials need buying, with work orders and costs, purchasing and order syncing across sales channels.

Batch and serial tracking with expiry dates supports traceability, and listed integrations include Shopify, Amazon, QuickBooks Online and HubSpot. Katana has a free plan limited by SKU count, with paid tiers and a custom Advantage tier above it.

• Best for: makers that sell on Shopify or Amazon and need materials, work orders and finished goods in one view.
• Watch out for: the free plan is capped by SKU count, and a custom tier means complex operations are quoted.

2. MRPeasy: best for small manufacturers that need production planning

MRPeasy is a hosted MRP and ERP product for small manufacturers that puts production planning, inventory, purchasing, CRM and finances in one system. The vendor describes it as ideal for companies of roughly 10 to 200 employees and says it helps quote accurate lead times, balance materials and capacity against demand, and reschedule production orders.

Inventory features cover lot and batch tracking, stock overviews and purchase requirements. Its integration list includes QuickBooks Online, Xero, Shopify, WooCommerce, Amazon, BigCommerce, Magento, ShipStation, Salesforce and Zapier. Pricing is per user per month, with a free trial.

• Best for: manufacturers moving off spreadsheets that need a planning engine as well as stock records.
• Watch out for: per-user pricing adds up as more staff need access, so count who must log in before you compare plans.

3. inFlow Inventory: best for small businesses that add assembly later

inFlow Inventory is inventory and order management software for small businesses that comes in three tiers: Inventory, Manufacturing and Stockroom. The Manufacturing tier adds assembly and bills of materials, and Stockroom adds scan-in and scan-out control.

Features across the range include barcoding, purchasing and receiving, sales orders and a B2B portal, and the company also sells scanners and label printers. It is a Canadian company, and plans are available in Canadian dollars, with a free trial. A one-time onboarding package may be required.

• Best for: small wholesalers and workshops that start with stock control and may need assembly later.
• Watch out for: bills of materials sit on a higher tier, and an onboarding package may be required, so confirm both before you pick a plan.

4. Megaventory: best for multi-location stock with work orders

Megaventory is a hosted inventory and MRP product for small manufacturers and trading businesses. Its site lists bills of materials, work orders, multi-level manufacturing, work-in-process cost and labor cost per work order, plus stock across multiple locations, warehouses or stores with transfers between them.

It lists integrations with Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, QuickBooks, Amazon Business and ShipStation, and a free trial is offered. The Pro plan includes a set number of users, with extra users charged.

• Best for: makers and distributors with several storage locations that need work orders and costing.
• Watch out for: user limits apply on the Pro plan, so check the included users and any transaction or location limits.

Best for manufacturers and distributors that need MRP depth and accounting links

5. Best for manufacturers and wholesalers with warehouse bin locations

The product in the card above is cloud inventory management software for small and mid-sized manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors that ties stock to sales orders, purchase orders and production. Its feature list includes production with bills of materials, assembly and disassembly, and an MRP and advanced inventory manager that tracks forecasts, upcoming sales and production plans.

Further tools cover stocktaking, barcode scanning, batch and serial tracking, warehouse management across bin locations and a built-in CRM. There are two bundles, with optional modules and support packages costing extra, and a free trial.

• Best for: companies that make and also distribute, and need bin-level warehouse control.
• Watch out for: optional modules and support packages are priced on top of the bundles, so list the modules you need before you compare.

6. Fishbowl: best for QuickBooks and Xero users outgrowing basic inventory

Fishbowl is inventory management and manufacturing software that integrates closely with accounting packages such as QuickBooks and Xero. The product line includes Fishbowl Manufacturing, a cloud-hosted inventory, warehousing and manufacturing solution, Fishbowl Inventory, and a Commerce Suite that adds ecommerce capabilities.

It targets small and mid-sized businesses that need stronger stock control, warehousing and production than their accounting software provides. Enlisted's data also flags a self-managed edition, so ask Fishbowl which deployment each plan includes.

• Best for: QuickBooks users that need manufacturing and warehouse features around their existing books.
• Watch out for: the separate Advanced platform is quoted by users and deployment, so pricing differs between product lines.

7. Deskera: best for makers replacing QuickBooks or spreadsheets with one ERP

Deskera is a commercial cloud ERP for small and mid-sized businesses that combines accounting, orders and procurement, inventory and warehouses, CRM, payroll and manufacturing. It has two products: Deskera ERP, and Deskera MRP, which adds planning for materials, resources and machines for in-house and contract manufacturing.

Its industry pages cover machinery, electronics, apparel, food and beverage, metal fabrication, medical devices and automotive. Pricing is per seat, with a minimum number of seats and a separate one-time implementation fee, and there is a free trial.

• Best for: small manufacturers that want accounting, HR and production in a single platform.
• Watch out for: a seat minimum and an implementation fee apply, so the starting cost is higher than the per-seat figure suggests.

Best open-source and self-hosted options

8. ERPNext: best free open-source ERP with a full manufacturing module

ERPNext is a free open-source ERP, licensed GPL-3.0, that covers accounting, inventory, orders, manufacturing, assets and projects in one system. Its manufacturing documentation describes a bill of materials as the core of the module: a list of items and sub-assemblies with quantities, which can include operations performed at workstations.

Multi-level BOMs are supported, with costing calculated from raw material rates and operations, and a BOM leads to Work Orders and Job Cards. Enlisted's data also lists material consumption, capacity planning and subcontracting. The software is free to self-host, and Frappe Cloud offers hosting that is not charged per user.

• Best for: manufacturers with technical help that want ERP depth without licence fees.
• Watch out for: you carry setup, upgrades and customization, and it is a large system to learn.

9. Odoo: best modular suite for growing from inventory into full manufacturing

Odoo is a set of browser-based, open-source business apps that includes inventory, manufacturing, accounting, point of sale and more, so a company can start with one app and add the rest. Its manufacturing page lists a master production schedule, bills of materials with by-products, lot and serial traceability, work centers with finite capacity planning, a Shop Floor app, quality control points and subcontracting.

Odoo's GitHub licence shows as "Other", so read the repository terms before you modify it. One app is free for unlimited users, paid plans are priced per user, and Custom allows on-premise hosting.

• Best for: manufacturers who want one system to grow into, starting with stock.
• Watch out for: per-user prices rise with each app and seat, and the licence needs reading.

10. InvenTree: best open-source parts and stock tracker for workshops

InvenTree is an open-source, MIT-licensed inventory system for low-level stock control and part tracking, aimed at makers, electronics teams and small manufacturers. Its docs describe bill of materials management, build orders that consume stock to create new parts with automatic or manual allocation, suppliers linked to parts, cascading stock locations and serialized stock items.

It runs on Django with a REST API, a plugin system and a React client, and supports several databases. It is not an ERP, so there is no accounting or sales module to lean on.

• Best for: electronics makers and small workshops that need part tracking and builds, not accounting.
• Watch out for: you host and maintain it yourself, and you pair it with separate accounting and sales tools.

Dolibarr is another open-source option: a GPL-3.0 ERP and CRM whose module list includes stock, orders, accounting and manufacturing, with packaged installers and a Docker image. Enlisted's data does not detail its production features, so test the manufacturing module against your process before you adopt it.

Best for job shops and discrete manufacturers

Job shops make to order, so quoting, job costing and scheduling matter as much as stock.

11. Fulcrum: best cloud ERP for CNC and sheet metal job shops

Fulcrum is a cloud manufacturing and ERP product for job shops and discrete manufacturers, with a focus on precision CNC shops and sheet metal fabricators. Its pages list job tracking with live labor and materials, autoscheduling, bill of materials and routing tools, quoting and sales orders, materials and inventory, purchase planning and quality control readiness for AS9100D and ISO 9001.

Pricing is by contact, and the vendor also lists API and MCP access for integrations.

• Best for: CNC and sheet metal shops replacing spreadsheets or a legacy ERP.
• Watch out for: no published prices, and the focus is job shops and discrete manufacturers, so confirm fit if you run continuous or process production.

12. Global Shop Solutions: best for job shops that want on-premise or cloud

Global Shop Solutions is ERP for job shops and discrete manufacturers that covers the process from quote to cash. Its module list includes shop floor data collection, routing, bill of materials, CAD and nesting interfaces, purchasing, RFID, EDI and job costing, and it is offered as cloud ERP, on-premise ERP or a government edition.

Plans are tailored per company on a concurrent-user model, so request a quote.

• Best for: discrete manufacturers needing job costing and a choice between cloud and on-premise.
• Watch out for: no prices are published, and the long module list means you should confirm which modules your quote includes.

13. SYSPRO: best for mid-sized manufacturers and distributors needing lot traceability

SYSPRO is an ERP suite for manufacturers and distributors that combines finance, manufacturing, supply chain and inventory, with cloud options. Its manufacturing area lists bill of materials, work in progress, MRP, a product configurator, quality and engineering change control, and its supply chain area lists warehouse management, procurement and lot traceability.

It is aimed at larger operations than the small-business MRP tools above, so it suits companies that have outgrown them. Pricing is quoted by the vendor.

• Best for: mid-sized manufacturers that need finance, MRP and lot traceability in one suite.
• Watch out for: it is built for larger operations, so a small team may find it more than it needs.

Industry-specific and adjacent tools

Some makers need a vertical product. FermentIQ is an ERP for breweries, wineries, distilleries and roasteries that lists batch tracking, TTB compliance and keg tracking by QR code. Kawsty is a management platform for independent bakeries with recipe costing and production scheduling. Easily is a cloud system for small manufacturers that tracks orders through production stages and handles piece-rate payroll, with garment making given as an example.

Two adjacent categories are not inventory systems but often sit beside one. Atlas CMMS is an AGPL-3.0 self-hostable maintenance system with work orders, preventive maintenance, assets and inventory, and Arena PLM manages product data, changes and compliance.

What manufacturers should check before buying

Two requirements decide most shortlists, and both can be read from vendor pages.

How deep the bill of materials and production planning go. A simple assembly list is not the same as multi-level BOMs with routings, work orders and capacity planning. inFlow puts BOMs on its Manufacturing tier, Katana lists work orders, ERPNext describes multi-level BOMs with operations, and Odoo lists a master production schedule and finite capacity planning. Write down your real process, including subcontracting and by-products, and check each product against it.

What traceability you must prove. If you track lots, batches or serial numbers, confirm how far it runs from supplier receipt to shipment. MRPeasy lists lot and batch tracking, Katana lists batch and serial with expiry dates, Unleashed lists batch and serial numbers, SYSPRO lists lot traceability, and InvenTree supports serialized stock items.

Also check how the product links to your accounts. Fishbowl is built around QuickBooks and Xero, MRPeasy lists both, and Katana lists QuickBooks Online. For how prices compare, read the live pricing section at the end of this page, then confirm per-user limits and implementation fees with each vendor.

Which inventory software should a manufacturer choose?