What is Manhattan Associates and is it the right ERP platform for your organisation?

Manhattan Associates is a global leader in supply chain and omnichannel commerce solutions, best known for its advanced Warehouse Management System (WMS), Transportation Management System (TMS), and Order Management System (OMS).

Built on a modern, microservices-based architecture, Manhattan’s cloud-native platform enables businesses to optimise complex distribution, fulfilment, and retail operations in real time.

As supply chain expectations grow and legacy systems reach end-of-life, organisations across Australia and New Zealand are considering Manhattan Associates as a core ERP or supply chain platform. But is it the right solution for your needs?

This page outlines Manhattan’s core capabilities, where it fits best, and how to determine whether it supports your business strategy and operational model.

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Key features of Manhattan Associates ERP and supply chain platform

  • Industry-leading Warehouse Management System (WMS)
  • Transportation Management (TMS) with real-time visibility and routing optimisation
  • Order Management (OMS) for unified inventory and fulfilment
  • Microservices-based cloud architecture for scalability and modular deployments
  • Integrated labour and slotting management tools
  • Embedded analytics and real-time performance insights

Retail and eCommerce enablement, including returns, store fulfilment, and omnichannel orchestration

Who Manhattan Associates is best suited for

  • Mid-sized to large enterprises with complex warehousing, distribution, or fulfilment networks
  • Retailers, logistics providers, wholesalers, and manufacturers with high-volume, high-velocity operations
  • Organisations seeking best-in-class functionality across warehouse, transportation, and order management
  • Teams moving from legacy WMS or fragmented fulfilment platforms to a unified, modern cloud solution

Strengths and challenges of Manhattan Associates

Where Manhattan delivers value:

  • Deep domain expertise in warehouse and transportation execution
  • Highly scalable cloud-native architecture for global operations
  • Rich functionality tailored to complex, high-throughput environments
  • Strong omnichannel capabilities for retail and eCommerce leaders
  • Continuous innovation with regular cloud updates

Where it may fall short:

  • Primarily a supply chain execution suite, not a full ERP across finance or HR
  • Implementation can be intensive and typically requires experienced delivery partners
  • May be overpowered for businesses with simpler or lower-volume operations
  • Integration with core ERP systems (e.g. SAP, Oracle, Microsoft) is often required

Alternatives to Manhattan Associates

Depending on your size, industry, and digital maturity, alternatives to Manhattan may include:

  • Blue Yonder – for AI-driven planning and execution across the supply chain
  • SAP S/4HANA Extended Warehouse Management (EWM) – tightly integrated with core ERP functions
  • Oracle Cloud SCM – combining transportation, warehouse, and fulfilment within a broader ERP suite
  • Infor WMS – a flexible, cloud-native warehouse platform for growing businesses
  • Korber or Microlistics – for organisations needing robust warehousing with lower complexity

Compare these in our Cloud ERP Software Solutions Guide.

Planning your Manhattan Associates journey

Whether you’re exploring Manhattan for the first time or looking to replace legacy WMS and TMS systems, SMC can support you from strategy through to delivery.

Expert insights from SMC

At Solution Minds Consulting, we’ve worked with organisations in manufacturing, distribution and retail, logistics, healthcare, ports and marine, and energy and renewables to evaluate, implement, and optimise platforms like Manhattan Associates.

In our experience, success comes from aligning supply chain systems with operational complexity, fulfilment models, and growth ambitions – not just ticking a feature box. We apply a structured, vendor-neutral process to help you make commercially sound decisions that support long-term scalability, automation, and data visibility.

Learn more about our approach to ERP Selection and Digital Strategy and Roadmaps.