Lumina
Inventory planning software

The 6 best Inventory Planner (by Sage) alternatives for scaling brands in 2026

Inventory Planner is feature-rich and battle-tested — but it's also rigid, dated, and you adapt to it more than it adapts to you. Here are the modern alternatives worth shortlisting, ranked honestly by fit and trade-off.

Updated May 2026By Oana Bradulet, Founder, Lumina
The short version

Inventory Planner is the safe legacy pick. It is not the best pick for a scaling brand in 2026.

  • Inventory Planner has been around since 2012 and the engine works — but the product shows its age in the UX, the configuration overhead, and how rigidly it expects you to slot into its workflow.
  • Since the Sage acquisition in 2021, the independent product velocity has slowed. New connectors, AI features, and modern planning workflows have lagged the rest of the market.
  • Scaling consumer brands (£5–£30M, Shopify + Amazon + retail) usually want a tool that adapts to their stack and ships fast — not one that demands an analyst learns its quirks for three months.
  • Lumina is the closest like-for-like modern alternative: AI forecasting + replenishment + cash flow, plug-and-play with Shopify, Amazon, Unleashed, Xero, and 3PLs, live in a week. If you're Shopify-only and small, look at Cogsy or Prediko. If you want a full IMS, look at Cin7.
"We spent six weeks just learning where everything lived in Inventory Planner. Then we hit a custom rule we couldn't model and gave up."
— Head of Ops, DTC consumer brand at £12M, Shopify + Amazon

How the top Inventory Planner alternatives compare

 Lumina
Recommended
Cin7PredikoCogsyNetStock
Best forScaling DTC + omnichannel brands £5–30MMulti-channel sellers wanting an IMS firstDTC brands wanting forecasting onlySmaller Shopify-native DTC teamsERP-led distributors / manufacturers
Demand forecastingAI forecasting across SKU, channel, regionLite — secondary to inventory opsAI forecasting (forecasting-only)Solid baseline forecastingStatistical forecasting, ERP-bound
Replenishment & POsAutomated POs with lead time + MOQ logicBasic PO managementPO suggestions, no full PO opsPO suggestions, lighter logicMature PO automation, ERP-bound
Cash flow & supplier paymentsBuilt in — supplier ledger + cash impactLimitedNot in scopeNot coreLives in the ERP
Multi-channel (Shopify + Amazon + retail)Native — built for omnichannelStrong (it's an IMS)Shopify-firstShopify-firstPossible via ERP layer
Modern UX & onboardingClean, guided, live in a weekFunctional, IMS-styleModern and lightweightClean Shopify-native UXDated, planner-led
Time to live~1 week guided onboarding1–3 months (it replaces an IMS)1–2 weeks1–2 weeks2–6 months
Starting price (indicative)From £59/user/mo + modular add-onsFrom ~$349/moFrom ~$119/moFrom ~$129/moQuote-only (£15k–£50k+/yr)
1

Lumina

Best for scaling brands

AI demand and inventory planning built for scaling consumer brands. Picks up where spreadsheets break, without forcing you into a rigid legacy workflow. Forecasts demand, automates replenishment, and surfaces cash flow risk in one connected platform.

Best for
Fast-scaling DTC, omnichannel, and FMCG brands £5–30M turnover, multi-channel (Shopify + Amazon + retail), with outsourced manufacturing and 3PLs.
Pricing
From £59/user/mo + modular add-ons. 1 week to onboard.
Strengths
  • AI forecasting that handles seasonality, promo spikes, and multi-channel demand without manual model tuning
  • Automated replenishment with lead time + MOQ logic and supplier visibility
  • Cash flow and supplier-payment view alongside inventory — not in a separate tool
  • Connects directly to Shopify, Amazon, Unleashed, Xero, Cin7, and 3PL exports
  • Modular: start with the workflow that hurts most, layer in the rest later
  • Live in a week with guided onboarding — no consultants, no implementation budget
Trade-offs
  • Built for £5M+ scaling brands — overkill for very small Shopify shops
  • Not a full IMS replacement (sits on top of Cin7, Unleashed, NetSuite, etc.)
Who should still pick Lumina
You've outgrown your spreadsheet, looked at Inventory Planner, and walked away because the UX felt like SAP from 2014. You want a planning tool that respects your stack, your team's time, and your cash position — without a quarter-long onboarding.
2

Cin7

Inventory management system (IMS) with some demand and replenishment functionality bolted on. Often shortlisted by brands that want both inventory ops and lite planning in one place.

Best for
Multi-channel sellers without an IMS yet, who want one tool for record-keeping and basic planning.
Pricing
From ~$349/mo
Strengths
  • Genuine IMS — handles SKUs, warehouses, channels, and B2B/retail orders
  • Strong multi-channel coverage (Shopify, Amazon, retailers, B2B)
  • Replaces several lower-end tools at once
Trade-offs
  • Forecasting and replenishment are secondary — not a planning-first product
  • Implementation typically takes 1–3 months
  • Brands often pair Cin7 with a dedicated planning tool (like Lumina) anyway
Who should still pick Cin7
You don't have an IMS yet, you're picking foundational ops infrastructure, and you're willing to add a planning layer later as you scale.
3

Prediko

AI-first demand forecasting tool built specifically for DTC. Modern and easy to start with — but narrow in scope. Forecasting and PO suggestions only.

Best for
Shopify-first DTC brands that want a forecasting layer they can self-serve onto, and don't yet need supplier ops or cash flow.
Pricing
From ~$119/mo
Strengths
  • AI forecasting tuned for DTC seasonality and promo cycles
  • Lightweight, modern UX, quick to set up
  • Reasonable price for forecasting-only
Trade-offs
  • No cash flow, supplier payments, or full inventory ops
  • Becomes simplistic once operations get complex (multiple warehouses, channels, suppliers)
  • Shopify-centric — weaker for Amazon, retail, B2B
Who should still pick Prediko
You're Shopify-only, under £5M, and want a focused forecasting bolt-on. You're not ready to pay for a full planning suite and your inventory ops still live comfortably in spreadsheets.
4

Cogsy

Shopify-native demand and replenishment tool with a clean interface. Best known for being approachable for non-planner ops teams.

Best for
Smaller Shopify DTC brands (£1–5M) with simple supply chains, a small team, and a focus on ease over depth.
Pricing
From ~$129/mo
Strengths
  • Easy to set up and use — short learning curve
  • Good for founder-led ops teams without a dedicated planner
  • Decent baseline forecasting for a Shopify-only catalogue
Trade-offs
  • Shopify-first; not built for Amazon-heavy or retail-heavy brands
  • Lighter on forecasting depth, multi-warehouse, and B2B workflows
  • Not designed for outsourced manufacturers or complex supplier ops
Who should still pick Cogsy
You're a Shopify-only brand under £5M, you have one or two warehouses, and you want to graduate from a spreadsheet without a six-month onboarding.
5

NetStock

Mature demand and replenishment platform built for ERP-led distributors. Strong product, but assumes you already run a mid-market ERP and have a planning team to operate it.

Best for
Distributors and manufacturers £100M+ already running NetSuite, SAP Business One, Acumatica, or similar ERPs.
Pricing
Quote-only (£15k–£50k+/yr)
Strengths
  • Strong statistical forecasting on stable, distribution-style data
  • Mature PO automation tied to ERP master data
  • Credible enterprise track record
Trade-offs
  • Requires a mid-market ERP underneath — wrong shape for scaling DTC
  • 2–6 month implementations through partner consultancies
  • Cash flow, supplier payments, and omnichannel revenue sit outside the tool
Who should still pick NetStock
You're a £100M+ distributor or manufacturer with an existing ERP, a planning team, and the budget for a multi-month rollout. If that's not you, skip.
6

Spreadsheets

Free, flexible, and the default starting point for almost every brand. Worth saying out loud: most teams don't switch from spreadsheets because spreadsheets are bad — they switch because the cost of a single mistake outgrew the tool.

Best for
Pre-£5M brands with one channel, a single planner, and a supply chain simple enough to model in a workbook.
Strengths
  • Free and infinitely customisable
  • Everyone on your team already knows them
  • No vendor onboarding to manage
Trade-offs
  • Manual rework consumes hours per week as SKU count and channels grow
  • Single mistakes cost £50k+ in overstock or stockouts
  • No live connections to Shopify, Amazon, ERPs, or 3PLs
  • No automation, no audit trail, no exception flagging
Who should still pick Spreadsheets
You're early-stage, single-channel, and a planning tool would cost more in onboarding time than it would save this quarter. Revisit when complexity bites.

How we evaluated these alternatives

We chose the five paid alternatives based on the tools brands actually shortlist when they look up 'Inventory Planner alternatives' — confirmed against 28 customer interviews across DTC, FMCG, and multi-brand consumer companies. We scored each on six criteria. We're upfront that Lumina is our product; we've tried to be fair to every other tool here, and we'd rather lose the deal to the right alternative than win it to the wrong one.

Demand forecasting depth
Accuracy across seasonality, promo cycles, and multi-channel demand patterns — and how much manual tuning it takes to get there.
Replenishment & supplier ops
PO automation, lead-time and MOQ handling, supplier payment visibility.
Flexibility vs rigidity
How well the tool adapts to your stack and workflow — versus how much your team has to learn its quirks.
Time to value
Days from kickoff to a planner trusting the system enough to run a real PO from it.
Integration footprint
Direct connections to ERPs (Unleashed, Cin7, NetSuite), accounting (Xero, QuickBooks), and 3PLs.
Total cost of ownership
License + implementation + the analyst time still spent in spreadsheets after go-live.

Frequently asked questions

See whether Lumina is a fit in 30 minutes

Book a demo. We'll walk through your stack, show you the planning workflow against your real data, and tell you honestly if Lumina is the right call — or if one of the alternatives on this list fits you better.