Top 10 Mid-sized Business ERP in 2022

Your problems will be different once you grow past $50 million in revenue. You can no longer survive with the ad-hoc planning and would require tighter integration of processes to grow to the next inflection point. While most people might not understand how startups and small companies may differ, mid-sized business ERP systems are uniquely different.

The mid-market companies, especially in the upper mid-market range when they might be closer to a $1B in revenue, often end up choosing one of the larger ERP systems such as SAP S/4 HANA or Oracle ERP Cloud. They do so as they might be looking up to some of their larger peers in their industry. But these larger solutions are designed for a specific purpose as they might require significant custom development and integration on top of the existing core. They might also be overly difficult with their workflows for most mid-market companies.

These companies can find much higher ROI with the solutions targeted for them than jumping on to the bigger one unless they truly need the larger globalized solution or financial control typically required for publicly-traded companies.

This article outlines the top 10 ERP systems for mid-size companies that should be part of your evaluation. To finalize this list, we have analyzed hundreds of ERP systems and their capabilities through publicly available information. The list also relies on our teams’ experience in evaluating these ERP systems for our customers.

The purpose of this article is not to recommend these ERP systems. Instead, you must carefully analyze your requirements and find a suitable product from this list or a list from your industry/market segment. 

Criteria:

1. Definition of mid-size organizations
   1. $50M-$1B in revenue or less than 1000 employees. Might be present in 4-10 countries. Getting the proper planning and scheduling is critical for growth. The integration of processes and systems is essential to plan and scale.
2. Overall market share/# of customers
   1. The higher the market share among the mid-market companies, the higher it ranks on our list.
3. Ownership/funding
   1. The more committed the management to the product roadmap for the mid-market, the higher it ranks on our list.
4. Quality of development: legacy vs. legacy dressed as modern vs. modern UX/cloud-native
   1. The more cloud-native capabilities, the higher it ranks on our list.
5. Community/Ecosystem
   1. The larger the community with a heavy presence from the mid-market companies, the higher it ranks on our list.
6. Depth of native functionality for specific industries
   1. The deeper the publisher-owned out-of-the-box functionality, the higher it ranks on our list.
7. Quality of publicly available product documentation
   1. The poorer the product documentation, the lower it ranks on our list. 
8. Mid-market market share and documented commitment of the publisher through financial statements
   1. The higher the focus on mid-market companies, the higher the ERP system ranks on our list.
9. Ability to natively support diversified business models
   1. The more diverse the product, the higher it ranks on our list.
10. Acquisition strategy aligned with mid-market
    1. The more aligned the acquisitions are with the mid-market, the higher it ranks on our list.
11. User Reviews
    1. The deeper the reviews from the mid-market companies, the higher the score for a specific product.
12. Must be an ERP product
    1. It can’t be an edge product such as QuickBooks, Freshbooks, Xero, Zendesk, HubSpot, or Salesforce. It also can’t be an add-on owned by ISVs or VARs that sits on top of other accounting platforms.

10. Unit4

Unit4 is an ERP system targeted at service-centric mid-market organizations. Unlike other ERP systems on this list, Unit4 has a robust human resources component built as part of its ERP system. The target market for Unit4 includes schools, public sector companies, and non-profits.

While many ERP systems might claim to be designed for the service-centric industries, such as FinancialForce, Sage Intacct, and Workday, Unit4 is the only one that has extremely deep functionality to support the operational processes of schools and public sector universities.

Unit4 competes with PeopleSoft, SAP S/4 HANA, Microsoft Dynamics F&O, and Workday. It has both enterprise and mid-market versions. Additionally, like other solutions on this list, Unit4 is a legacy vendor but they have rearchitected their solutions for the cloud world.

They are deeply penetrated in the European market. But, lately, they have also been winning in the North American market. Unit4’s revenue is closer to other similar focused mid-market companies such as Deltek, IFS, and QAD. They all are not in the 1+ billion clubs but much bigger than smaller companies such as Acumatica etc. For these reasons, Unti4 lands at #10 on our list of the top 10 mid-sized business ERP in 2022.

9. Plex

Plex is targeted at the mid-market automotive companies, including manufacturers and distributors supplying to the automotive market. It is widely adopted in the Toyota ecosystem and has extremely deep last-mile capabilities for the companies in this ecosystem. However, unlike other manufacturing solutions on this list, Plex is not as strong with its mixed-mode manufacturing capabilities. This limitation makes it extremely narrow in its focus. And it can’t be used by companies that may need support for diverse business models.

While Plex can support global organizations with its deep multi-entity capabilities, the accounting functionality is an afterthought. In addition, the accounting and finance functionality is weaker as the solution prioritizes plant operators’ perspectives. And this is probably the reason why companies install Plex along with SAP S/4 HANA and Workday for larger companies. These companies typically have the expertise and capital to afford the best of breed integrations. Mid-market companies, on the other hand, might get better value with focused solutions on this list than utilizing larger solutions integrated with a focused solution like Plex.

Moreover, Plex is similar in its positioning to Infor LN and IQMS. But Infor LN and IQMS have deeper functionality for the Honda ecosystem where Plex might be weaker. Finally, Plex started as a cloud-native company. So they are richer in their cloud-native functionality than other solutions on this list. For these reasons, Plex lands at #9 on our list of the top 10 mid-sized business ERP in 2022.

8. Epicor Kinetic

Epicor Kinetic is one of the strongest mixed-mode manufacturing ERP systems. Like Infor CloudSuite Industrial, it packages deep last-mile functionality. This functionality typically requires several add-ons with other vanilla products such as Microsoft Dynamics Business Central. But this last-mile functionality might still fall short in comparison to other focused solutions Plex, Infor LN, or IQMS. But that’s what makes it slightly more diverse and to be applicable in many manufacturing verticals and business models. 

However, Epicor Kinetic will still struggle with more complex manufacturing business models that might also perform distribution or construction. 

Epicor Kinetic is also not as global a solution as Infor CloudSuite Industrial. And just like Infor CSI, the finance and accounting function is an afterthought. It could be a problem for companies with deep financial control needs or Sarbanes-Oxley requirements. And they might use Epicor at the plant level while using other financially robust solutions such as SAP, Oracle, or Sage at the corporate level. For these reasons, Epicor Kinetic lands at #8 on our list of the top 10 mid-sized business ERP in 2022.

7. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central provides deep financial, distribution, and procurement functionality out-of-the-box. And it has profound globalization capabilities in more than 20 countries, similar to NetSuite. These capabilities make it ideal for companies that might be present in less than ten countries. It is also ideal for companies with tricky regulatory needs in countries that other solutions such as Infor CSI or Epicor P21 might not support.

Unlike other focused solutions such as Infor CSI, Epicor P21, IFS, QAD, and Deltek, MS BC is a diverse solution that can fit several business models. But it will require add-ons or custom development for industry-specific functionality. MS BC also has deep distribution functionality that allows companies to plan their DCs and supply chain networks. They might do it in different configurations where they employ hub-and-spoke or regionalized DC for their supply chain planning.

While the core solution has deeper distribution functionality, the mobile app is not as robust as some of the other competing solutions, such as NetSuite. It might require an add-on for the WMS-specific features. While MS BC wasn’t born in the cloud, Microsoft has completely rearchitected it to be a cloud-native solution with native support for oData and web services, just like SAP cloud products. Also, due to its design, FMCG distributors and retail companies might relate to MS BC products more than industrial distributors. For these reasons, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central lands at #7 on our list of the top 10 mid-sized business ERP in 2022.

6. Infor CloudSuite Industrial

Infor CloudSuite Industrial is one of the strongest mixed-mode discrete manufacturing solutions targeted to manufacturing OEMs with complex BOMs, highly configurable and engineered products, and regulated industries. Unlike Epicor Kinetic, Infor CSI is more globalized and has deep multi-entity capabilities like Plex, QAD, or NetSuite.

Infor CSI can offer best-of-breed integrations with other specialized products in Infor’s portfolio, such as Infor CRM, WMS, and EAM. Unlike some of the other focused solutions on this list, such as Plex, QAD, and IQMS, Infor CSI is slightly more diverse for various manufacturing situations. While Infor CSI wasn’t born in the cloud, it has been rearchitected to be a cloud solution. But it’s not as cloud-native as MS BC or NetSuite as of today due to the underlying technical limitations and product design. While Infor CSI offers mobile forms, it doesn’t offer the same mobile app experience as NetSuite today.

For these reasons, Infor CloudSuite Industrial lands at #6 on our list of the top 10 mid-sized business ERP in 2022.

5. NetSuite

Unlike other products in the cloud-native category, such as Acumatica and Sage Intacct, NetSuite offers extremely deep globalization and localization capabilities with native support for more than 20 countries. In addition, unlike other similar products in the mid-market, such as MS Dynamics 365 Business Central and SAP Business ByDesign, NetSuite offers a lot of WMS capabilities as part of the suite for which you will require an add-on. NetSuite also has native support for matrix-based inventory and subscription-based business models.

Unlike other focused solutions such as Epicor Kinetic and Infor CSI, NetSuite may not have as deep manufacturing capabilities for complex and regulated manufacturing organizations. It will also require an add-on for the last-mile functionality. But NetSuite is likely to be richer in its finance and accounting functionality than other manufacturing-focused solutions.  

For these reasons, NetSuite lands at #5 on our list of the top 10 mid-sized business ERP in 2022.

4. Sage X3

Sage X3 has a unique positioning in the market and is targeted primarily at the process, agriculture, and food & beverage companies. Unlike most companies on this list that are primarily discrete manufacturing solutions, Sage X3 offers extremely deep functionality for process-centric industries, including native support for formulation and potency management, use-by-date, sub-lots, and food traceability features.

Also, unlike other solutions such as Plex, Infor CSI, and Epicor Kinetic, which started as MRP solutions, Sage X3 offers profound finance functionality. The other vanilla finance solutions may require significant development or add-ons on top of their core ERP functionality to manage these critical features for food and beverage companies.

Unlike NetSuite, Sage X3 wasn’t born in the cloud. But it has been rearchitected for the cloud-native architecture like Infor CSI or Epicor Kinetic. For these reasons, Sage X3 lands at #4 on our list of the top 10 mid-sized business ERP in 2022.

3. Deltek

Deltek is a solution widely adopted by construction, government contractors, and architectural and engineering firms. The construction companies are unique with their business processes as they don’t have as much transaction volume as product-centric companies. But they have a deeper need for multi-entity functionality with a quick ability to consolidate, eliminate, and reconcile the financial statements across entities.

Unlike other similar focused solutions such as QAD, Plex, Epicor Kinetic, and Infor CSI, Deltek has been adopted by much larger consulting firms and has logos as big as AWS and Booz Allen Hamilton. Additionally, unlike other similar solutions positioned for construction and GovCon industries, such as Sage Intacct or Oracle ERP Cloud, Deltek is likely to offer extremely deep last mile functionality for government contractors. This functionality includes DCAA compliance that might require custom development or add-on on top of Sage Intacct or Oracle ERP Cloud.

Like QAD, IFS, Plex, or Sage X3, Deltek is not as diverse a solution as NetSuite, limiting its focus to specific industries. It might also struggle with companies with hybrid business models such as manufacturing and government contracting. In addition, Deltek is currently with one of the largest private equity companies Thoma Bravo, which also owns QAD and Anaplan as part of its portfolio. For these reasons, Deltek lands at #3 on our list of the top 10 mid-sized business ERP in 2022.

2. QAD

QAD is manufacturing ERP targeted for upper-mid-sized companies with deep supply chain needs, such as Automotive. While QAD may not have as deep last mile functionality for Honda or Toyota ecosystems like Plex, Infor LN, it has much deeper international trade and TMS capabilities that might be a priority for companies heavy in the supply chain.

QAD is also deeply globalized and has rich support for multi-entity functionality like Plex or Infor CSI. While QAD wasn’t born in the cloud, it has been completely rearchitected as the cloud-native solution and offers one of the easiest configuration capabilities to customize screens and layout. While QAD is not as diversified as NetSuite or other manufacturing-centric solutions, it can provide deeper functionality for specific industries. The other larger solutions, such as SAP S/4 HANA, Oracle Cloud ERP, and Microsoft Dynamics 365 F&O, would require significant development to have the same last-mile capabilities as QAD.

Also, QAD has been developing deeper eCommerce capabilities for Automotive OEMs to support marketplaces, etc. For these reasons, QAD lands at #2 on our list of the top 10 mid-sized business ERP in 2022.

1. IFS

Like QAD, Deltek, and Sage X3, IFS has a unique position in the market, with its target market being mid-size utility, oil and gas, MRO, airline, and large equipment service companies. IFS has extremely deep features for these companies with the ability to fulfill and service a line item on a service order completely before closing the order. The order line level payment terms and fulfillment capabilities are typically found in much larger solutions such as SAP S/4 HANA or Oracle ERP Cloud.

Unlike other legacy solutions that might struggle with cloud-native experience, IFS has superior UX to provide a cloud-native experience like QAD or Plex. It has deep support for multi-entity capabilities where other smaller solutions might struggle. It also has deep enterprise asset management and field service capabilities typically found in enterprise-grade solutions. The other solutions that might be financial-focused may not be as rich with their capabilities for companies in the airline and large equipment ecosystems.

IFS is owned by one of the largest private equity companies EQT, which also has Acumatica in its portfolio. For these reasons, IFS lands at #1 on our list of the top 10 mid-sized business ERP in 2022.

Conclusion

Mid-market companies are unique and typically at an inflection point where they might be tempted to choose a much larger solution such as SAP S/4 HANA or Oracle ERP Cloud. But these larger solutions run a risk of low adoption due to their complex workflows and unnecessary setup requirements that mid-market companies might not need just yet.

So if you are a mid-market company, make sure you exhaust the options available for the mid-market before riding the kool-aid of going for the largest solution. And hopefully, this list can help you narrow down some of those options for you.

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