Aerospace ERP software is a type of ERP software that specializes in aviation and defense manufacturing industries with quality and supply chain capabilities. You need a strategy to find the right solution for your company. We’re here to help.

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Our analysts took the time to drum up the best aerospace ERP software in the market. We’ve highlighted each product’s top features, benefits and limitations. We’ll also cover how to find the right solution that aligns with your needs and what buying considerations to think over when browsing different programs.

Table of Contents

• Best Aerospace ERP Software
  • SAP S/4HANA
  • Priority ERP
  • Acumatica
  • Dynamics 365 ERP
  • SYSPRO
• How To Choose the Right Software
• Purchasing Considerations
• Next Steps

Best Aerospace ERP Software

Our comprehensive list of the best aerospace solutions discusses the pros and cons of each platform. Let’s take a look.

SAP S/4HANA

This aerospace ERP software integrates with SAP HANA and uses AI and machine learning to automate tasks. It supervises assembly, engineering, quality management, finance, asset, sales and other workflows.

A preview of SAP S/4HANA’s interface.

Highest Rated Features According to Our Data

• Inventory Management — 100
• Procurement — 100
• Supply Chain Management — 100
• Analytics and Reporting — 99
• Finance and Accounting — 99

Top Benefits

• Access Real-time Mobility: Obtain personalized and role-based user experiences for mobile devices. This mobility allows you to check real-time data virtually anywhere.
• Pinpoint Trends and Bottlenecks: Evaluate large data sets in one centralized location for improved unity. Detect patterns, address obstacles and make more informed choices.
• Adjust Methods Accordingly: Perform quicker adaptions to market and industry changes with detailed analytics. Obtain real-time change notifications to always stay in the loop.
• Automate Repetitive Tasks: Access this solution’s AI and robot process automation (RPA) tools to perform recurring duties automatically. Automating tasks frees up time for you to focus on other analytical and client-facing tasks, boosting productivity.
• Reduce Mistakes: Automating data inputs and other tasks diminishes errors and improves accuracy. This enhanced precision saves time and money to repair issues while also boosting overall productivity.

Primary Features

• Inventory Management: Record all inventory details from product ID and notes to measurement units, categories and more. Adjust inventory levels by new products, shrinkages, marketing giveaways, damaged products and more.
• Procurement: Develop purchase orders according to inventory levels and replenishment formulas. Access pre-approved templates and legal clauses with primary party names, contract types, statuses, expiration dates and other parameters.
• Supply Chain Management: Leverage automatic logistics operations for full billing and general ledger entries for custom brokers, freight forwarders, warehouses and more. Use control tower dashboards to monitor risks, alerts, average late days and more.
• Analytics and Reporting: Obtain or create EHS, financial management, custom, HR and other reports. Develop custom dashboards to gather unique KPI data.
• Finance and Accounting: Generate budgets and add companies, cost centers, fiscal years and other vital components. Perform credit limits at order entries and invoicing processes.

Limitations

• Has long implementation processes.
• Some, but not all, modules have embedded analytics.

Features Not Fully Supported According to Our Data

• Service Management — Not Supported
• Project Management — Supported with Partner Integrations
• CRM — Not Supported
• Asset Management — Not Supported
• HR Management — Supported with Additional Modules

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Priority ERP

Priority ERP protects important information and streamlines duties to boost strategic growth protocols. Its automatic upgrades reduce maintenance and IT administration needs.

An example of Priority ERP’s interface. Source

Highest Rated Features According to Our Data

• CRM — 96
• Analytics and Reporting — 94
• Inventory Management — 90
• HR Management —89
• Procurement — 89

Top Benefits

• Gain Real-time Data: Access this solution on any device from virtually all locations. This mobility allows you to stay aware of changes as they happen so you don’t miss a beat.
• Upkeep Revenue: Supervise incoming and outgoing funds in real time for expense transparency. This transparency allows you to manage where your money goes at all times.
• Rate Deliveries and Drivers: Access real-time reports to review delivery and driver productivity, including failed delivery reasons, driver responses, photos of damaged goods, and more to push employee efficiency and accountability. You can also create automatic reports to supervise shipping processes.
• Perform Even Resources Distribution: Maximize pre-planning, scheduling and resource allocation to increase productivity and meet deadlines swiftly. Access calendars, load simulations and more to maintain all internal and external resources.
• Boost KPI Priorities: Draft reports with specific information categories and criteria to review the most important company information. Implement ranking reports to review the 10 best-selling products, regions or sales representatives to get enhanced perspectives.

Primary Features

• CRM: Furnish customers with account access and information, support cases and updates via the online self-service portal. Establish a product catalog with all merchandise and prices. You can also revise, clone, retire or delete products as needed.
• Analytics and Reporting: Save reports in HTML, PDF, Excel or Word formats. Share these reports with others and automate report delivery emails.
• Inventory Management: Define minimum and maximum order quantities, reorder points, lead times and more to determine replenishment amounts. Make specific stocks available or block them at different intervals. Some reservation benchmarks include dates, plants, order numbers and more.
• HR Management: Manage timesheets, procurement operations, personal information, pay stub access and more with employee self-service features. Use payroll management to define multiple pay groups, create overtime rules, current tax-rate tables, void released paychecks and more.
• Procurement: Produce purchase requests with forms that have statuses, requested dates, account dates, preparers and more. Delegate primary and secondary subsidiaries to vendor records.

Limitations

• Reporting is challenging.
• Lagging interface.

Features Not Fully Supported According to Our Data

• Asset Management — Not Supported
• Supply Chain Management — Supported with Partner Integrations
• Manufacturing — Not Supported
• Warehouse Management — Not Supported
• Order Management — Not Supported

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Acumatica

This aerospace ERP software can centralize purchases and give real-time full financial statuses. Merge general ledger, accounts payable and receivable, tax management and other features to showcase all bookkeeping information on all cylinders to keep everyone in the loop.

A preview of Acumatica’s eSign interface. Source

Highest Rated Features According to Our Data

• Inventory Management — 100
• Analytics and Reporting — 98
• Service Management — 98
• Finance and Accounting — 88
• Project Management — 87

Top Benefits

• Maintain International Partnerships: Manage transactions with numerous currencies to maintain international partnerships and business deals. You can also ensure that you align with other regions’ tax rules and compliances.
• Enhance Company Transparency: Craft personalized dashboards with real-time visibility on operations to reduce bottlenecks and increase efficiency. You also gain KPI data to make detailed decisions.
• Strengthen Company Revenue: Implement several automated tools to create tax reports and calculate gains and losses, allocated invoices and more. This automation allows you to focus on other high-priority responsibilities, increasing efficiency and revenue.
• Supervise Multiple Worksites: Gain financial and overall performance insights across numerous facilities via intricate centralization. This hub of worksites allows you to catch bottlenecks and make appropriate choices.
• Increase Tax Adherence: Follow and comply with numerous tax guidelines to avoid audits, fines and other consequences. Manage use, sales, withholdings and other tax types in one location instead of opening several windows simultaneously.

Primary Features

• Inventory Management: Activate cycle counting to classify stock options according to product IDs, categories, notes and more. Conduct inventory valuations for standard, specific, FIFO, costing and other methods.
• Analytics and Reporting: Access or create service, standard, warehouse management and procurement reports from scratch. Tailor data reports that apply to specific roles and share them with employees who have the right access permissions.
• Service Management: Enable clients to book appointments through contact centers, self-service portals or the mobile app. Determine ideal timeslots according to committed work, constraints, business rules and more.
• Finance and Accounting: Perform account balance reconciliations with bank statements for any anomalies with cash account, currency and reference number tools. Assess depreciation and amortization for tangible and intangible assets.
• Project Management: Review all project milestones, such as phase completions, material deliveries, work performed payments and more. Distribute resources according to skillset matching, scheduling, availability, workload and more.

Limitations

• Has a buggy interface.
• Long onboarding process.
• Negative customer experience support.

Features Not Fully Supported According to Our Data

• HR Management — Supported with Partner Integrations
• Supply Chain Management — Supported with Partner Integrations
• Asset Management — Not Supported
• Procurement — Supported with Partner Integrations
• Warehouse Management — Not Supported

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Dynamics 365 ERP

This aerospace ERP software is a suite of platforms to improve business workflows and gain more insights for better forecasting. Personalize customer interactions with automatic operations, streamline production and boost financial performance.

An example of Dynamics 365 ERP’s sales hub. Source

Highest Rated Features According to Our Data

• Inventory Management — 100
• Finance and Accounting — 99
• CRM — 99
• Project Management — 99
• Order Management — 96

Top Benefits

• Consolidate Information: Merge data from LinkedIn Sales Navigator to centralize information in one system. Data consolidation also makes for easier sharing across internal stakeholders, department heads and more.
• Sustain Customer Profiles: Track and showcase customer profiles with interactive organizational charts and profiles to maintain information. This capability can also serve as an opportunity to reward loyal clients and consumers with discounts and other prizes.
• Merge Operations: Conduct seamless operations in one system with integrated tools and mobile applications like SharePoint, Excel and more. You can also perform more accurate revenue and market estimates to garner more profits.
• Increase Visual Analyses: Use snapshots and flow graphics for more detailed assessments and pipeline monitoring to reduce obstacles and rectify issues before they expand into major problems. These visualizations also provide better insights instead of standalone spreadsheets and reports.
• Enhance Report Customizations: Tailor sales files with personalized colors and logos to promote your brand. You can also collaborate on documentation with other sellers.

Primary Features

• Inventory Management: Use serial and lot numbers for back and forward inventory tracking. Track quantities, costs, descriptions, units, shelf life, expiration dates and more.
• Finance and Accounting: Import bank and credit card data automatically to optimize cash flows, superintend accounts, govern liquidity and more. Evaluate late payments, review account receivables health, and monitor benchmarks for promises, total amounts due, work statuses, late days and more.
• CRM: Create and upload company and business unit profiles in one place. Use a unified view of account details, associated contacts, tickets, notes, communication history and billing information.
• Project Management: Bill projects according to completed tasks, hitting milestones or scheduled dates. Determine estimates, such as resourcing units, start and end dates, quantities, times scales, units and more.
• Order Management: Generate transfer orders with ship from branch, item numbers, ship to branch and other labels. Develop dropshipping purchase orders with ease.

Limitations

• Lagging interface.
• Outlook integrations are difficult to use.
• Consistent implementation errors and obstacles.

Features Not Fully Supported According to Our Data

• HR Management — Supported with Partner Integrations
• Asset Management — Supported with Partner Integrations
• Warehouse Management — Not Supported
• Service Management — Not Supported
• Manufacturing — Not Supported

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SYSPRO

Lastly, SYSPRO is an on-premise and cloud-based system that streamlines inventory management, lot traceability, manufacturing operations management, serial tracking
and more. It offers complete configurations, a simple interface and effective modules.

A preview of SYSPRO’s job list tool.

Highest Rated Features According to Our Data

• Finance and Accounting — 88
• Inventory Management — 88
• Project Management — 83
• Analytics and Reporting — 82
• Manufacturing — 81

Top Benefits

• Simplify Price Distributions: Provide modules, user numbers, deployment options, quantities and qualities with ideal, available pricing information for enhanced accuracy. This precision helps keep your products aligned with current market values.
• Expedite Order Operations: Execute automatic order-to-delivery workflows and gain total production visibility to meet customer fulfillment needs swiftly. You also increase client satisfaction.
• Make Better Product Estimates: Draft accurate sales trends and determine product revenue with in-depth sales analytics and pricing tools to measure successes from duds. You can also find the right markets for selling purposes.
• Enhance Quality Metrics: Allocate product design operations and confirm revised and new merchandise plans meet quality testing and approval regulations before distribution to boost high-quality goods. The better the quality, the more clients will keep looking to your business for their needs.
• Perform Thorough Inspections: Review products with abnormal chemical practices and record in-depth data to make better production choices. You can also determine if recipes need receipts, scrapings or revised quantities.

Primary Features

• Finance and Accounting: Maintain IFRS 16 and ASC 842 compliances across entire asset lifecycles. Track all vendor balances and pay or receive money in numerous currencies.
• Inventory Management: Block or make stocks available during specific timeframes. Establish minimum and maximum order quantities, reorder points, safety stock and more for replenishment formulas.
• Project Management: Distribute resources according to matched skillsets, scheduling, availability, workloads and more. Develop project estimates for start and end dates, time scales, units and other parameters.
• Analytics and Reporting: Draft or creat financial management, custom, inventory management, project and role-based reports. Export reports as PDFs, CSVs, XLSs or other file types.
• Manufacturing: Generate BOMs with parent items, components, attachments and other data. Develop job dispatch lists with priorities, locations, order numbers, deadlines and more.

Limitations

• Non-intuitive interface.
• Doesn’t offer in-built printed forms for purchase orders, invoices and sales orders.
• Custom reports are challenging to pull and run without IT support.

Features Not Fully Supported According to Our Data

• CRM — Not Supported
• Asset Management — Not Supported
• Order Management — Not Supported
• Supply Chain Management — Not Supported
• Warehouse Management — Not Supported

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How To Choose the Right Software

Finding the right software for your company can be as challenging as doing your grocery shopping without a list. If you don’t know what you’re looking for, you’re bound to get lost or overcome by unnecessary distractions. Lean Selection is our nine-step software selection process that helps you narrow down what you need in a new platform for any industry or company size.

Here’s a brief rundown of this nine-step methodology:

1. Establish: Ask why you need new software.
2. Collaborate: Develop an internal software selection committee of end users, stakeholders and more.
3. Define: Meet with your selection team to compile a requirements list of features.
4. Distribute: Review how potential vendors meet your requirements and shortlist them.
5. Justify: Ask your committee if you need new software, additional features for your current solution or to end the search.
6. Prove: Ask your shortlisted vendors for demos, use cases, proofs-of-concept (POCs) and more to exhibit their product’s capabilities.
7. Rank: Score and rank solutions according to their demos and TCOs.
8. Negotiate: Speak with and review your top vendor’s contract. Seek additional legal advice if necessary.
9. Sign: Finish negotiations and sign the contract. Then develop an implementation plan.

There are other ways to gauge if certain vendors are right for you. You can conduct research via online reviews, talk with colleagues, and even reach out to end users for their thoughts and opinions.

Purchasing Considerations

Take time to review some of these buying considerations when browsing for new programs. Some criteria include deployment options, company size and industry.

How big is your company?

Are you a mid-sized or enterprise-level organization? Do you have several locations across the globe or just one headquarters building in a metropolitan area? Most ERP systems cater to different company sizes. If you’re a small business looking to scale in the next 10 years, you can find solutions that accommodate numerous resources as you grow. Turns out, size does matter.

Which deployment option is best?

There are three deployment options to choose from: cloud, on-premise or hybrid. Each has its pros and cons.

Cloud deployment means the vendor hosts the software on third-party or internal servers. You can access the system on any internet-based device to gather real-time information quickly. If you don’t have internet, the system can’t effectively work. If vendor servers crash, the system won’t work, but this is a rare occurrence.

On-premise means you access the system on your company computers and servers. You can only access the system in one location. This option is more expensive because of tiered support levels (gold, platinum, diamond and more) and you’re responsible for upgrading the system.

Hybrid options merge the best of cloud and on-premise systems. It’s best to talk with your ideal software provider about this option because it varies.

Do you need add-on modules or new software?

Consider this: When your computer mouse is damaged, do you replace the mouse or the full computer? Most people replace the mouse.

This principle applies to software. If your current system meets your manufacturing, accounting and CRM needs, but lacks procurement tools, you can search for procurement modules that integrate with your current system, saving you tons of money.

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Next Steps

It’s vital to find a system that meets your company’s requirements and goals. We hope this article gave you some insight into the best aerospace ERP software, choosing the right system for your company and top purchasing factors that affect a solution’s TCO.

Ready to take the next step? Our free comparison report simplifies top market solution evaluations with in-depth analyses.

Which aerospace ERP software from our list is your top pick and why? What requirements are you looking for in a new solution? Let us know in the comments.