Learn from other buyers’ budgets, feature needs, and pain points to aid your manufacturing software search.
Fifty-four percent of manufacturers plan to increase tech spending by at least 10% in 2024, according to our SMB Tech Trends Survey.*
As a result, finding the ideal manufacturing software tailored to your business's unique requirements is crucial to streamlining manufacturing operations. Each year, Capterra software advisors speak with thousands of business decision-makers to diligently assist them in evaluating and selecting the most suitable manufacturing software solutions for their business.
We’ve mined those conversations for insights about budgets, feature needs, and pain points to aid your software search.
/ Key insights
Many businesses rely on spreadsheets, accounting, and ERP tools for their day-to-day manufacturing operations, but they need dedicated manufacturing software.
Businesses are switching to manufacturing software to improve efficiency (32%), functionality (32%), and reliability (10%).
Average buyer budgets range from $174 to $230 per user, per month.
First-time buyers often request generic manufacturing software features such as material requirements planning, which prove less critical to teams using the software.
Businesses find spreadsheets and accounting and ERP tools convenient for day-to-day manufacturing operations
When our advisors asked buyers what methods they were currently using to handle their manufacturing needs, only a fifth said they currently use specific manufacturing software. In other words, 62% (more than half) of businesses still use other software such as accounting and ERP tools. However, a significant chunk, i.e., 55% among these, use accounting software such as QuickBooks and Sage 50 to manage their business financial records. Besides this, our advisors observed buyers also use generic software such as spreadsheets or manual methods to handle their regular manufacturing operations. However, these spreadsheets and accounting tools don’t meet manufacturing teams’ requirements as well as dedicated manufacturing software does.
Buyers might have found these accounting tools sufficient for their needs in the early stages of their business. For example, accounting software helps track costs, generate financial reports, and analyze profitability while spreadsheets can record and track inventory.
Over time, as businesses expanded and their manufacturing operations became more complex, they realized that the software they were using had limitations. They encountered challenges such as a lack of advanced features and functionalities required for efficient production scheduling, materials planning, and quality control. Also, buyers struggled to handle the increased data volume, complexity, and interdependencies between different tools that come with the growth of a manufacturing business. Accounting and ERP software did not provide the necessary scalability to accommodate expanding production lines, increasing inventory levels, or changing supply chain dynamics.
As a result of these challenges, buyers recognized the need for dedicated manufacturing software specifically designed for manufacturing operations with specialized features such as scheduling, inventory tracking, quality control, supply chain integration, and real-time analytics.
These tools provide more accurate and efficient ways to manage complex manufacturing processes, streamline workflows, and improve overall productivity.
Pro tip: Create a shortlist of potential software options that align with your manufacturing needs and budget. Request demos and trials from software vendors to evaluate their capabilities firsthand.
Businesses are switching to manufacturing software to improve efficiency, functionality, and reliability
Businesses say there are three main reasons to switch from the current manufacturing systems to another tool:
Our advisors’ conversations present practical instances that exemplify the challenges faced by businesses operating without appropriate manufacturing software solutions. These challenges can be summarized as follows:
Inefficiency can hinder operational effectiveness and productivity, leading businesses to seek more streamlined and efficient solutions. Businesses struggling with manual data entry and a lack of automated workflows find managing their production processes time-consuming and error-prone. This inefficiency not only slows down their operations but also increases the risk of errors and delays, hindering their overall productivity.
Absence of critical functionalities tailored to specific operational needs can significantly hinder companies from maximizing their manufacturing capabilities and achieving optimal performance. For instance, businesses using basic accounting software to manage their manufacturing operations face challenges in inventory tracking. The absence of features for real-time inventory management, demand forecasting, and automated replenishment makes it difficult to maintain optimal stock levels. As a result, they often experience stockouts, excess inventory, or missed sales opportunities.
Reliability is a critical factor in selecting manufacturing software. Buyers seek a replacement for their existing manufacturing tools as they experience frequent system failures, data inconsistencies, or lack of timely support. Unreliable software disrupts operations, compromises data integrity, and results in costly downtime for their businesses.
Pro tip: Prioritize setting up demos or trying out free software or trial versions to assess tool functionalities and suitability for your specific manufacturing needs.
Average buyers’ budgets range from $186 to $228 per user, per month
The budget for purchasing manufacturing software varies for business segments such as metal fabrication, job shops, and consumer products, based on factors such as organization size, the number of users, and the specific features and functionalities required.
However, the overall average budget businesses are willing to allocate for manufacturing software is $221 per user, per month.
The chart below highlights the average buyer budget per user, per month for the top five industries that seek manufacturing software.
Manufacturing segments seek distinct software features tailored to their specific needs. For example, in sectors such as metal fabrication and industrial machinery sectors, budget allocation encompasses equipment, raw materials, and skilled labor.
Job shops, offering specialized manufacturing services, allocate funds for machinery maintenance, staff training, and order management systems.
In the food and beverage segment, budgets are dedicated to product development, packaging, and marketing, considering factors such as food safety regulations. Similarly, in the consumer products industry, budgets cover research, design, production, and marketing expenses.
Pro tip: Ask the software vendor to help you calculate an accurate total cost of ownership for the software tool to be purchased.
Buyers seek material requirements planning features, but users rate financial accounting and quality management as most critical
Businesses assessing new manufacturing software typically prioritize manufacturing requirements planning (MRP), manufacturing execution system (MES), and financial management. However, it is important to question whether these features are the right ones to focus on.
To shed light on this, we looked at software reviews—Capterra has 50,000+ manufacturing software reviews—to find out what actual manufacturing software users found the most critical (software features based on the ratings given by verified software users) in their daily work.
Additionally, 80% of buyers seek manufacturing execution system features; however, examining reviews from actual software users underscores its criticality as low.
Buyers are typically responsible for making purchasing decisions based on the organization's needs and requirements. They seek MRP features in manufacturing software because MRP helps in managing and optimizing the materials and resources required for production. It enables efficient inventory management, production planning, and scheduling. Moreover, they want to ensure that the software can effectively handle the complex logistics and supply chain aspects of manufacturing.
Users, such as production managers, accountants, and quality control personnel, work with the manufacturing software on a day-to-day basis. From their perspective, financial accounting and quality management features are often considered more critical. Accurate financial accounting is crucial to track costs, manage budgets, and ensure compliance with financial regulations. Users who handle accounting functions prioritize software that can seamlessly integrate with their existing financial systems, generate comprehensive financial reports, and provide real-time insights into the financial health of manufacturing operations.
Maintaining high-quality standards is essential for manufacturing organizations to deliver products that meet customer expectations. Users responsible for quality management prioritize software that supports quality control processes, enables tracking and traceability of materials, facilitates quality inspections, and provides tools for corrective and preventive actions. Robust quality management features are vital to ensure product consistency, reduce defects, and meet regulatory requirements.
Pro tip: Use this downloadable template to make sure software features don’t fall short of your required functionality.
More resources for your software search
Whether you’re looking to buy new manufacturing software or replace your existing tool, here are some additional resources to aid your software search:
Start with our interactive manufacturing software directory to compare hundreds of products, filter your search by specific features, and read comprehensive reviews from SMB leaders.
Check out top-rated manufacturing software based on user ratings and popularity in the 2023 Manufacturing Software Shortlist.
Review our manufacturing software pricing guide and buyers guide to compare tools and better understand the market.
Buyer demographics
The buyers we interacted with are by and large small businesses and below you’ll find the demographics of the buyers so you can see the size and type of businesses, from annual revenue to industry.
