Brightpearl Review

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."

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.