Short answer: Shopify native is enough if your operation is still relatively simple. If your real problem is “what should I buy, when, and how much?”, I'd look at Inventory Planner before jumping to Cin7. If you're actually manufacturing, Katana is the more natural upgrade. Cin7 is the broadest/most ERP-like option.
How I'd think about the four
| Best for | Where it shines | Main downside |
|---|
| Shopify native | Simple DTC | Stock tracking, POs, transfers, multi-location | Limited forecasting/replenishment |
| Inventory Planner | Forecasting & purchasing | Demand forecasting, reorder recommendations, seasonality | Doesn't replace a full operational inventory system |
| Katana | Manufacturing + inventory | BOMs, production, purchasing, warehouse workflows | More system than you need if you only resell |
| Cin7 Core | Complex/multichannel operations | Inventory + purchasing + warehouse + manufacturing + wholesale | Expensive and heavier to implement |
1. Shopify native: surprisingly capable
Shopify now handles quite a lot: real-time inventory, multiple locations, transfers, purchase orders, inventory counts, bulk edits, scanners, and inventory reporting. It supports up to 1,000 locations on its current platform.
And Shopify has improved POs recently: as of June 2026, receiving a PO can create a linked transfer, including support for partial deliveries and keeping ordered/received/cost information connected.
Stay native if:
- Shopify is your dominant sales channel
- You have relatively few SKUs
- You buy finished goods rather than manufacture
- One/few warehouses
- You mostly need accurate stock counts + POs
- You can determine reorder quantities yourself
The big missing piece is true demand forecasting. Shopify's own current comparison says native inventory does not include forecasting, auto-restock, or replenishment reminders.
2. Inventory Planner: probably the best first upgrade
This is the one I'd consider if your pain is:
"We're constantly guessing how much inventory to order."
Inventory Planner sits alongside Shopify and uses sales/inventory data to generate forecasts and replenishment recommendations. It supports different forecasting approaches including recent trends, historical sales, seasonality, and stockout history.
Its replenishment system essentially answers:
SKU → projected demand → lead time → stock cover → recommended purchase quantity.
It can also connect to multiple Shopify stores.
That's very different from merely having a Shopify PO screen.
I'd choose this if you already have a functioning Shopify inventory process but are struggling with:
- excess inventory
- stockouts
- long supplier lead times
- seasonal demand
- hundreds/thousands of SKUs
- determining reorder points
- deciding what to buy next week
In other words, don't buy an ERP to solve a forecasting problem.
3. Katana: choose this when inventory is tied to production
Katana becomes interesting when you're not simply buying finished products.
For example:
Raw materials → production → finished goods → Shopify order
Katana can manage BOMs, manufacturing orders, production scheduling, material consumption, purchasing and inventory together. Its Shopify integration keeps orders and inventory synchronized while Katana acts as the operational/production hub.
It also has replenishment suggestions based on stock levels, open orders, sales patterns, lead times and minimum order quantities.
So:
Made in-house / assembled / kitted → Katana
Bought from suppliers and resold → Inventory Planner or Cin7
Katana's current Core plan starts at $299/month, with additional functionality such as planning/forecasting and warehouse management available as add-ons.
4. Cin7: when inventory becomes an operational system
Cin7 is the one I'd consider when Shopify is no longer really the center of your inventory operation.
It brings together things like:
- purchasing
- inventory
- multiple warehouses
- barcode/WMS workflows
- wholesale
- B2B
- manufacturing
- accounting integrations
- multiple ecommerce channels
- forecasting
- order management
It integrates directly with Shopify and can synchronize orders, stock and product data across channels.
But there's a significant cost/complexity jump. Current Cin7 Core pricing starts at $349/month, with Pro at $599 and Advanced at $999/month, before taxes/add-ons.
I'd therefore not choose Cin7 merely because Shopify's inventory screen feels inadequate.
I'd choose it when you have a genuine operations/ERP problem.
My decision tree
I'd use this:
Shopify → Inventory Planner
if your main issue is forecasting and purchasing.
Shopify → Katana
if your main issue is manufacturing, assemblies, BOMs or production planning.
Shopify → Cin7
if your main issue is multichannel + wholesale + warehouses + purchasing + operational complexity.
Shopify alone
if you're mostly asking, "How many do we have, where are they, and can I create a PO?"
The important distinction
Don't ask:
"Do I need a better inventory system?"
Ask:
"What inventory decision is currently being made manually?"
If the answer is "how much should we reorder?" → Inventory Planner.
If it's "how do we turn components into finished goods?" → Katana.
If it's "how do we run the whole supply/warehouse/order operation?" → Cin7.
If it's "we just need better stock counts and POs" → Shopify.
If you give me roughly SKU count + monthly orders + number of warehouses + Shopify only vs Amazon/wholesale/retail + whether you manufacture, I can tell you which of the four I'd pick and whether the extra software is likely to pay for itself.
