Best Process Manufacturing software of 2026: which is right for you?

Gartner defines process manufacturing as, “manufacturing that adds value by performing chemical reactions or physical actions to transform materials, or by extracting, mixing, separating or forming materials in batch or continuous production modes.”

Process manufacturers generally deal with products that pour, such as liquids or powders, and are produced in bulk quantities. It includes industries, such as chemicals, pharmaceuticals, food and beverages and gasoline.

A process manufacturing system must balance four constraints. First, the batch size is constrained by the amount of product on order and stock quantities to be kept on hand. This is particularly key when using materials or creating a product with a limited shelf life. The second constraint is ingredients, as the most limited ingredient determines how much product can be made. Then, there’s packaging inventory, and one of the challenges of process manufacturing is that you need to store the final product in something. The fourth constraint is capacity—or the ability to make a product within the production facility itself.

The critical function of a process manufacturing system is inventory control. One important feature of the inventory system is the ability to manage different units of measurement, for example, determining how many liters of an item are available when it is received in 55 gallon drums. Related to inventory is recipe management, that is, how to alter the formula to make a certain amount or to use available inventory.

On the other hand, a process manufacturing system can be part of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, or be part of a best-of-breed set of solutions. It is also possible to integrate with a manufacturing execution system (MES). Accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll and general ledger are the standard features of these systems. While most installations use on-premises equipment, cloud-based options are also available. Software as a service (SaaS) viability is primarily dictated by the value of installed technology base, but projected maintenance costs of both hardware and software is an important factor as well.

In this buyers guide, we'll cover:

• What Is Process Manufacturing Software?

• Common Features of Process Manufacturers Software

What Is Process Manufacturing Software?

Henry Ford once said, “If you always do what you always did, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.” Manufacturers must heed these words and always strive to make business processes more efficient. Some of the major concerns they face include:

• Increase in production cost

• Highly competitive local and global environment

• Short product life cycle

• Reduction of profit margins

• Considerable improvement in quality assurance metrics

Process manufacturing software is designed specifically to manage these complexities. For manufacturers, fulfilling regulatory compliance by tracing ingredients and industrial waste is pivotal. Therefore, across the globe, executives are considering process manufacturing platforms to monitor business processes from end-to-end, that is, from production to delivery.

It is important to note that manufacturing executives can extend process manufacturing capabilities with their existing ERP or MES solutions as an additional module or integration. Furthermore, numerous vendors in the market offer specialized solutions for process manufacturing businesses. Executives should involve all the stakeholders to list out the requisite capabilities in a solution. In addition, buyers should evaluate the suitability and capability of the solution vis-à-vis their requirements before adapting the solution.

Process manufacturing professionals should focus on resolving the following challenges via a process manufacturing platform:

1. Mitigate product risks and recalls

2. Increase a product’s time to market

3. Track and monitor business performance

4. Accurately forecast product demand and supply chain issues

5. Achieve regulatory compliance

There are many objectives that can be achieved with the help of a process manufacturing application. Manufacturing organizations with mobile employees and remote workstations should ideally look for solutions that also offer mobile applications.

Common Features of Process Manufacturers Software

In evaluating software, process manufacturers should consider the following functions to meet their unique requirements: