Best CPG Software of 2026

Here's what we'll cover:

What is CPG software?

Features of CPG software

Benefits and competitive advantages of CPG software

How to choose the right CPG software

CPG software essentials 

Consumer packaged goods (CPG) software helps businesses manage and monitor products as they move along the supply chain from manufacturing to sales. Generally, you’ll see CPG software categorized as enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, but this type of software is more niche and specialized to the CPG market. CPG solutions boost transparency and simplify the production, warehousing, distribution, marketing, and sales of consumable goods.

These tools are essential for small manufacturers and distributors of consumer packaged goods, who need to track and monitor their products for quality compliance. Besides that, these tools help in financial planning, product shipping, pricing management, and much more.

ERP software typically operates on a per-month subscription model, with costs varying significantly depending on the system's complexity and capabilities. 

Pricing for ERP software costs $150 per month for basic plans, reflecting the diversity of features and scalability. Higher-priced enterprise plans provide additional features like warehouse and order management and detailed financial reporting capabilities. [1]

First-time buyers should consider both initial and ongoing expenses:

• Common upfront costs include customization, integration, and installation. 

• Maintenance, support, and IT consultancy fees represent typical recurring costs.

CPG software might be more or less expensive than general ERP software due to the specific gap in the market that the software is trying to solve.

If you’re a first-time buyer, consider your budget, the number of users, use cases, necessary integrations, and bring a list of questions to ask vendors such as these: 

• How will this CPG system use artificial intelligence, machine learning, and predictive analytics to streamline our operations and enhance decision-making?

• Does this CPG system support discrete manufacturing processes, including detailed management of materials, routings, and shop floor operations?

• What tools and features does this CPG system offer for optimizing distribution, warehouse management, and logistics?

• Can this CPG suite efficiently manage our operations across multiple organizations, geographies, and regulatory environments within one cloud platform?

• How does this CPG system automate and improve the visibility of our financial management processes, and what impact will this have on our operations?

Read more about CPG software and how to choose the right system in our buyers guide. Or, if you’d prefer to chat with one of our experienced construction software advisors, such as Issac Routh or Adrian Cantu—who have a combined four years of experience helping business owners find the right CPG and ERP software—schedule a call or start a chat with us.

What is CPG software?

CPG software is a type of ERP, manufacturing, and supply chain software that helps businesses manage and monitor products from manufacturing to sales. It’s designed to bring greater transparency to the entire process of producing, warehousing, distributing, marketing, and selling consumable goods. 

To give you an idea of the market, our site has 113 unique CPG software profiles and has published more than 1,000 user reviews for CPG software in the past year alone. [2] 

That said, CPG software comes with specific functionality that you won’t find in more general manufacturing software. Here are a few specialized features you’ll see that you might want to consider: 

• Electronic data interchange

• Pricing management

• Forecast and demand planning

Buyer advocate and team lead, Nate Pozen, often hears that business owners find it hard to forecast how much inventory they need or what they need to manufacture if they don’t already have a good idea about what’s in their inventory. “Business owners will tell me that they’re selling things that they don’t have because they aren’t tracking their inventory well enough.”

That’s why forecasting and inventory management are so important for businesses looking for CPG software.

We’ll dive into more detail about these features later. 

An example of a shipping order in CPG software

Features of CPG software

All ERP systems include financial management and integrated business operations features, with most systems also sharing several common functionalities such as accounting, inventory management, purchase order management, billing and invoicing, order management, reporting/analytics, and task management.

Core CPG software features

Each year, we speak to hundreds of professionals looking for CPG software and analyze those conversations to better understand which features are critical to them. Based on those discussions and analysis of our review data, here are the features we believe are core to manufacturing software.

Common CPG software features

Based on our research and conversations with manufacturing professionals looking for ERP software, here are the features that are common, but not absolutely necessary.

For more information on CPG features and recommendations, feel free to schedule an appointment with Routh or one of his colleagues. 

Benefits and competitive advantages of CPG software 

When talking to CPG professionals, Cantu says they’re often looking for better reporting and analytics automation. 

“I have conversations with business owners who are selling on ecommerce platforms and have trouble pulling reports from all of those platforms. They’re looking for a system that will automatically update and pull that information so they can spend less time going to each platform and manually pulling the reports.”

In general, CPG software is designed to make your job more automated, efficient, and easier by taking some of the manual tasks you’re doing and streamlining them.

In that same vein, Routh points out that most business owners searching for CPG software are dealing with difficult order management and are looking to be able to automate that process. 

“If they’re a manufacturer of consumer packaged goods, they need software to track raw material inventory. Distributors need to track their inventory and want automated systems that can help do that so that when they do an order, it automatically pulls those items from the inventory without having to do it manually.”

In addition to better bidding and communication, you’ll also find several other benefits that come with utilizing CPG software that will directly impact your bottom line:

• Streamlined business operations: An ERP solution stores and tracks data across an organization, from warehouse management to benefits administration. Many ERP packages provide these functions as built-in software modules, but some also offer users the option to integrate stand-alone third-party tools, thus consolidating disparate applications into a single, unified ERP system.

• Workflow automation: By leveraging advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) technology (e.g., machine learning, natural language processing), an ERP solution can automate routine business processes and free up human capital to focus on tasks that require human intervention.

• Enhanced accessibility: With an increasing number of cloud-based options and IoT-enabled functionality (internet of things), such as smartphone access, ERP applications offer businesses unprecedented visibility into day-to-day operations. And all that information is accessible in real time, giving users the ability to retrieve and modify data on the fly.

When selecting a new system, CPG professionals need to reconsider their business process first, and then find the application provider that will most closely map to those processes or automate a new, more effective set of processes. They also need to get a wide set of users involved in the selection process so that each user feels invested in the new program and will adopt it when it goes live. Finally, you need to invest in proper training so that new users get up to speed on the system quickly and realize benefits from the new system early on. Here are a few examples of how these tools can help you gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace:

• Increased operational efficiency: Through process automation and lean workflow management, an ERP platform can significantly boost operational efficiency and productivity.

• Better data management: Data mismanagement and disorganization can stagnate a business, preventing it from reaching its full potential. But with ERP software, individuals across a business can find the information they need in a single system, rather than juggling multiple tools and risking duplicate or inaccurate data.

• Informed business decisions: Advanced analytics bring deeper insights, giving decision-makers greater breadth of detail and a better understanding of business initiatives. ERP software's reporting capabilities empower leaders to make more informed decisions and better position their businesses for success.

How to choose the right CPG software

When you start the process of checking out potential CPG software solutions, you should detail all your requirements and categorize them based on their importance. Nice-to-have features, such as fixed asset tracking, can come at the very end. Therefore, the solutions you’re considering should address all your crucial needs first.

Step 1: Define your requirements

Before you start the CPG software selection process, begin outlining the requirements that are unique to your business. Not only will these guide you to the platform that meets your current demands—you will end up with software that supports your long-term goals as well.

Ideal deployment model

The two common types of system architecture are on premise and cloud-based. On-premise deployment involves installing the solutions on servers that are housed in your building. While this solution gives you more security because your licensing isn’t reliant on cloud-based services, it can be tiresome and expensive to maintain and upgrade the hardware over time. 

On the other hand, the cloud gives users the flexibility of any time, anywhere access but the internet connection needs to be fast and steady all the time.

In general, you’ll find that most ERP and CPG software solutions are cloud-based, but on-premise solutions still exist if that’s something you need for your business.

Common CPG integrations

While CPG tools offer many functionalities that help companies manage different business processes, they are part of a larger software ecosystem consisting of tools such as PLM, CRM, and more. The CPG tool you buy must offer built-in integration with this closely related family of third-party tools. A benefit of this, for example, would be the ability to extract business insights and pricing guidelines from tools such as CRM.

Step 2: Make a shortlist of CPG software

With so many CPG options to choose from, it can be hard to narrow down your list, but it doesn’t have to be. Start by making a list of must-have and nice-to-have features. Your must-have features should be your primary focus, and every vendor on your shortlist must include those features. Nice-to-have features are not necessary to the success of your business but might make certain aspects easier—these might be features that aren’t included in every piece of software and might cost extra.

Once you have settled on your list of features, start looking at vendors. Find ones that have the features you need, and narrow your list of potential vendors to no more than five.

For more help and information about how to select your software, check out these resources:

• Make Your Software Search More Seamless With a Software Advisor

• After Your Advisor Call: 4 Tips to Keep Your Software Purchase on Track

• The Ultimate Software Vendor Evaluation Guide

Get qualified help from an advisor

At Software Advice, our advisors have experience helping hundreds of CPG professionals identify solutions that match their needs and budgets.

If you need guidance, you can chat online now with an advisor or schedule a phone call. In just a few minutes, your advisor will help you identify a shortlist of options that align with your company’s requirements.

Step 3: Pick your best option

You’ve compiled a list of your top choices, so now you need to start scheduling vendor demos. During your demos, you can explore features, understand pricing better, and ultimately make the right choice for your business. However, don’t go into these vendor demos without a plan, or you will be wasting your time. 

How to prepare for vendor demos

Once you’ve compiled your shortlist of CPG software systems, schedule demo sessions with each vendor in order to learn more about their product. Our advisors are sometimes able to schedule these for you. This is your chance to ask questions about specific features they offer, pricing, technical support, training tools, and anything else that might be an important factor in choosing the right system.

Some questions you should consider asking vendors in each demo include:

• How does the system architecture leverage emerging technologies?

• How much will it cost to secure and maintain access to desired capabilities?

• How can you migrate existing data to the tool?

• What services are available to support implementation and deployment?

• What long-term strategies are in place to improve your products and services?

About our contributors

Author

Molly Burke is a senior analyst and writer for Software Advice. She covers customer experience and marketing in the retail and restaurant industries, with a focus on how emerging technology is transforming the way everyday people shop. Her research helps business owners make software investment decisions that will help them navigate the ever-shifting retail landscape. 

Molly’s research and analysis is informed by more than 120,000 authentic user reviews on Software Advice and nearly 8,000 interactions between Software Advice software advisors and retail software buyers. Molly also regularly analyzes market sentiment by conducting surveys of retail and restaurant leaders, as well as consumers, so she can provide the most up-to-date and helpful information to small and midsize businesses purchasing software or services. 

Her insights on generative AI, social media, and other tech trends have been featured in The New York Times, Vogue, BBC, CNBC, Forbes, and the Financial Times, among other publications.

Editor

Caroline Rousseau is a content editor at Software Advice. A former content analyst, Caroline has, for the past five years, built, written and edited research reports about technological trends, opportunities, and challenges with a SMB audience in mind. Her content has been featured in French Tier 1 media including Le Monde, L’Express and Le Figaro, among other publications.

Her previous experience as a graphic designer, translator and LQA specialist in various industries converged into a skill set that allows her to create compelling content about today’s business matters. Caroline’s personal interests include literature and art and she has a passion for Albert Camus, graphic novels and drawing.

Advisors

Adrian Cantu is a software advisor. He joined Software Advice in 2022, and is based in Austin, TX.

Adrian works directly with small business leaders to connect them with best fit software providers. He assesses the technology needs of small businesses seeking manufacturing, distribution, fleet management, and professional services software. He has a background in sales and has worked in the service industry. 

Adrian’s favorite part of being a software advisor is when the buyer sees the value in the service provided and expresses how appreciative they are.

Nate Pozen is a buyer advocate team leader. He joined Software Advice in 2021 as a software advisor, and now he manages a team of four software advisors. He is based in Austin, TX.

Nate and his team helps small businesses find the right HR, CRM, accounting, project management, and manufacturing software for their needs each year. They’re able to do this through one-to-one conversations designed to narrow down the list of potential tools to only those that are the best fit. 

His favorite part of being a Software Advice advisor team manager is partnering with buyers to help them through their entire software journey.

Isaac Routh is an advisor manager. He joined Software Advice in 2020 as a software advisor, and now he manages a team of seven software advisors. He is based in Austin, TX.

Isaac and his team help small businesses find the right ERP, legal, business intelligence, and accounting software for their needs each year. They’re able to do this through one-to-one conversations designed to narrow down the list of potential tools to only those that are the best fit. 

His favorite part of being a Software Advice advisor team manager is educating buyers and supporting small business owners. 

Sources

1. Software Advice software pricing data: Only products with publicly available pricing information and qualified software products within the category are included in the pricing analysis.  Read the complete methodology.

2. Software Advice advisor call notes: Findings are based on data from telephonic conversations that Software Advice’s advisor team had with small-to-midsize businesses seeking general contractor tools. For this report, we analyzed phone interactions up until the date of production. Read the complete methodology.

3. Software Advice reviews data: Software Advice reviews are collected from verified users for individual software products. For this report, we analyzed reviews from August 31, 2023 to August 31, 2024.