Footwear ERP Software: A Guide for Shoe Brands
What shoe brands need from ERP: size and width runs, component-heavy BOMs, landed costing, purchase orders, inventory and wholesale, and how PLM and ERP fit together.
Joe Lauder·Founder, Kōbō·Updated Nov 2, 2026Footwear ERP runs a shoe brand's operations (purchasing, production tracking, inventory, costing and sales orders) around footwear's size and width runs and component-heavy BOMs. Generic ERP struggles because one style in one colour can mean dozens of SKUs once half sizes and widths are added. More and more footwear brands want PLM and ERP on one record, so the BOM approved in development becomes the purchase order without retyping.
What is footwear ERP software?
Footwear ERP is enterprise resource planning built for how shoes are bought, made, stocked and sold. It manages purchase orders to component suppliers and assembly factories, tracks production, holds inventory at size and width level, calculates landed cost and processes wholesale and retail orders.
It sits downstream of product development. Design, tech packs, lasts, samples and supplier collaboration belong to PLM (see our guide to what fashion PLM is), while ERP takes over once a style is approved. The question for most footwear brands is how cleanly those two halves connect.
Why does footwear break generic ERP?
Because footwear multiplies everything: sizes by widths, components by suppliers, production steps by quality checks. Four areas break general-purpose ERP first.
Size and width runs
One style in one colour might run US 5 to 14 with half sizes across three widths. That's 57 SKUs before a second colourway or a regional size scale. Footwear ERP has to treat width as a real second axis, not a custom field bolted onto size, and keep inventory, purchase orders and sales orders at that level.
Lasts and tooling
The last sets the fit of every size. Brands need to know which last each style uses, which factories hold it, and what the moulds and tooling cost, because a change to the last changes the fit of the whole run and tooling investment shapes the cost price.
Component-heavy BOMs
A shoe BOM lists uppers, linings, insoles, midsoles, outsoles, toe puffs and heel counters, adhesives, eyelets, laces, labels and packaging, often from different specialist suppliers with their own lead times and minimums. Consumption can also vary by size: a size 13 upper takes more leather than a size 7.
Production stages and quality
Shoes move through cutting, stitching, lasting, cementing or sole attaching, finishing and packing, with quality checks such as bond strength and flex testing along the way. Without stage-level visibility, defects surface only when pairs arrive.
Choosing an apparel ERP and assuming it'll stretch to footwear. Size and colour matrices are table stakes. Check width as a true axis, component-level purchasing and footwear production stages before you sign.
Which ERP modules matter most for footwear brands?
Inventory, purchasing and BOMs matter most, because they remove the most manual work and the costliest errors. Production and quality come next as volume grows. Here's what each module should cover for footwear.
| Module | What it covers | Footwear-specific need |
|---|---|---|
| Inventory | Stock by SKU and location across warehouses and 3PLs | Size and width level stock, not just style and colour |
| Purchasing | Purchase orders, supplier confirmations, receipts | Size-run quantities per line, component orders to separate suppliers |
| BOM | Component lists, consumption and cost roll-ups | Uppers, linings, insoles, midsoles, outsoles, hardware and packaging on one BOM |
| Production | Order status, milestones and time and action plans | Stages from cutting and stitching to lasting, sole attaching and finishing |
| Costing | Material, labour, freight, duty and landed cost | Tooling and moulds as extra costs alongside components |
| Sales orders | Customer orders, invoicing and fulfilment | Wholesale orders by size run, pre-book and replenishment |
| Quality | Inspections, defects and corrective actions | Bond strength, flex and visual standards per order |
Do footwear brands need PLM and ERP, or one system?
Footwear brands need both jobs done. The real choice is whether they live in one system or two. PLM handles design, tech packs, materials, lasts, sizing specs, sampling and supplier communication. ERP handles purchase orders, inventory, production tracking, landed cost and order fulfilment.
With two systems, the approved BOM is rebuilt in the ERP for purchasing, a material change in PLM never reaches the open purchase order, and a receipt in the ERP doesn't update the style. With one system, the developed style is the purchase order's source, so nobody re-keys anything. Our fashion ERP vs PLM guide covers the trade-offs, and our comparison of the best fashion ERP software lists the main platforms on each side.
How does Kōbō work for footwear brands?
Kōbō is PLM and ERP on one data model, so a shoe's BOM, sizing, costing, purchase orders and stock all hang off the same style record. For footwear that means:
Size by width. Size ranges can carry a second axis, so a range is set up as size by width with half sizes, and production styles get a SKU for every combination.
Fit across the run. Points of measure graded across the size range with tolerances, and preset grading charts you reuse by category.
Full component BOMs. Uppers, linings, sole units, hardware and packaging from the materials library, with consumption and costs rolling up as you build.
Landed cost before you commit. Costing runs from supplier price and components through extras such as tooling, FOB, freight and duty to landed cost, with pricing per currency.
Quotes and purchase orders. With Ops & Supply, supplier quotations get an AI comparison against the style, and purchase orders are created from the developed style for suppliers to confirm or flag.
Production to stock. Production planning and a T&A board, QC inspections, shipments and receiving into multi-location inventory.
Wholesale and channels. With Sell & Deliver: sales orders, digital linesheets, a B2B buyer portal and invoicing. Shopify takes products out and brings orders and stock back.
Every supplier, free. Component suppliers, sole makers and assembly factories get free seats to see their styles, files, orders and shipments.
Kōbō doesn't have a dedicated last library; teams record the last reference on the style with custom fields and track its measurements as points of measure. It isn't a general ledger either: brands run it alongside Xero (available as an add-on) or their accounting tool, and connect anything else through Zapier or the API. Pricing is $140 to $300 per user per month with free supplier seats and no setup fees. See the full picture on our page for footwear brands using Kōbō.
How should a shoe brand evaluate footwear ERP?
Test vendors on your own data. Generic feature checklists hide the differences that matter, so use footwear-specific criteria.
Width as a real axis, with half sizes and regional size scales, through inventory and orders.
Component-level BOMs with consumption, supplier and cost per line.
Landed cost including freight, duty and tooling, before you place the order.
Purchase orders from the approved style, with supplier confirmation rather than email.
Inventory at size and width level across warehouses, 3PLs and stores.
Supplier access for component makers, sole suppliers and assembly factories without per-seat fees.
A connection to development, either built in or through a dependable integration.
Clear pricing that doesn't punish you for adding SKUs or suppliers.
Bring one real style to every demo, with its full BOM, size and width run and production plan, and ask the vendor to set it up live. Sample data always looks clean. Your data shows the truth.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best ERP for footwear brands?
It depends where your complexity lives. If it's in development and production, a combined PLM and ERP like Kōbō keeps BOMs, sizing, costing, purchase orders and inventory on one record. If department-store EDI decides it, look at suites like CGS BlueCherry or AIMS360. Finance-led teams often add NetSuite.
Does Kōbō handle footwear size and width runs?
Yes. Size ranges in Kōbō can carry a second axis, so a footwear range can be set up as size by width, half sizes included. Production styles get a SKU for every size and width combination, and points of measure grade across the range with tolerances.
Can general apparel ERP work for footwear?
Sometimes, but it's usually a stretch. Apparel ERP handles size and colour, yet often lacks width as a true second axis, component-heavy BOMs and footwear production stages. Brands make it work with spreadsheets on the side, and the manual overhead grows with every new width, colour or market.
Do I need both PLM and ERP for a shoe brand?
You need both jobs done. PLM covers design and development: tech packs, BOMs, lasts, samples and suppliers. ERP covers operations: purchasing, inventory, costing and orders. Running them in one system, as Kōbō does, means the approved BOM becomes the purchase order without anyone retyping it.
How long does footwear ERP implementation take?
Traditional footwear ERP projects often take several months, mostly spent on data preparation and consultant-led configuration. Kōbō teams are usually live in one to two weeks, with migration support included. Clean up your materials, BOMs and size structure first, whichever system you choose.
How much does footwear ERP software cost?
Most footwear ERP vendors price by quote, and implementation, EDI and integration fees can exceed the licence. Kōbō publishes its pricing: $140 to $300 per user per month, free supplier seats and no setup fees. Ask every vendor for the full first-year cost in writing.
Disclaimer: Vendor information is based on publicly available sources as of November 2026 and may change, so verify directly with each vendor. Kōbō is our product; we've noted what it doesn't do alongside what it does.
Joe's the founder of Kōbō Labs. Before this, he founded Satta, a fashion brand he scaled to sell internationally at Mr Porter, SSENSE, and Beams Japan. A decade of running his own brand (design, suppliers, production, the lot) is what Kōbō is built on.
Related Articles
From approved BOM to purchase order, without retyping.
Kōbō runs footwear development and operations on one record: size by width, component BOMs, landed cost, purchase orders and stock.