Retail supply chain planning has evolved into a continuous, data-driven discipline that helps retailers balance product availability, inventory investment and profitability across increasingly complex channels and fulfillment models. Organizations rely on SCP platforms to improve forecasting, optimize replenishment and respond more effectively to shifting consumer demand and supply conditions. AI, demand sensing and scenario analysis capabilities are accelerating the transition toward more agile and responsive retail planning operations.
Software Provider Summary
The ISG Buyers Guide™ for Retail Supply Chain Planning evaluates 20 software providers offering products that support demand forecasting, replenishment planning and retail-focused supply chain optimization. The research ranked the top three overall leaders as Anaplan, SAP and Oracle. Providers were classified using weighted performance in Product Experience and Customer Experience for ISG quadrant placement. Anaplan, Board, Coupa, Infor, Manhattan Associates, o9 Solutions, Oracle, SAP and WiseTech were rated Exemplary, with Blue Yonder and John Galt Solutions rated Innovative. Netstock was rated Assurance, and Blue Ridge, GAINS, ICRON, Logility, RELEX, Slimstock, Sunstice and ToolsGroup were rated Merit.
Product Experience Insights
Product Experience, representing 80% of the evaluation, focuses on Capability (40%) and Platform (40%), including adaptability, manageability, reliability and usability. Anaplan, SAP and o9 Solutions achieved the highest performance as Leaders in this category, highlighted by demand planning and replenishment planning capabilities and scenario analysis that supports retail-focused planning decisions. Leaders demonstrated enterprise-grade platform capabilities across varied merchandising, inventory and supply chain planning contexts.
Customer Experience Value
Customer Experience, representing 20% of the evaluation, focuses on validation and TCO/ROI. Anaplan, Oracle and Board were the Leaders in this category, demonstrating strong customer commitment and clear dedication to customer needs. Providers with lower performance often lacked sufficient information to demonstrate customer success, articulate commitment to customer experience or communicate measurable value through TCO/ROI.
Strategic Recommendations
Retailers should evaluate supply chain planning platforms based on the ability to support demand forecasting, replenishment optimization and cross-functional coordination across channels and fulfillment models. Assessment should prioritize demand sensing, inventory visibility, scenario modeling, analytics capabilities and support for continuous planning processes. Organizations should also evaluate AI-enabled forecasting, recommendation and decision-support capabilities that improve responsiveness while maintaining operational control and profitability objectives.
The software providers and products evaluated in this research offer product and customer experiences, but not every feature is equally valuable to every enterprise or is needed to support the relevant business processes and use cases. Moreover, having too many product capabilities may be a negative factor for an enterprise if it introduces unnecessary complexity. Nonetheless, you may decide that a more comprehensive set of capabilities is important and meets your enterprise’s requirements.
An effective customer relationship with a software provider is vital to the success of any investment. The overall customer experience and the full lifecycle of engagement play a key role in ensuring satisfaction and long-term success. Providers with dedicated customer leadership, such as chief customer officers, tend to invest more
The research finds Anaplan atop the list, followed by SAP and Oracle. Providers that place in the top three of a category earn the designation of Leader. Anaplan has done so in four categories, SAP and Oracle in three, Board and o9 Solutions in two and Coupa in one category.