Cin7 is frequently recommended to brands running a warehouse, Shopify and wholesale, and for some of them it is the right answer. But "Cin7" is two separate products, and the one you pick determines whether you can do retailer EDI at all. Cin7's own materials describe Core and Omni as separate products rather than sequential tiers, and no migration path between them is documented. This page lays out that fork honestly, then shows where AIMS360 differs.
Cin7 Core was formerly DEAR Inventory. Published pricing, turnkey onboarding, and deeper manufacturing including multi-level bills of material and production jobs. Cin7 Omni was the original Cin7. It adds native EDI, deeper 3PL connectivity and more advanced warehouse management, on custom pricing with professional services required.
The part that catches brands out: Cin7's own FAQ describes Core as supporting complex manufacturing while Omni supports a more simplified manufacturing process. So the enterprise product is the weaker one on production. And these are separate products with no documented migration path, which means outgrowing your choice is a re-implementation rather than an upgrade.
For a consumer brand that both makes product and sells to chain retailers, that fork is a genuine problem. You need production depth and EDI, and Cin7 asks you to pick which one matters more at the moment you sign.
Multi-level BOMs and production jobs. Published pricing. Self-implementable. No native EDI. Integration slots are counted: ecommerce, marketplaces and shipping providers consume them.
Native EDI, 3PL connectivity, advanced warehouse management, B2B portal. Custom pricing, professional services required. Simplified manufacturing.
One product. Native EDI to 350+ retailers, full WMS, and real production depth in the same system. Nothing to choose between and nothing to re-implement later.
This is the single biggest practical difference, and it only shows up once a chain account arrives.
| Cin7 Core | Cin7 Omni | AIMS360 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Native EDI | Not included | Yes | Yes, in the base platform |
| Retailer maps maintained by | n/a | Cin7 plus trading partner networks | AIMS360 in-house across 350+ retailers |
| Per-document or per-transaction fees | n/a | Trading partner billing is common and reviewers report it | None. No per-document, per-transaction, VAN or kilocharacter fees |
| Who fixes a failed document | n/a | Split between Cin7 and the trading partner | One team owns the ERP record and the EDI document |
| Emergency support | Standard channels | Standard channels | 24x7 emergency support explicitly covering EDI |
Public reviews of Cin7 Omni include operators describing EDI error files that had to be reprocessed, with the trading partner's EDI processing bill rising by around two thousand dollars as a result. That is the shape of per-transaction EDI economics: the months you ship most are the months the bill climbs. AIMS360 EDI is flat by trading partner precisely to remove that.
Independent buyer guidance is blunter still: brands planning retailer EDI within the next 18 months are advised to skip Core-tier shortlists entirely and only evaluate Omni against a full ERP.
Compared against Cin7's published materials and independent reviews checked in August 2026. Where Cin7 is stronger, it says so.
| Capability | AIMS360 | Cin7 |
|---|---|---|
| Product architecture | One product, one upgrade path | Two products, no documented migration path between them |
| Native retailer EDI | 350+ retailers, in-house maps, no per-transaction fees | Omni only. Core has none |
| Style, colour and size matrix | Matrix-first, native to the data model | Variant-based, workable but not matrix-native |
| Production depth | Cut tickets, WIP, costing, BOM, factory POs, garment dye and decoration | Strong in Core (multi-level BOM, production jobs), simplified in Omni |
| Warehouse management | Full WMS included: bins, barcode, all warehouse types; RFID as an add-on | Advanced WMS in Omni; Core has an upgrade path to Advanced Warehouse Management |
| Factoring and receivables finance | Hilldun, CIT, Merchant Financial and others in daily workflow | Not a documented capability |
| Chargeback management | Tracked to resolution by dollar amount | Not documented |
| Integration breadth | Deep in consumer brands: JOOR, NuORDER, RepSpark, Brandboom, Faire, 3PLs, marketplaces | Broader overall: 700+ integrations, a genuine Cin7 strength |
| Accounting | Syncs to QuickBooks, Sage 100, NetSuite, Dynamics | Very tight Xero integration, widely praised, plus QuickBooks Online |
| Published pricing | Three plans by team size, modular add-ons, published | Core published at $349 to $999 per month. Omni custom-quoted |
| Implementation | 3 to 16 weeks, named manager, scoped before you sign | Core self-implementable or partner-led; Omni requires professional services |
| Track record in consumer brands | Since 1984, 10,000+ brands all-time, $45B+ processed | 8,500+ customers globally across all industries |
| Peak volume published | 1.2M orders in a single day, 160K+ SKUs live | No comparable published benchmark |
Whether you run Cin7 Core or Cin7 Omni, the switch follows the same path. Core brands also gain native EDI along the way.
A named AIMS360 implementation manager maps what you run on Cin7 today: which edition, your channels, retailers, warehouses or 3PL, production and accounting.
Cin7 products and variants convert into AIMS360 styles with color and size grids, along with customers, suppliers, stock by location, open sales orders and purchase orders.
Omni brands move their retailer EDI to AIMS360's native EDI, and Core brands, which have no native EDI, add it. Each retailer is mapped and tested before the first live order.
Shopify connects through AIMS360's listed app, and your 3PL through AIMS360's own 3PL integration, built in house and maintained and upgraded as part of your subscription.
Opening inventory and open orders are reconciled against Cin7 before cutover, so nothing ships twice or goes missing.
The implementation manager who scoped the project stays on the account after go-live, with 24x7 emergency EDI support behind the team.
99% of AIMS360 clients are live within 90 days, and the project implementation success rate is 97.5%, from AIMS360's own implementation analysis. See how implementation works.
Both companies publish something. Neither published number is what you pay in year one, and that is normal rather than sinister. Here is the honest shape.
| Line | Cin7 | AIMS360 |
|---|---|---|
| Published subscription | Core: $349, $599 and $999 per month for 5, 10 and 15 users. Omni: custom quote | Three plans by team size, published, plus modular add-ons |
| Implementation | Independent estimates put Core partner projects around $5K to $30K, and Omni around $25K to $150K | Scoped with you at AIMS360's expense before you sign |
| EDI running cost | Trading partner billing on Omni, which moves with volume | Flat per trading partner, no per-document or per-transaction fees |
| Capacity limits | Core plans include fixed allowances with charges beyond them, and integration slots are counted | No transaction caps or counted integration slots |
The practical advice on both sides is the same: ignore the sticker and ask any vendor for a reference customer at your revenue band, then ask that customer what year one actually cost. Our pricing page publishes the structure so the conversation starts from something real.
We would rather you buy the right thing than buy ours. Several profiles genuinely fit Cin7 better.
If you are still mapping the field, the nine-system Shopify ERP guide covers both alongside NetSuite, Brightpearl, Fulfil, Acumatica, Business Central, SAP Business One and Katana. And if your question is the operational one rather than the vendor one, start with warehouse plus Shopify plus wholesale.
They are separate products rather than sequential tiers. Core, formerly DEAR Inventory, has published pricing from $349 to $999 per month, turnkey onboarding and deeper manufacturing including multi-level bills of material and production jobs. Omni adds native EDI, deeper 3PL connectivity, advanced warehouse management and a B2B portal, on custom pricing with professional services.
Two things surprise buyers: Cin7's own materials describe Omni's manufacturing as more simplified than Core's, and no migration path between the two products is documented. Outgrowing your choice means re-implementing rather than upgrading.
Cin7 Omni does. Cin7 Core does not include native EDI. If retailer EDI is on your roadmap, that alone narrows your Cin7 evaluation to Omni, which changes the pricing model from published to custom and adds required professional services.
The running cost is the part to model carefully. Trading partner billing on EDI moves with volume, so peak months cost more to transmit. AIMS360 EDI is priced flat per trading partner with no per-document, per-transaction, VAN or kilocharacter fees.
It can be, and for some profiles it is the better choice. Where it thins out is variant depth. Apparel, footwear and accessories run on style by colour by size, and beauty and wellness run on lots, shades and pack configurations. Cin7 handles variants but is not matrix-native, so size runs, prepacks and assortments take more configuration.
AIMS360 is matrix-first because it was built for this from 1984. See the ten consumer categories it serves.
For inventory-first operations, largely yes, and that is how it is usually positioned: a mid-market alternative to enterprise ERPs at lower cost and complexity. Cin7 has native accounting features and can also run against Xero or QuickBooks Online.
Where the ERP question reasserts itself is production, retailer compliance, factoring and chargebacks. Those are the workflows that decide whether a consumer brand needs an ERP or an inventory platform.
Cin7 Core publishes $349, $599 and $999 per month for 5, 10 and 15 users. Omni is custom-quoted. Independent estimates put Core implementation around $5K to $30K with a partner and Omni around $25K to $150K. Core plans also carry fixed allowances with charges beyond them, and counted integration slots.
AIMS360 publishes three plans by team size with modular add-ons, scopes the project at its own expense before you sign, and does not meter EDI. See pricing.
Omni includes advanced warehouse management, and Core offers an upgrade path to Advanced Warehouse Management with barcode scanning, picking, packing and stock transfers across unlimited locations.
AIMS360 includes a full WMS in the platform rather than as a tier: bin locations and barcode scanning across your own warehouses, 3PL warehouses, sample and virtual warehouses, with RFID available as an add-on. Los Angeles Apparel runs warehouse and retail on it at 99% inventory accuracy.
Two things clearly. Its integration catalogue is broader at 700+ connections, which matters if you sell across many niche marketplaces. And its Xero integration is tighter than most of the category, which matters a great deal if your finance team will not move off Xero.
Cin7 Core also publishes self-serve pricing and can be implemented without professional services, which suits an early brand that wants to start without a project.
Last reviewed 19 August 2026 by AIMS360.
Compared against Cin7's published product and pricing materials, its own FAQ, and independent reviews and buyer guidance checked in August 2026. Pricing and product structure change; verify current terms with Cin7 before deciding. If Cin7 publishes something that changes a row here, we will update it.
Whether that is a retailer asking for EDI, a size run that will not behave, or a warehouse re-keying orders. We will show you how it runs, and tell you if Cin7 is the better fit.
Ask your ERP a question in plain English and get an answer from your live data. AIMS360 publishes a plugin in the ChatGPT plugin directory under Business and Operations, so you can type things like "which customers have overdue orders" or "top 10 styles by units shipped this month" directly in ChatGPT and get them answered from your own orders, styles, and invoices. It installs in one click, the same way you would connect any other app in ChatGPT.
Checked September 2026
Cin7 markets AI features. No published ChatGPT plugin or MCP connection was found for either Core or Omni
Cin7 describes AI-assisted forecasting and automation in its materials, and that is real. What we could not find for Core or Omni is a published listing in the ChatGPT plugin directory or an MCP server, which are the two things that let you point ChatGPT or Claude at your own data rather than using whatever AI the vendor builds inside its product. Directories change, so this reflects what was listed as of September 2026. The test takes thirty seconds: ask any vendor for the URL of their listing.
The plugin runs on an open MCP server rather than a closed vendor integration, which means the same live AIMS360 connection also works with Claude and other MCP-capable assistants, and every improvement those frontier models make arrives without waiting on a release. On a page about a product fork, it is worth noting this one does not fork: the same connection covers wholesale, EDI, DTC, and the warehouse, because they are one platform. More on AIMS360 AI automations.
