Decide whether you're planning demand or planning the whole supply chain
Start here, because it changes the shortlist. Some of these 15 are demand forecasting modules bolted onto a broader planning suite (SAP Integrated Business Planning, Oracle Fusion Cloud Demand Management, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management); others are standalone forecasting and inventory tools (Netstock, Slimstock, GMDH Streamline). If your ERP already has a demand module, adding a second, separate forecasting tool means reconciling two sources of truth. Decide first whether you want forecasting embedded in the ERP you already run, or a specialist tool that sits alongside it and talks to that ERP.
Match target company size to your own, not to the vendor's ambition
The listings tag each vendor by target size: enterprise (Kinaxis Maestro, Blue Yonder, o9 Solutions, RELEX Solutions, SAP IBP, Oracle Fusion, Dynamics 365, Anaplan), mid (Logility, ToolsGroup, John Galt Solutions, Arkieva, GMDH Streamline, Slimstock), and smb (Netstock). A 20-to-500-person manufacturer buying an enterprise-tagged platform should expect an implementation built for a bigger buyer: more configuration, more integration work, and a longer sales cycle before you see a live forecast. That doesn't rule it out, but it changes your timeline.
Decide who administers this day to day
A forecasting tool that needs a dedicated planning analyst to maintain models is a different commitment than one an operations manager runs alongside other duties. None of the listings here publish staffing requirements, so this has to be a question you ask every vendor on your shortlist directly: who configures the model, who retrains it, and what happens when the person who set it up leaves.
TODO(editor): verify which of these 15 publish a named integration to common ERPs (NetSuite, SAP, Dynamics) versus requiring a custom connector project.
Check deployment before you check features
Fourteen of the fifteen listings here are cloud-deployed; GMDH Streamline is listed as hybrid. If your plant floor has connectivity or data-residency constraints that rule out pure cloud, that narrows the list to one option as published, and you should confirm the hybrid claim directly with the vendor before treating it as a differentiator.
Budget beyond the quote
Every vendor on this page quotes price on request, which means the number on your invoice depends on negotiation, seat count, and modules, not a list price you can compare today. Ask each finalist for a like-for-like quote covering the same seat count, the same modules, and the same length of contract, or the comparison is meaningless. Also ask what implementation costs on top of the licence: data migration, historical demand cleanup, and integration to your ERP or MES are typically separate line items and none of the 15 listings here disclose them.
TODO(editor): verify current company employee-count or revenue-band guidance for each "mid" and "enterprise" tag, since GMDH Streamline is the only listing with an explicit revenue band ($10M-$10B).
Decide what it has to talk to
A forecast is only useful if it feeds planning and purchasing decisions downstream. Before shortlisting, list every system this tool must exchange data with: your ERP, your MES, your label or barcode system if inventory triggers reorders automatically. None of the 15 listings specify integrations in the text available here.
TODO(editor): confirm which vendors here offer a documented API or pre-built connector, versus which require a systems integrator for ERP hookup, before publishing any integration claims.
