Cin7 vs. Brightpearl

Ease of use is the one area where Cin7 doesn’t perform as well as its competitors. While the dashboard itself is relatively straightforward, the sheer number of features and tools, along with a myriad of configuration options, makes getting to grips with Cin7 a bit of a chore. Onboarding an entire team is even more of a hassle.

In its defence, Cin7 makes up for this shortcoming by offering superlative customer support and a dedicated onboarding manager for larger companies. There is an ample collection of video and written tutorials.

"It can be overwhelming. When you first land in Cin 7 there are so many buttons and options that it can overwhelm you, especially if you are new to inventory management."

“There is an expectation to learn and adapt, much the same as with any stock and business the executives stage this thoroughly. Cin7 has incredible help and documentation to assist to relieve this.”

“The implementation does take a while and there is a lot to think about how you set it up for longer term growth.”

Brightpearl is something of a mixed bag when it comes to ease of use. While the interface itself is relatively straightforward, and much more intuitive than some competitors we’ve tried, configuring settings can be cumbersome.

Tasks like creating listings, batching products, and setting up integrations, for example, require numerous manual steps.

There is a little bit of a learning curve for new users. That said, Brightpearl offers high-quality support and extensive documentation, along with the option of dedicated training.

"While Bright Pearl is easy to use, sometimes the amount of manual steps you have to take with some of the processes are tedious."

"Sometimes you have to do things by the book and can't cut corners in processes."

"Really easy to learn and manage."

Cin7 is a cloud-based browser app, so you don’t have to handle any backend tasks yourself. Users have expressed a small number of concerns relating to technical errors. But on the whole, Cin7 is quick to remedy any bugs, and the quality of support is very high.

Unfortunately, Cin 7 doesn’t offer a mobile app, so you’ll only be able to complete tasks from a desktop computer. You can use third-party tools that integrate with Cin7 that do have mobile apps, however. So, depending on your needs, some smartphone access may be possible.

On the training front, Cin7 provides a dedicated onboarding manager to help get businesses on enterprise plans up and running as quickly as possible. While there aren’t any long-term account managers, the quality and speed of support going forward are good, and there is an extensive library of training resources.

So what about analytics? Cin7 has extensive reporting facilities to streamline tasks like forecasting, restocking, inventory management, warehouse space allocation, and so on. Automation features enable retailers to take advantage of “smart insights” without having to crunch huge quantities of data.

Finally, Cin7 has implemented a number of security measures to safeguard sensitive data and ensure GDPR compliance. All team-members have unique logins (shared logins are not supported) and data is encrypted using “Transparent Data Encryption” or “TDE”. End-to-end encryption is available.

As a cloud-based solution geared towards larger companies, Brightpearl has an extensive array of features along with high-level reporting and inventory management tools. We couldn’t find anything major that was missing.

Brightpearl operates according to a “modular” pricing structure, so users can choose which kinds of functionality they want to pay for. In the longer-term, this may prove more cost-effective than opting for a one-size-fits-all plan.

Unusually for an inventory management app, Brightpearl also has CRM capabilities, making it possible to store and manage client details and send out notifications.

The only downsides were the lack of a mobile app and a somewhat limited selection of marketplace integrations (although this is offset somewhat by intermediary connectors like SPS Commerce). We also felt that some essential features, like POS, were omitted from the plan for smaller retailers.

In terms of order, inventory, and shipping management, Brightpearl includes multiple tools for dealing with high sales volume, including automated fulfilment rules. Users can also take advantage of multi-location and multi-currency inventory control, and warehouse features like barcode scanning.

The analytics centre allows for the creation of a variety of advanced reports covering channel-specific performance, demand forecasting, customer analysis, and more.

Finally, Brightpearl has a range of offerings for companies experiencing fast growth, including the option to move over to dedicated secure servers.

Cin7 excels on the integrations front. Large companies that want to build a fully synced and integrated tech stack will struggle to find a solution that offers more options.

Cin7 integrates with over 450 third-party apps, spanning areas like accounting, sales and marketing, shipping, logistics, analytics and more.

It’s compatible with all the main ecommerce platforms, including Magento, WooCommerce, Shopify, and BigCommerce. Equally, a broad array of marketplaces are covered, including but not limited to Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Walmart, and Wayfair. EDI (electronic data interchange) links with companies like ACE Hardware, Accent, and Amazon Dropship are also offered.

A wide host of marketing tools (Salesforce, Mailchimp, Capsule, etc.) are supported, along with a complete selection of payment processors for managing transactions according to your preferences.

Finally, Cin7 provides a software developer kit (REST API) and is compatible with intermediary tools like APICAL, which is great for situations when a direct integration is not offered.

So far, so good, right? But there is one note of caution that needs to be sounded. While it’s evident that Cin7 has put a lot of effort into building out its library of integrations, it shouldn’t be taken as a given that they will all be included in whatever plan you opt for (“Starter”, “Momentum”, or “Advanced”). Cin7 doesn’t operate a straightforward tiered subscription model, opting for custom pricing instead. Users have mentioned in reviews that Cin7 sometimes charges extra for certain integrations.

While the Brightpearl integrations library is good, we weren’t absolutely blown away by it. For an enterprise platform of this sort, we expected to see more native marketplace integrations and support for a wider selection of ecommerce platforms.

As a retailer, you will likely find everything that you need. And even when in-house integrations aren’t offered, third-party connectors make up for the gaps in functionality. Just make sure you check out what’s on offer before you purchase. Large companies will be pleased to hear that Quickbooks, Xero, and Avalara are all supported on the accounting front. Brightpearl also integrates with the desktop version of Quickbooks.

In terms of ecommerce platforms, Shopify, Shopify Plus, Magento, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, and NuORDER are all covered.

Native integrations with third-party marketplaces Amazon, eBay, Walmart, Jet, and Newegg are provided. On the surface, this looks somewhat paltry for a dedicated omnichannel solution. And while this is true to an extent, SPS Commerce and CommerceHub significantly extend marketplace functionality. Brightpearl is built to work well with both of these integrations.

Finally, a wide range of shipping connectors is provided, including ShipStation, Hermes, DHL, Royal Mail, FedEx, UPS, Parcel Force, and others. Unlike many competitors, the selection of shipping integrations caters to UK as well as US retailers.

Cin7 is a touch towards the pricey side but not overly so. Rather than charge a set amount for each of the three different packages - “Starter”, “Momentum”, and “Advanced” - Cin7 works on a custom subscription model. You will need to get in touch directly to discuss pricing.

Plans start at $299/month. This price-tag will likely be too high for smaller retailers, who will find alternatives like TradeGecko or Handshake more suitable. For enterprise solutions, however, Cin7 has positioned itself competitively. And, depending on your needs, it may be the most financially-viable option (due to the custom subscription structure). Keep in mind that plans from enterprise competitor Skubana start at $999/month.

Brightpearl operates a custom pricing model and doesn’t publish exact figures on its site. You’ll need to get in touch directly for a quote.

Broadly speaking, there are two plans available, although various levels of customization are available. The first plan is for retailers processing under 1500 orders per month; the second is for retailers with orders in excess of 1500 per month.

The first plan allows for five channels and five users, while the second allows for an unlimited number of both users and channels. Warehouse management and POS is only available on the higher-priced plan. No free trial is explicitly offered but it may be possible to organize one.

Support from Cin 7, which is via phone and through tickets, is excellent. Numerous reviewers attest to the quality and speed. Cin7 has also committed to continuously improve its customer service, and intends to add 24/7 availability and live chat to its support package.

Users can also choose to access a dedicated onboarding manager who will be available during the often-tricky transition period. This one-on-one help is a big plus for companies that need to train staff quickly. Cin7 has also built an extensive training library.

The one downside is that even the highest-priced enterprise plans don’t come with a dedicated support specialist after the initial set-up period.

Brightpearl has an excellent support package. Companies in the UK and US will benefit from dedicated customer service teams in their own countries. There’s no limit to the number of technical requests that users can make.

Phone support is available sixteen hours a day. During the remaining eight hours, users can take advantage of 24/7 email support, with an average 26 minute response time.

Brightpearl also offers extensive documentation and training videos, along with access to a community of users. Companies that need extra training, whether in relation to sales order management, accounting, or the use of integrations, can purchase additional support packages.

Cin7 has many excellent features, including industry-leading customer support, extensive functionality (covering all areas of inventory management), and a large library of integrations for a seamlessly connected tech stack.

It’s definitely an enterprise-level solution and will appeal to retailers that are selling in excess of 5000 units per month (as a minimum). Smaller store-owners will likely benefit from a lower-priced platform. Plans start at $299/month, which is about mid-range for this type of software. The custom pricing model also means that you may be able to make savings which wouldn’t be possible if you opt for a one-size-fits-all package.

In short, it’s a feature-rich and reasonably priced platform that medium and large retailers should certainly consider.

We were very impressed with Brightpearl. While we have a few minor quibbles - mainly due to the small number of native marketplace integrations, tedious configuration settings, and a lack of features on the lower-priced plan - overall we liked what we saw. Enterprise ecommerce companies will find everything they need with this inventory management solution.

It’s definitely geared towards larger retailers (with a minimum of one million dollars in yearly sales) and the cost of the software will be untenable for most smaller businesses. For larger online sellers, however, the modular pricing structure may prove more cost-effective than alternatives.

If you think it might be suitable for you, our advice is to get in touch and ask for a demo.