Best ERP for Manufacturing in Australia/New Zealand

There are a range of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems available to larger, more complex Australian and New Zealand manufacturing organisations. With the significant role that technology plays in business efficiency, finding the best ERP solution for manufacturing is essential.

Why Australian Manufacturers Are Turning to ERP Systems

As technology solutions become more affordable and accessible, they become a logical option for improving efficiency in your business.

Australian manufacturers are operating in one of the most challenging environments in decades. Supply chain volatility, rising operational costs, and global uncertainty have placed immense pressure on margins. Many businesses still rely on disconnected systems such as spreadsheets, paper-based processes, and outdated legacy software to manage complex operations.

The consequences of not using modern technology are significant:

• Inaccurate inventory data leading to stockouts or overstocking
• Inefficient production scheduling that disrupts delivery timelines
• Lack of real-time visibility across the supply chain, making it impossible to respond quickly to changes

Modern manufacturing demands agility and precision. A purpose-built ERP system provides a single source of truth, integrating production, inventory, finance, and compliance into one platform.

But where do you start?

Manufacturing ERP systems have sophisticated functionality to support and automate your processes; it takes an expert to understand how each one will work within your business.

How to Choose: The 5 Key Criteria for Selecting a Manufacturing ERP system

Before selecting an ERP system for manufacturing, it is critical to understand what matters most. These five criteria will help you make an informed decision:

1. True Manufacturing Functionality

Generic ERP systems often lack the depth required for manufacturing. Look for features such as multi-level Bills of Materials (BOM), Material Requirements Planning (MRP), production scheduling, and quality control. A purpose-built manufacturing solution ensures these capabilities are built-in for seamless data flow, not bolted on thereby adding unnecessary complexity.

2. Built-in Australian Compliance

Overseas software vendors build their systems to cater to the global market. Their systems do not reflect the complexities that a local provider is familiar with. Compliance with GST, Single Touch Payroll (STP), and ATO reporting should be native to the system. Avoid costly add-ons or manual fixes that increase risk and complexity.

3. Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)

Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) is an aggregation of all the costs associated with your new ERP system, including implementation, licensing, infrastructure, support, and internal resources, usually calculated over the first five years of system use.

Some ERP vendors offer low initial costs but introduce steep increases later. This can obscure the true TCO and misrepresent the return on investment from your new system. Ensure your ERP provider offers long-term clarity on subscription fees, upgrades, and support.

4. Scalability and Cloud Foundation

In a hyper-competitive, globally connected world, your business management solutions need to be easily scalable, future proof, and built to enable collaboration. Choose a true, cloud-native ERP that can grow with your business. Cloud architecture provides flexibility, security, and accessibility without the burden of on-premise infrastructure.

5. The Quality of the Local Implementation Partner

The success of your ERP project depends on the team behind it. A skilled, experienced partner ensures smooth implementation, tailored configuration, and ongoing support. This is not an undertaking that can be completed purely with internal resources. It pays to look for an experienced, skilled partner, with industry experience, to guide the implementation.

Our Verdict: Australia’s Top Manufacturing ERP systems, Ranked for the Mid-Market

After evaluating the solutions against these criteria, one stands out for Australian mid-market manufacturers.

#1 The Winner – MYOB Acumatica Manufacturing

MYOB Acumatica is not only the top choice for Manufacturing businesses but is also chosen as the #1 ERP system by a more general list of Australian and New Zealand organisations (iStart Buyer’s Guide 2025-26). MYOB Acumatica is a modular cloud-based ERP system, with a dedicated Manufacturing edition for more powerful and specialised functionality.

Best for: Australian mid-market manufacturers seeking a powerful, scalable, and user-friendly cloud ERP with built-in local compliance and predictable TCO.

Why It Is Our Top Pick: MYOB Acumatica delivers deep manufacturing functionality, true cloud architecture, and transparent pricing. Unlike global systems that retrofit compliance, MYOB Acumatica is designed for Australian and New Zealand businesses from the ground up, with local implementation and support.

The Contenders: Other ERP systems we Considered

There are many strong options in addition to MYOB Acumatica as a Manufacturing ERP system.

Oracle NetSuite

NetSuite is a cloud-based ERP system developed by the Oracle Corporation, headquartered in Texas, USA. The platform has a focus on finance, production, supply chain, procurement, and business intelligence; however, the top-performing industries are Technology & IT Services, Computer Software, Retail, and Financial Services.

Best for: Large, global companies needing complex, multi-national functionality.

Where it falls short: Its pricing model can lead to unpredictable and steep cost increases after the initial term. Enterprise-level complexity is often excessive for Australian mid-market manufacturers.

Epicor Kinetic

Epicor Kinetic is US-based Epicor’s first cloud-based ERP solution and is designed specifically for manufacturers with complex production requirements. It is built on a cloud-based platform, allowing manufacturers to streamline operations, improve efficiency, and adapt quickly to changing market demands.

Best for: Businesses with deep, specific discrete manufacturing requirements.

Where it falls short: Epicor lacks available and accessible local ANZ support options compared to other ERP vendors. Its User Interface (UI) lacks the intuitive usability compared to MYOB Acumatica, and its TCO is generally higher.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central

Microsoft Dynamics Business Central is a cloud-native SaaS ERP developed by Microsoft. It is one of several ERPs supported by Microsoft and is built for the needs of midmarket organisations. As a Microsoft product, one of its strengths is the ability to integrate with Microsoft’s wider suite, including Office 365.

Best for: Companies heavily invested in the Microsoft ecosystem.

Where it falls short: It is not a purpose-built manufacturing ERP system. Achieving full functionality often requires multiple third-party add-ons, adding cost and complexity. Microsoft Dynamics 365’s strength is its integration with the Suite of Office365 products, however, this might not suit all organisations and IT setups.

SAP S/4HANA

SAP S/4HANA is an enterprise-grade ERP system developed by SAP for very large organisations. S/4HANA offers advanced functionality across finance, supply chain, manufacturing, and compliance, making it suitable for businesses with multi-entity operations and significant scale.

Best for: Enterprise-level corporations with significant budgets and resources.

Why not our top pick: It is too large, complex, and cost-prohibitive for most Australian mid-market manufacturers. There is also a steep learning curve when it comes to managing processes, complexity, and compliance within the UI.

Odoo

Odoo is an open-source ERP and CRM system based in Belgium and originally developed in 2005. It operates with two different versions, the free “Community” version and the paid “Enterprise” version. Odoo can be deployed on-premise or via the cloud.

Best for: Organisations seeking a highly customisable, open-source ERP platform with modular functionality.

Where it falls short: Odoo often requires extensive customisation and technical expertise to achieve full manufacturing capability, especially around MRP and capacity scheduling, which undermines its low-cost appeal and introduces more risk as an ERP system choice.  Being open-source software, it introduces a complete reliance on the implementing partner. Upgrades are complex.

Why MYOB Acumatica is the Top Choice for Australian Manufacturers

MYOB Acumatica Manufacturing is our top choice for larger, more complex manufacturing organisations across Australia and New Zealand.

MYOB Acumatica Information Pack eBook

Download now

Purpose-Built for Modern Manufacturing

MYOB Acumatica Manufacturing has the core capabilities to support your production planning and execution, estimating, engineering, material planning, scheduling, and product configuration requirements. It has logical and intuitive workflows to manage multiple production modes including make to stock (MTS), make to order (MTO), batch process, configure to order (CTO), assemble to order (ATO), complex estimating, and project-based manufacturing.

Designed for Australia, Out of the Box

All the idiosyncrasies of doing business in Australia and New Zealand will be familiar to you, but not to overseas vendors. MYOB are ANZ specialists, and MYOB Acumatica Manufacturing is built and configured to reflect this. It is specifically catered for the unique needs of Australia and New Zealand organisations such as:

• Business Activity Statement (BAS) support,
• Goods and Services Tax (GST),
• Cash vs accrual GST,
• Unique ANZ payroll requirements,
• Changes in Legislation.

A Future-Proof Platform with Predictable TCO

MYOB Acumatica Manufacturing has a transparent cost structure so you can plan and calculate TCO and measure ROI. Costs are broken down into:

• Software – licensing and system access
• Consulting – expert configuration and customisation of the system
• Training – dedicated to your unique system build
• Support – monthly plan for the lifetime of your system
• Third-Party Applications – additional best-of-breed integrations

Every MYOB Acumatica site requires at least one full-access user licence, which carries a monthly subscription of  approximately $300 excluding GST. Subscription costs per user vary between approximately $50 and $350, with an average of approximately $230. Ongoing subscription fees typically range between $3k to $7k per month.

Hosting infrastructure costs for MYOB Acumatica Manufacturing are bundled into your monthly subscription. MYOB and their hosting partners take on the responsibility for server hardware, data backups, disaster recovery, and maintenance.

In our experience, an entry-level manufacturing implementation would require  between 200 and 300 hours of consulting. More complex implementations can run up to 1000 hours. Consulting rates typically vary between $200-$350 per hour, depending on the experience and specialisation of the implementer. The implementation cost is a one-off project to properly setup and configure your new system to support your requirements. Every manufacturing site is different, but typically an MYOB Acumatica Manufacturing site will cost between $80k and $140k depending on complexity.

Training is an integral part of an implementation. The system and configuration are complex, and it will take time for your team to gain understanding and become familiar with the new processes and workflows. Kilimanjaro Consulting provides in-depth MYOB Acumatica training as part of our implementation process, as well as long-term guidance and support for our manufacturing clients. Implementers generally bill training separately, at a similar rate to implementation consulting. Training tends to make up about 25% of the total implementation cost and is necessary to ensure that your team is confident and comfortable with the system before you go live.

Due to the ongoing nature and the long-term lifecycle of your system, ongoing support is usually billed as a monthly subscription, rather than an ad-hoc hourly rate. Support is separate from the implementation, but certainly something that you cannot afford to be without. Some support packages will come with discounted consulting rates for ongoing system customisations. Typically, support packages can cost between $1000 and $2000 per month.

Additional third-party applications are billed separately by their vendors. MYOB Acumatica Manufacturing requires an additional API licence if you have more sophisticated or multiple integrations. This Full Access API licence is the same price as a full-access user licence.

Based on data from 180 Systems and Consultants, Acumatica estimates the five-year total cost of ownership of a modern cloud ERP application at approximately $260,000. Due to the greater complexity of Manufacturing sites compared to the average, the TCO for your organisation may be higher.

Our expert team can assist you in understanding the costs involved in the implementation, ongoing licences, and support.

Backed by Australia’s Largest and Most Awarded Implementation Team

Your choice of implementation partner is just as important as your choice of ERP system. Make sure that when you select MYOB Acumatica Manufacturing as your ERP system of choice that you choose Kilimanjaro Consulting as your implementation partner.

Kilimanjaro Consulting has the largest, most experienced team of implementation consultants across Australia and New Zealand. We are expert implementers of MYOB Acumatica Manufacturing, understanding the needs of the industry and applying these lessons through our structured implementation methodology. Our team follows a low-risk methodology and consistently delivers successful implementation outcomes. In this industry, we have learned that you get what you pay for. It is far better to get your implementation right the first time with a premium partner, rather than pay the costs of rectification and completion.

Kilimanjaro Consulting is MYOB’s number 1 partner and the leading MYOB Acumatica implementer across Australia and New Zealand. We have been recognised at MYOB’s High Achievers Awards as winners of the Partner of the Year, Consultant of the Year, and Excellence in Business Development awards, over more than a decade

Real Results: ANZ Manufacturers Thriving with MYOB Acumatica

MYOB Acumatica Manufacturing is a proven solution for improving efficiency in larger, more complex Australian and New Zealand manufacturing organisations.

RML Engineering began producing small components for the pneumatics industry and has grown to have operations across New Zealand, Australia, and India. MYOB Acumatica offered a robust yet simple reporting system that could produce real-time data to drive decision-making at the highest level. The cloud-based functionality removed the need for on-site hardware and allowed the flexibility to integrate add-ons and customise the capability of the software.

Production became much more streamlined because of the implementation. RML Engineering can receive accurate, real-time data that drives critical business decisions. The real-time flow of information and flexibility of MYOB Acumatica future-proof their processes, allowing room for continuous growth.

Watch the video case study to discover how they benefited from the implementation.

Frequently Asked Questions about Manufacturing ERP

MYOB Acumatica Manufacturing is a complex and fully featured business management platform. Naturally, this leads to many frequently asked questions.

Your ERP is Only as Good as your Implementation Partner

Your choice of ERP implementation partner is critical to your long-term success. You may not have been through an implementation before, but we have. The Kilimanjaro Consulting team are experienced implementers for Manufacturing organisations. Our structured methodology and low-risk approach ensure a successful outcome.

Think of us as your technology Sherpas, guiding you up the mountain towards improved efficiency. We are your trusted guide through ERP selection and implementation, focusing on your needs and the best way to support them through the clever use of proven, innovative, and creative technology such as MYOB Acumatica Manufacturing.

How to choose an implementation partner eBook

Download now

Next Steps

If your organisation requires a powerful, manufacturing-specific cloud-based ERP system, then reach out to our team to assess your requirement for MYOB Acumatica Manufacturing. We can facilitate a no-obligation ERP strategy and planning session to chart your journey up the technology mountain to improved efficiency.

To start your journey with MYOB Acumatica Manufacturing, email sales@kilimanjaro-consulting.comor call 1300 857 464(AU) or 0800 436 774(NZ).