2019 Review of Advance Pro Supply Chain Management

From the May 2019 reviews of Inventory Management systems.

Advance Pro Supply Chain Management is best suited for mid-sized to larger manufacturing, distribution, and wholesale businesses, though the product can be used in retail businesses as well. Advance Pro offers a long list of standard modules, with a good selection of add-on options available as well.

Advance Pro offers users multiple deployment options with both on-premise and cloud-hosted options available. A mobile app is also available that offers convenient mobile inventory management capability and can be used with both iOS and Android smart phones and tablets.

Advance Pro offers a long list of core modules, including Inventory Management, Warehouse Management, Product Management, Customer Order Management, Pricing/Discount Management, Customer Relationship Management, Purchasing Management, Accounting and QuickBooks Integration, Reports/Business Intelligence, and Administration. Available as an add-on are Manufacturing, AP Wireless Warehouse, AP Labels, Lot and Serial Tracking, and Web Services/E-Commerce modules.

Advance Pro’s Inventory Management module offers excellent tracking and management capability, with users able to track inventory in multiple warehouses, viewing inventory levels by warehouse or by overall total. Users can easily view inventory information through the Products tab, where products can be added or edited as well.  Users can easily transfer inventory between locations, and will be notified when inventory levels drop below a pre-determined level. Advance Pro also offers real time stock availability, so users will always know exactly how much inventory is available at any moment.   

Advance Pro can track inventory by lot or serial number, with users able to easily assign a lot/serial number to a product when it is added into inventory. Customers can be assigned a default warehouse, and a large number of orders can be processed using the batch process. Advance Pro also integrates with both UPS and FedEx to simplify the order/shipping process.

The optional Wireless Warehouse-AP Mobile module syncs in real time with the core product, allowing users to receive both incoming orders while also processing customer shipments. Users can use the mobile app to scan any product for further details about that product, and the  optional AP Labels module allows users to create over 30 types of barcodes using the included  preformatted label templates.

Users can easily add product images to any product file, and can also attach documents such as warranty details, invoices or notes. Advance Pro supports both kitting and full manufacturing capability including bills of materials, labor cost tracking, and build to order. Product assembly is also supported, with users able to serialize assembly items when completed.

Advance Pro includes multiple pricing levels, with users able to set prices using their preferred currency. Users can also set multiple pricing levels, assign multiple units of measure for each product, and even assign volume pricing amounts for specific products. The product also supports multiple valuation methods including FIFO, LIFO, Average Costing, and the Last Primary Vendor Bill Costing, which assumes that inventory costs will remain the same.  

The Reports/Business Intelligence feature in Advance Pro provides users with access to a variety of inventory, purchase, sales, vendor, and customer reports. Reports available include Sales Report by Customer, Sales Report by Product, Net Movement report, Unsold Product report, and a Returns reports. All Advance Pro reports can be exported to Microsoft Excel for complete customization, exported as an RTF file, or saved as a PDF.

Advance Pro offers seamless integration with QuickBooks applications, with data automatically synced between the two applications. Mentioned earlier, the product also integrates with UPS and FedEx applications, as well as online retail solutions such as Amazon, Wee, Shopify, eBay, and Magento.

The Advance Pro Customer Care Program offers a variety of resources and help options to system users, including access to a comprehensive knowledgebase. Advance Pro University offers a variety of training options including access to sales, accounting, manufacturing, and purchasing videos. A membership program is also available that provides members with unlimited version upgrades, unlimited technical support, including phone, email, and online support, and discounts on training and other services offered.

Advance Pro is a comprehensive inventory management application that is well suited for enterprise level product manufacturers and distributors. The product is also a good fit for retailers, particularly those with an online presence. Three versions of Advance Pro are available: Essentials, which runs $85 per user, per month; Professional, which costs $130 per user, per month; and Enterprise, which can be purchased for $14,995 per year, and with unlimited warehouse management, along with unlimited products, vendors, and customers. In addition, all add-on modules are included in the Enterprise edition. 

2019 Rating – 5 Stars