The Ultimate Co-Packer's Guide to Evaluating Shop Floor Software
A practical checklist for contract packagers comparing software vendors: start with general capabilities, then score each vendor on the four core pillars a growing co-pack business needs.
Get the Free Guide
Download the guide and use the checklist to compare your shortlisted vendors.
When spreadsheets and old software stop keeping up
As a co-pack business grows, spreadsheets and manual processes stop working across new and existing facilities. That puts you at a crossroads: keep the on-premises setup that was custom-built for your original operation, or move to a cloud-based platform that scales with new business. Most legacy setups are an ERP built mainly for financial control and reporting, a WMS that tracks inventory but not labor or production performance, or an in-house system that gets harder and more costly to maintain.
This guide is a checklist for comparing vendors side by side. You start with general capabilities, then evaluate each vendor on four pillars: inventory accuracy and lot traceability, line productivity and cost optimization, quality control and regulatory compliance, and customer service delivery and business scalability. Download the guide, then see how Nulogy Shop Floor was built from the ground up for co-packers, contract manufacturers and value-added 3PLs.
How the checklist is organized
In the guide's order: where legacy setups fall short, the general questions for every vendor, then the four core pillars.
Where Legacy Setups Fall Short
Why ERPs, warehouse management systems and in-house builds often leave gaps for contract suppliers, and why a vendor's claim to be "configurable" deserves a closer look at real capabilities and implementation costs.
General Capabilities
Questions for every shortlisted vendor: co-pack expertise and reference customers, cloud delivery and release cycle, pricing as you add users and sites, implementation and training, and how fast more sites can go live.
Inventory Accuracy & Lot Traceability
Real-time inventory through production, picking the right item and lot, lot code and SSCC tracking, GS1 labels, line reconciliation, and pulling recall data quickly for an audit or recall.
Line Productivity & Cost Optimization
Work orders in one place, paperless job setup and tracking, labor tracked across wage rates and breaks, real-time line performance, BOM changes and versions, downtime analysis and job profitability.
Quality Control & Regulatory Compliance
Configurable digital quality inspections on mobile devices, reporting results to customers, keeping held or damaged inventory off the line, and GMP needs like audit trails, electronic batch records and electronic signatures.
Customer Service Delivery & Business Scalability
Quoting and RFP response, integrated materials planning, drag-and-drop scheduling, configurable reports, and proven integrations with your customers' ERPs and with WMS systems.
Co-Packer Software Guide FAQ
1What does the guide cover?
Why common legacy setups (ERP, WMS and in-house systems) fall short for contract packagers, a checklist of general capabilities to ask every vendor about, and a checklist for four core pillars: inventory accuracy and lot traceability, line productivity and cost optimization, quality control and regulatory compliance, and customer service delivery and business scalability.
2Who is this guide for?
Contract packagers and contract manufacturers who have outgrown spreadsheets, manual processes or custom-built on-premises software and need a structured way to compare shop floor software vendors.
3What is a co-packer?
A co-packer, or contract packager, packages or assembles products on behalf of brand owners, often using materials the brand supplies. Contract manufacturers do the same for production, and both work to their customers' specifications and schedules.
4Why do ERP, WMS and in-house systems fall short for co-packers?
According to the guide, ERPs are built mainly for financial control and reporting and lack real-time visibility and control of the shop floor. A WMS tracks inventory but falls short on labor and production performance, and in-house systems become costly to maintain and hard to adapt as operations grow.
5How should I use the checklist?
Start by evaluating the general capabilities of each shortlisted vendor, then work through the four pillars for each one. Answering the same questions for every vendor makes the comparison side by side.
6How does Nulogy Shop Floor fit co-packers?
Nulogy Shop Floor is built from the ground up for co-packers, contract manufacturers and value-added 3PLs, covering production scheduling, warehouse management, digital quality inspections, production management, and material planning and costing. Nulogy Shop Floor integrates with ERPs like SAP S/4HANA, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics and NetSuite, and customers go live in weeks.
Continue Your Co-Pack Software Research
The Complete Guide to Co-Pack Software
Nulogy's guide to co-pack software and what to look for when you evaluate the options.
Read the guide → Free eBookThe Perils of Overextending Your ERP
The unplanned costs, delays and risks of stretching an ERP to run co-pack operations.
Get the eBook → Case StudyStaffing Synergies
Live on Nulogy Shop Floor in 30 days, with 36.7% more efficient production in 3 months.
Read the story →See Nulogy Shop Floor in Action
Talk to our team about the capabilities your co-pack operation needs.
- Built from the ground up for co-packers and contract manufacturers
- Barcode scanning and mobile screens replace paper
- Live in weeks, integrated with your ERP