Manufacturing is a complicated process. It has many operational tasks that require constant monitoring. This can not be done manually. Material Resource Planning or MRP software for small businesses helps manufacturing businesses do it digitally. It helps to integrate procurement processes with production planning and reduces operating costs. It lets manufacturing businesses automate their Material Requirements Planning (MRP) system. With the rising number of MRP software choosing the best can be difficult for you.
In this blog post, we will help you select the right MRP software for small business and understand their features, pros, and cons.
Why do small business need MRP software?
Let’s start by understanding what is an MRP? An MRP system or a Material Requirement Planning system is an automated tool. It is used by manufacturers to decide the materials, components, and subassemblies required to manufacture a certain product. The system works in line with production planning system, scheduling, and inventory management systems.
It helps businesses understand their inventory needs while balancing supply and demand. It also minimizes inventory while scheduling production according to the bill of material. All these are very important for every small business. These require a lot of effort and attention to detail. It can be difficult to complete them manually. An MRP system does all the tasks digitally and reduces the chances of error.
The 10 best MRP software for Small Business on the market in 2024
The best MRP software for a small business would be the one that helps fulfil requirements planning, forecasting and execution activities. Here's a list of the top five MRP software for your SME business:
1. NetSuite
NetSuite MRP is a software solution that specializes in artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities for businesses. It offers procurement, inventory, project management, and risk management solutions, along with real-time demand planning features. It allows businesses to easily manage their inventories and delivery.
★ Features:
- Inventory management
- Order management
- Supply chain management
- Document management
- Production scheduling
👍Pros:
- Cloud-based software
- Low maintenance cost
👎Cons:
- Complicated to use
- Expensive for small businesses
- Not Flexible
☯Integration:
- NetSuite offers integrations for accounting support, CRM, financial software, inventory management, order management, and more.
- It also provides SuiteApps to extend NetSuite’s capabilities.
💰Pricing:
- NetSuite has an annual license fee. It is based on the core platform itself, optional modules, and the total number of users in the organization. They also charge a one-time implementation fee.
- All of this can cost an organisation anywhere between $1,000-$10,000 every year.
2. Katana MRP
Katana MRP allows SMEs to manage their production and material requirements with features such as automated resource allocation, multichannel sales management and contract manufacturing. It helps to improve raw materials visibility, and order waiting times and simplifies customer experience.
★ Features:
- Production scheduling
- Order management & tracking
- Inventory & resource management
- Quality management
- Shop Floor Control (SFC)
- Barcode scanning
👍Pros:
- End-to-end traceability
- Offers Bill of Material software
- Automatic calculation of manufacturing cost
👎Cons:
- Relatively more expensive
- Complicated manufacturing order process
☯Integration:
- Katana MRP provides integration with a number of third-party apps from e-commerce, POS systems, Sales, Accounting and Workplaces.
💰Pricing:
- The starter Plan costs $179/month if billed annually and $199/month if billed monthly. This plan includes 1 inventory location, 1,200 sales orders per year, and $600,000 GMV per year.
- Standard and professional Plans cost between $359/month to $899/month. This plan includes 3 to 10 inventory locations, 6,000 to 18,000 sales orders per year, and $5,000,000 to $50,000,000 GMV per year.
- The Professional Plus Plan costs $1,799 to $1,999 per month. This plan includes all Professional features and unlimited inventory locations, 40,000 sales orders per year, and $150,000,000 GMV per year.
3. TranZact
TranZact is software for small businesses that provides cloud-based tools to manage your operational tasks. It helps businesses optimize their inventory levels and improve purchase planning. It helps manufacturing businesses mitigate losses caused by unstructured operations. It does so by using focused solutions across sales, purchase, inventory and production.
It digitally transforms small and medium-scale manufacturing businesses by automating their entire business process, from inquiry to dispatch. TranZact provides a complete view of the required materials in a single click. It gives you a bird's eye view of your current stock and already purchased raw materials.
★ Features:
- Automated MRP module with distinct planning structures based on orders, product category and production process.
- Production planning and scheduling.
- Inventory management with Barcode Scanning.
- Quotation management.
- Smart reporting and analytics with a business intelligence dashboard.
- Integration with other business tools, such as Tally, BusyERP and Excel.
- AfterShip integration for order shipping convenience.
- Quick overview of details such as item ID, required quantity, blocked quantity, total ordered quantity, total inward goods pending to be quality tested, quantity of goods received but not approved in inventory and total price.
👍Pros:
- Offers real-time inventory insights
- GST compliant documentation
- Reordering alerts with live notifications
- Lifetime free customer support & zero upfront cost
- Flexible & easy to use
👎Cons:
- Made for Manufacturers
- Made for SMEs
- Made for Indian Businesses only
☯Integration:
- TranZact offers integration of features like inventory management, sales & purchase, production management, and inventory management.
- The app also offers integration with other apps like Tally, Excel, Aftership, Busy ERP and Whatsapp.
💰Pricing:
- TranZact offers a free plan that includes all the features of its software, including a free mrp software for small businesses. The free plan is limited to five users and 30 transactions per month.
- TranZact also offers three paid plans: Small, Medium and Enterprise. These plans vary in the number of users, transactions, and features they allow.
4. Focus MRP
Developed by Focus Softnet, Focus MRP is designed for production units, plants, and supply-chain establishments. It includes features such as delivery date estimation, and finite and infinite capacity planning. They help businesses determine bottlenecks and provide increased control over business operations.
★ Features:
- GST-compliant MRP system
- Supply chain management
- Reporting
- Quotation management
- Equipment Servicing
- Warehouse management
👍Pros:
- User-friendly
- Dedicated quality control solutions
👎Cons:
- Complicated quoting process
- Lacks the option to view multi-level assemblies
☯Integration:
- Focus MRP provides integrated inventory management, production planning, quality control, maintenance management, and purchase management.
💰Pricing: Focus charges $30 per month for their MRP module, which comes with several integrations and functionalities.
5. ERPAG
ERPAG is a cloud-based MRP software for small businesses that manages and tracks inventory. It enables users to manage business operations tasks. This includes selling, ordering, and delivering. Some of its unique features are payroll, service administration, shipping management, user-access management, and barcode scanning.
★ Features:
- Inventory tracking
- Multilevel BOM
- Integrated invoicing & purchasing module
- Sales & CRM solution
- Shop Floor Control
👍Pros:
- Real-time order entry & reporting
- Offers automatic reordering functionality
👎Cons:
- Does not offer detailed production functionalities
- Not specifically designed for Indian SMEs
☯Integration:
- ERPAG offers integrations with services like Google Mail, Microsoft, Gdrive, UPS, FedEx, and more.
- It also supports e-commerce platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, Square, and Magento.
- Its POS system can be integrated with PayPal, Square and Stripe.
💰Pricing:
- ERPAG uses a pay-per-user per-month model. All of the plans are for 5 users. For every additional user, it charges $9 per month over the base fee.
- Basic Plan costs $99 per month for the first 3 months. The Professional Plan costs $99 per month. Advanced Plan starts at $199 per month.
Features of MRP system
An MRP software for small business is a complete software that helps you streamline manufacturing operations. Here are the key features an MRP offers that are essential for manufacturers:
1. Accurate MRP reporting: A small business MRP software offers real-time reporting functionalities. It does so by sourcing data as per sales orders, planned production orders, or based on specific finished goods. This helps to assess optimal levels of raw material. It makes sure your business never falls short of critical raw materials.
2. Production scheduling: This stage involves looking at production timelines, the required resources, and the labour you need to fulfil your manufacturing orders. It is essential to use production scheduling software that can create a defined timetable. It will help you make sure that you can order your supplies and receive them in time for production,
3. Purchase planning: One of the main features of MRP software for small businesses is providing the purchasing department with a clear insight into what materials are required to finish a work order, whether it has been ordered or is only forecasted currently. Therefore, manufacturers should look for an mrp for small manufacturing businesses with this feature.
4. Inventory management: To avoid potential inventory problems like manufacturing too many or too few items in the allotted time, accurate demand forecasting and inventory management are essential. By doing this, you'll be able to reduce the expense of keeping goods idle, and promptly complete orders.
How Does MRP Work?
MRP software for small businesses supports businesses in controlling inventory levels, scheduling production activities effortlessly, and managing labour and machine capacity, to meet estimated demand. It accomplishes this by addressing 3 important questions:
- What is needed to fulfil the order?
- What is the quantity required?
- When is it needed?
MRP software for small business answers these questions by breaking down the final finished product into individual subcomponents and identifying the quantities required to meet demand. It then interconnects with the order management and purchase modules to schedule the production or purchase of these components, taking into account lead times, inventory levels, and other constraints.
MRP vs ERP
MRP software for small businesses are primarily focused on planning and managing end-to-end requirements and resources for production purposes. They do this by regulating inventory and purchase processes. On the other hand, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems is an extension of the MRP system for small businesses. An ERP system oversees functions such as finance, procurement, warehousing, customer relationship, production, inventory and order management.
Streamline Materials Planning With Tranzact
Before deciding to use a new MRP software for small business, businesses must carefully assess all its benefits and drawbacks. TranZact is a cloud-based software that supports businesses in automating all key operations. Not only does it provide an automated MRP tool but also offers exceptional transactions, production and inventory management solutions for SME manufacturing businesses. Leave behind outdated MRP processes and switch to digitized materials planning with TranZact!
FAQs on MRP Software for Small Business
1. How much does MRP cost?
Costing for subscription-based MRP software can start from ₹ 4,000 per month. You must consider the number of customers, the quality of assistance provided, and any additional features offered as part of your base package when using a subscription model.
The best MRP software bases its prices on a variety of factors, such as the number of orders, the size of the company and more. However, TranZact offers all the features of an efficient material requirements planning system at a lesser cost. You may also sign up for free, explore all features with the free trial, and pay only when you're ready.
2. What is the best software for small manufacturing businesses?
TranZact is the best MRP for small businesses and Indian SMEs. Its MRP module aids small businesses in streamlining their purchasing, and production planning processes. With a single click, you get a complete view of the required materials as per the current stock and the already purchased raw materials on a centralized platform.
3. What is MRP software for the manufacturing industry?
MRP (Material Requirements Planning)software for the manufacturing industry is a system that plans the complete manufacturing production. It looks for the necessary materials and estimates quantities. Then, it determines when materials will be required to meet the production schedule.
4. Which is better MRP or ERP?
Both MRP and ERP have their advantages. MRP is focused only on manufacturing processes. This makes it suitable for small to medium-scale manufacturing businesses. ERP, on the other hand, is a broader solution. It includes HR, CRM, and accounting.
5. How to Choose the Right MRP software for your small manufacturing business?
When choosing the right MRP software for small business, follow these steps:
- Define your requirements
- Evaluate different options
- Check for user-friendlinessLook for integration capabilities
