Best inventory planning software for CPG brands
Ten tools, what each is genuinely best at, what it costs, and how to pick — written by the team behind Planster, with our own limitations included.
Disclosure: we build Planster, one of the tools on this list. We've tried to write the guide we wish existed when we were evaluating — including honest reasons to pick someone else. Every claim about another product is sourced from public materials and third-party reviews as of July 2026; where pricing is quote-gated, we say so instead of guessing.
If you make something people consume — food, beverage, supplements, beauty, household — inventory planning is the difference between a good year and a cash crisis. Order too little and you stock out on your best SKU. Order too much and your cash is sitting on a pallet.
Most brands start in a spreadsheet, outgrow it somewhere around $5–10M, and then discover the tooling market is crowded and confusing. This guide is our attempt to make it less so.
How to evaluate inventory planning software
Six things actually separate these tools. Score any shortlist against them.
Channel coverage
Do you sell only on Shopify, or also Amazon, retail, and wholesale? Many popular tools are Shopify-only and structurally can't plan a retail launch.
Forecasting depth
Is it a moving average with a nice UI, or does it fit a model per SKU, handle seasonality, and hold safety stock that moves with the forecast instead of a fixed unit count?
Scenario planning
Can you test a promo, a launch, or a price change before committing — and see what it costs in POs and cash? Most tools stop at a demand range.
Retail-deal planning
If you sell into retail, can the tool tell you the order-by date to hit a launch, and what's at risk if the deal dies? Almost nothing on the market does this.
Automation
Does it wait for you to log in, or does it watch overnight and hand you a ranked list with the paperwork already drafted?
Pricing model
Flat, or scaled to your revenue? Revenue-based pricing means the better you do, the more you pay — check before you sign an annual contract.
The tools
Planster
Our productBest for: $50–500M consumable CPG brands and manufacturers selling across channels
Planster is a demand-planning platform built specifically for consumable CPG brands, manufacturers and co-manufacturers in the $50–500M range, working alongside the ERP they already run. On top of a forecasting engine that fits a model per SKU, it adds three things most tools don't: scenario planning with a consequence preview (see the POs and capital a change commits before you promote it, with version history and an undo), a retail-deal Pipeline (deals overlay your plan at full volume with order-by dates and capital-at-risk math), and an overnight agent that checks every SKU, PO, and channel and emails a ranked morning digest with draft POs already written — but nothing is approved or sent without you.
- Pricing:
- Pilot $99/month (the agent, headless, on one integration), Plan $999/month (the full app), Produce $2,499/month (with production planning); unlimited users on every plan. 150+ integrations via Trackstar, including NetSuite, plus native Sage 100, Zoho Analytics and Luminous connectors (QuickBooks and Xero rolling out).
- Honest limits:
- We're newer than most tools here, we have no prebuilt report library (reporting is custom), and we're not the cheapest option if you're a small Shopify-only brand.
Inventory Planner (by Sage)
Best for: Established multichannel retailers who want maturity
The most established option on this list, used by 2,600+ brands, with 50+ integrations, Open-to-Buy budgeting, and a large library of prebuilt reports. If you want a battle-tested platform with years of edge-case coverage and reports out of the box, this is the safe pick.
- Pricing:
- Quote-based, "based on the volume of inventory you manage", with unlimited users. No tiers or prices are published (vendor pricing page, 2026-10-02).
- Honest limits:
- No what-if sandbox or capital-consequence preview, no retail-deal planning, and its AI is an in-app advisor rather than a proactive agent. Onboarding runs about 5–6 weeks, and "Value for Money" is its lowest-rated dimension.
- Ratings:
- G2 4.5/5 (~39 reviews) · Capterra 4.6/5 (~66 reviews)
Prediko
Best for: Shopify-only brands under ~$2M GMV
Shopify's recommended replacement for Stocky, and deservedly popular. Its AI agent, Pia, is genuinely capable: daily proactive digests and draft POs, with a human approving.
- Pricing:
- Revenue-tiered $49–$349/month, topping out around a ">$2M GMV" tier.
- Honest limits:
- Shopify-exclusive by design — it requires a Shopify store as its demand spine, so it can't be the backbone for a multichannel brand. No scenario planning or retail-deal planning, and Pia is scoped to inventory only.
- Ratings:
- Shopify App Store 4.9/5 (~225 reviews)
Flieber
Best for: Multichannel DTC/marketplace brands who want fast onboarding
Strong AI-based forecasting across Shopify, Amazon, Walmart, eBay, and major 3PLs, with genuinely fast setup (often live in a day or two) and no implementation fee. If your main problem is "my forecast is bad" and you want it fixed this week, Flieber is a good answer.
- Pricing:
- $299–$599/month tiers, shifting toward custom quotes metered by volume, channels, and SKUs.
- Honest limits:
- What-ifs are quantity simulations without a capital/consequence preview or version history; no retail-deal planning; recommendations require you to log in and initiate them.
Netstock
Best for: Brands standardized on an ERP
Built for distributors, wholesalers, and brands running NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics, or similar mid-market ERPs, with rigorous demand classification and different forecasting approaches per item class.
- Pricing:
- Quote-based, typically mid-market and enterprise.
- Honest limits:
- It's ERP-attached, so it fits best when you've already standardized on one. If you haven't, expect a heavier lift than a bolt-on tool.
Atomic Supply
Best for: Growth-stage brands with concentrated SKU bases
Founded by ex-Tesla supply-chain leaders and VC-backed, with real scenario comparison and versioning including financial deltas, plus a fast, no-code onboarding story. Genuinely capable for its age.
- Pricing:
- No public pricing — enterprise-tier and quote-based.
- Honest limits:
- Planning runs as a nightly batch rather than real time, and it fits best with concentrated SKU bases in one or two distribution centers. No retail-deal planning, and no third-party review presence yet.
Moselle
Best for: Smaller Shopify-native brands on a budget
An affordable, clean multi-channel replenishment tool with a conversational AI assistant ("Mo") and self-serve onboarding in under a week.
- Pricing:
- Roughly $250–$750/month depending on plan.
- Honest limits:
- AI is metered by credits, so heavy planning use hits a ceiling; Mo is forecasting-only and can't draft POs yet; scenarios are side-by-side forecast comparisons without capital impact or versioning.
Settle
Best for: Brands who want inventory financing and bill-pay in one place
Settle is genuinely strong at what it's actually for: AP automation, bill pay, and working capital (loans from $20K–$15M, often funded in under 48 hours), with a clean interface. Planning was added on top.
- Pricing:
- Free / $199 / $499 per month — the real monetization is the financing (~1.4%/month, about 17% APR by their own example).
- Honest limits:
- Forecasting auto-selects a model with no user-steerable planning surface, and their own reviewers note the inventory features are still developing. Worth noting the incentive: planning recommendations live inside a lending business.
Iris Finance
Best for: Finance teams that want P&L, cash and inventory in one tool
An AI-native FP&A platform for consumer brands that also forecasts demand by SKU and channel. It is strong where finance lives: a real-time P&L by channel, SKU and cohort, a 13-week rolling cash forecast, inventory valuation, trade spend netted against each account, and purchasing tied to margin and cash flow. An agent, Fin, answers questions and builds dashboards in plain English, and advisors are available alongside the software.
- Pricing:
- Quote-based, "based on your brand's size and data sources". No price is published (vendor pricing page, 2026-10-22).
- Honest limits:
- Written for finance leaders rather than planners, and its product pages describe brands from "$1M–$50M+". Its integrations page names accounting, banking, commerce and ad platforms but no WMS or 3PL (vendor site, 2026-10-22).
Luminous
Best for: Brands that want one operations system, with planning inside it
An operations platform rather than a planning tool: inventory, warehouse, orders, embedded EDI, invoicing and bills in one system of record, with lot and expiry tracking, BOMs and work orders, and a co-manufacturing coordination module shipped in July 2026. Demand forecasting and replenishment are modules inside it. A Claude connector can create POs and update orders, and implementation is hands-on, with go-live promised in 60 days.
- Pricing:
- Quote-based. Three tiers by revenue band, each marked "Custom Pricing"; no price is published (vendor pricing page, 2026-10-22).
- Honest limits:
- No forecasting model is named on its demand-planning page, and we found no scenario planning or retail-deal planning published. Its pages are written for "Modern Commerce Brands" and name no industry (vendor site, 2026-10-22).
Katana
Best for: Product businesses that need inventory and manufacturing records in one system
Cloud inventory and production management software: the system of record for stock by location, sales and purchase orders, manufacturing orders, outsourced production at a contractor, recipes and BOMs, with batch and expiry tracking built in. It also forecasts: AI Replenishment gives a 12-month forecast with seasonality, safety stock and a draft PO or manufacturing order. Katana MCP lets Claude or ChatGPT create and update records.
- Pricing:
- Free at $0 for up to 30 SKUs; Advantage on custom annual pricing, with no price published (vendor pricing page, 2026-11-03).
- Honest limits:
- AI Replenishment runs on a selection of one SKU or up to 50 at a time, and no forecasting model is named. Its pages are written for "small and mid-sized businesses that have outgrown spreadsheets" and publish no revenue band (vendor site, 2026-10-22).
Shopify Admin (native)
Best for: Very small Shopify brands who need the basics
Since Shopify folded Stocky into Admin, native Shopify handles inventory tracking, adjustments, transfers, receiving, and purchase orders, free with your plan. Sidekick, Shopify's built-in assistant, recommends what to reorder from your sales data and drafts the PO within your min/max limits.
- Pricing:
- Included with your Shopify plan.
- Honest limits:
- Shopify doesn't document safety stock, service-level targets, or order dates set by supplier lead time, or Sidekick using wholesale and retail demand that lives outside Shopify. Sidekick answers when you ask; no scheduled check is documented. (Shopify's Stocky transition guide, accessed 2026-10-02.)
Honorable mention: Excel
Still where most brands start, and genuinely the right answer at a handful of SKUs on one channel. It stops being the right answer when the file becomes a part-time job, when a formula error hides for months, or when one person leaving means planning stops. Planster vs Excel →
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Pricing | Multichannel | Scenario + capital | Retail deals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Planster | $50–500M consumable CPG | Plan $999/mo | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Inventory Planner | Established retailers | Quote, by inventory volume | Yes | No | No |
| Prediko | Shopify under ~$2M | $49–349/mo | Shopify only | No | No |
| Flieber | Multichannel DTC | $299–599/mo | Yes | No | No |
| Netstock | ERP-standardized | Quote | Yes | No | No |
| Atomic Supply | Concentrated SKUs | Quote | Partial | Partial | No |
| Moselle | Small Shopify-native | $250–750/mo | Partial | No | No |
| Settle | Financing + AP | $0–499/mo + financing | Partial | No | No |
| Iris Finance | Finance-led planning | Quote | Yes | Cash-tied | Not documented |
| Luminous | One ops system of record | Quote | Yes | Not documented | Not documented |
| Katana | Inventory + MRP system of record | Free or quote | Yes | Per-SKU order options | Not documented |
| Shopify Admin | Very small Shopify | Included | Shopify only | No | No |
How to actually pick
- Shopify-only, under $2M: Prediko. Don't overbuy.
- Shopify DTC, $2–25M, price-sensitive: Moselle.
- Multichannel, forecast accuracy is the pain: Flieber.
- Already on Dynamics, SAP Business One or Acumatica: Netstock.
- You want financing bundled: Settle — and consider planning elsewhere.
- You want maturity and prebuilt reports: Inventory Planner.
- Finance owns the question: P&L, cash forecast, margin after trade spend: Iris Finance.
- You need warehouse, orders, EDI and lot tracking in one system first: Luminous — and plan on top of it if forecasting is the gap.
- You make product and need manufacturing orders, outsourced POs and batch and expiry tracking in one system first: Katana — and add a planning tool alongside it if forecasting is the gap.
- $50–500M consumable CPG selling into retail — on NetSuite, Sage 100 or no ERP — and the real question is "what does this decision commit?": That's the gap we built Planster for.
Common questions
What's the difference between inventory management and inventory planning?
Management tracks what you have and where it is. Planning tells you what to buy and when, based on forecasted demand, lead times, and safety stock. Shopify Admin is management; the tools on this list are planning.
Do I need dedicated software, or is Excel fine?
Excel is genuinely fine at a handful of SKUs on one channel. It stops being fine when the file takes hours a week, when errors hide, or when one person owns it. A single week of stockout on one product often costs more than a year of software.
What does inventory planning software cost?
Roughly $50/month for small Shopify apps to $1,000+/month for mid-market platforms, with enterprise quotes above that. Watch for revenue-based pricing — your bill grows as you do.
Which tools can plan a retail launch?
Very few. Most forecast organic demand only. If you need order-by dates and capital-at-risk math for a specific retail deal, that is a narrow capability — ask vendors directly and make them demo it.
See what a decision commits — before you commit it
If you're a $50–500M consumable CPG brand or manufacturer selling into retail, bring us your gnarliest launch. Most teams run their first scenario on day one.
Disclosure: this guide is published by Planster, which appears first on this list. We've included honest limitations for our own product and genuine reasons to choose competitors. Competitor facts sourced from public materials and third-party reviews as of July 2026; quote-gated pricing is labeled as such rather than estimated.