inFlow Inventory vs. Inventory Planner
Two tools, two different jobs. Which one is right for your business?
Both inFlow Inventory and Inventory Planner by Sage serve product-based businesses that sell on Shopify and other ecommerce channels. But they’re built for different problems. inFlow is an all-in-one inventory and order management system. Inventory Planner is a demand forecasting and replenishment tool that layers on top of an existing system. Understanding that distinction is the key to choosing the right one, and this guide walks through exactly that.
Arriving from Shopify Stocky?
Shopify is retiring Stocky on August 31, 2026. Most Stocky users relied on it for purchase orders and basic stock tracking, and those are core inFlow workflows. Inventory Planner appears in many “Stocky alternative” lists because it’s also a Shopify app, but it doesn’t replace what Stocky did. It’s a different kind of tool, built for demand forecasting rather than day-to-day inventory management, and it’s priced accordingly. If you’re looking for a direct Stocky replacement, check out inFlow Inventory.
Quick decision guide
Choose inFlow Inventory if you need a complete system for managing inventory, purchase orders, sales orders, and order fulfillment. inFlow covers the full operational side of your business: receiving, picking, packing, shipping, barcode scanning, and B2B ordering, all in one place. It’s a natural replacement for Shopify Stocky and a practical fit for product-based businesses that want to manage their entire inventory operation without stitching together multiple tools.
Choose Inventory Planner if you already have solid inventory infrastructure in place and want a dedicated forecasting layer on top of it. Inventory Planner’s strength is telling you what to order, how much, and when, based on historical sales data and seasonal trends. It’s most valuable for merchants with significant sales volume, complex replenishment needs, and the budget to match. Its pricing is based on your business’s annual revenue, so costs scale as you grow.
What is a demand forecasting tool, and who is it really for?
Demand forecasting tools are designed to answer one question: what should I order, how much, and when? They look at your sales history, factor in seasonality and supplier lead times, and suggest what to reorder before you run out. For merchants managing a large, fast-moving catalog across multiple suppliers, that kind of automated analysis is genuinely valuable.
The important thing to understand is that a forecasting tool isn’t an inventory management system. It tells you what to buy, but relies on a separate system to actually track stock, receive orders, and manage your day-to-day operations.
If you’re replacing Stocky, you need an inventory system. Whether you also need a forecasting layer on top is a separate decision.
When does a demand forecasting tool actually make sense?
Businesses who get real value from a forecasting tool already have an inventory system and are looking to add a dedicated tool that can help them make smarter buying decisions. When it works well, forecasting tools can catch seasonal demand earlier, reduce overstock, and cut down the time a buyer spends on replenishment analysis. But getting there takes some setup. Accurate forecasts depend on clean sales history, correctly configured lead times, and a product mix with enough variability to make the recommendations meaningful.
If your catalog is fairly simple and predictable, reorder points and low-stock alerts will likely cover what you need. If you’re managing hundreds of SKUs across multiple suppliers with fluctuating demand, a dedicated forecasting tool is worth a closer look.
Features, plans, & support overview
| inFlow Inventory | Inventory Planner by Sage | |
|---|---|---|
| Core inventory features | ||
| Real-time inventory tracking | Included | Included |
| Low stock alerts | Included | Included |
| Inventory valuation reports | Included | Included |
| Barcode scanning | Included | Not included |
| Barcode generation & label printing | Included | Not included |
| Stock counts/cycle counts | Included | Not included |
| Demand forecasting | Not included | Included |
| Multi-location support | Plan-dependent | Included |
| Serial / lot number tracking | Add-on | Not included |
| Manufacturing / assemblies | With inFlow Manufacturing | Not included |
| Selling & fulfillment | ||
| Ecommerce integrations | Included | Included |
| Purchase orders | Included | Included |
| Sales orders | Included | Not included |
| Backorders | Included | Not included |
| Shipping & fulfillment workflows | Included | Not included |
| Shipping carrier integrations | Included | Not included |
| B2B ordering portal (Showroom) | Plan-dependent | Not included |
| Support & enablement | ||
| Email & chat support | Included | Included |
| Learning center & documentation | Included | Included |
| Dedicated Customer Success Manager | Included | Not included |
| Live training & support sessions | Add-on | Not included |
| Guided onboarding | Add-on | Add-on |
| Pricing & trials | ||
| 14-day free trial | Included | Included |
| Pricing | Starts at 129 USD/month | Based on annual revenue |
The details
How inFlow Inventory and Inventory Planner handle your day-to-day tasks differently
Inventory & stock management
inFlow Inventory covers the full operational side of stock management: receiving, adjustments, transfers between locations, cycle counts, and reorder points.
You can track products by serial or lot number, set reorder thresholds per location, and run the warehouse side of your business from the same system you use for orders. Stock levels update automatically as orders move through the system, with no manual reconciliation needed.
Inventory Planner tracks inventory levels across locations and suppliers, but it’s designed as a planning layer rather than an operations tool.
Inventory Planner connects to your existing platform (Shopify or others) and uses that data to power forecasting. It doesn’t manage the physical movement of goods, receiving workflows, or warehouse operations directly.
Which platform is better?
inFlow is the stronger choice for managing day-to-day stock operations.
Inventory Planner is the stronger choice for understanding what to stock before you need it.
Demand forecasting & replenishment
inFlow Inventory offers reorder points and low-stock alerts. You set a threshold per product or location, and inFlow flags when stock is running short and helps you generate a purchase order in a few clicks.
For most small and mid-sized businesses, this covers the replenishment workflow well without requiring a separate tool or additional spend.
Inventory Planner goes further by modeling historical sales data, seasonality, and supplier lead times to generate automated purchase order recommendations.
For merchants managing a large, fast-moving, or highly seasonal catalog across multiple suppliers, that level of analysis can meaningfully reduce the time spent on buying decisions. For businesses with a simpler, more predictable product mix, the added complexity and cost are harder to justify.
Which platform is better?
inFlow is the stronger fit for businesses that want reliable replenishment workflows but don’t need a dedicated forecasting layer or don’t have the budget for one.
Inventory Planner is worth considering for high-volume merchants whose buying decisions are complex enough that automated demand modeling would save meaningful time and reduce costly errors.
Order management
inFlow handles both purchase orders and sales orders end-to-end.
On the purchase side, you can generate POs manually or from reorder alerts, receive against them, and track vendor history. On the sales side, inFlow manages the full order lifecycle: quoting, order entry, pick and pack, shipping, and invoicing. inFlow Showroom lets wholesale customers place and track orders without needing to call or email.
Inventory Planner creates purchase orders based on its forecasting engine.
That’s the extent of its order management. It doesn’t handle sales orders, customer-facing workflows, or fulfillment. If you’re using Inventory Planner, you need a separate system for the rest of your order workflow.
Which platform is better?
From generating a quote to fulfilling a shipment and recording payment, inFlow covers the complete order cycle and updates inventory automatically. For teams that sell to both wholesale and direct customers, inFlow Showroom adds a self-serve ordering channel without needing a separate platform.
Ecommerce & Shopify integrations
inFlow connects to Shopify and syncs orders, inventory levels, and product data bidirectionally. When an order comes in through Shopify, it flows into inFlow for fulfillment. Stock updates in inFlow push back to Shopify to keep your storefront accurate.
inFlow also integrates with Amazon, WooCommerce, and several other channels if you’re selling across multiple platforms.
Inventory Planner is available as a Shopify app and connects directly to your store. This is what puts it in the same conversation as Stocky, which was also a Shopify app. However, the integration is designed to get data in and push replenishment suggestions out, not to manage order flow.
Which platform is better?
inFlow is the better choice if you need a full back-end inventory system connected to Shopify.
Inventory Planner works well if you’re specifically looking for a forecasting tool that plugs into Shopify.
User experience & onboarding
inFlow Inventory is designed for small and mid-sized teams without a dedicated IT department. The interface is organized around how most product businesses work: products, orders, customers, and suppliers.
Most users get comfortable with core workflows quickly. Onboarding support is available but optional on the starting plan, and many customers get up and running on their own through the inFlow Learning Center. Every inFlow customer is assigned a dedicated Customer Success Manager at no extra cost.
Inventory Planner has a steeper learning curve. Getting accurate forecasting recommendations requires configuring lead times, safety stock, and forecasting rules thoughtfully, and those settings have a meaningful impact on the quality of the output.
Which platform is better?
inFlow is built for you to be productive from day one. The guided workflows, optional onboarding, and dedicated Customer Success Manager on every plan mean your team can get up and running quickly without a long configuration project upfront.
Pricing
inFlow Inventory starts at 129 USD/month with tiered pricing that scales by team size and features.
Plans are publicly listed, and the 14-day free trial doesn’t require a credit card. Each plan includes a set number of monthly sales orders, with a small per-order fee for any volume above that limit.
Inventory Planner uses revenue-based pricing on a custom quote model. What you pay is calculated from your business’s annual revenue.
Which platform is better?
Not only does inFlow offer pricing transparency and predictability for your business, with a no-credit-card free trial, it’s easy to evaluate before committing.
FAQs
I was using Shopify Stocky. Is inFlow a good replacement?
For most Stocky users, yes. Stocky handled purchase orders and basic stock tracking, and inFlow does both, plus sales orders, barcode scanning, B2B ordering, and fulfillment workflows that Stocky never offered. If you were using Stocky mainly to keep tabs on stock levels and generate purchase orders, you can replicate that in inFlow and get a lot more on top of it.
Can I use inFlow and Inventory Planner together?
Technically, yes. Some merchants use Inventory Planner for forecasting and a separate IMS for operations. That said, running two systems adds cost and complexity, and you’d need to keep them in sync. If you’re starting fresh or migrating from Stocky, it’s worth evaluating whether inFlow’s built-in reorder tooling covers your needs before adding a second platform.
Does inFlow do demand forecasting?
inFlow supports reorder points and low-stock alerts, and you can use sales history reports to inform your buying decisions. It doesn’t generate automated forecasts or replenishment recommendations based on seasonality. If sophisticated demand modeling is central to your business, Inventory Planner is the stronger tool for that specific job.
Is inFlow available on the Shopify App Store?
Yes, through the inFlow Connector app. You can find it by searching “inFlow Connector” in the Shopify App Store, and it syncs orders, inventory levels, and product data between your Shopify store and inFlow. You can also connect inFlow to Amazon, WooCommerce, and other platforms if you’re selling across multiple channels.
Final takeaway: choosing between inFlow Inventory and Inventory Planner
inFlow Inventory is the better fit for product-based businesses that need a complete inventory and order management system, one that handles purchasing, sales, fulfillment, barcode workflows, and reporting all in one place. For Shopify merchants transitioning away from Stocky, it’s the more complete replacement.
Inventory Planner is the right choice for merchants who specifically need advanced demand forecasting and automated replenishment recommendations, and already have an operational IMS in place.
Still not sure which tool is right for you?
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