Xentral ERP 2026: The Complete Test & Why Your Shop Needs More

Introduction: The End of Dumb Inventory Management

Anyone scaling an online shop in 2025 or 2026 faces a brutal truth: it's no longer enough to just ship packages on time. The days when an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system was merely a glorified Excel spreadsheet for inventory management are over.

The market leader in the cloud segment for the German mid-market, Xentral, has repositioned itself. Moving away from a pure management tool toward the "Agentic ERP" – a system that doesn't just store data but actively thinks along with you. But what does this mean for you as a retailer?

In this article, we take an unfiltered look at Xentral. We analyze the costs, the real user experiences, and compare it with established players like JTL or Plentymarkets. But we go one step further than typical test reports: we reveal the content gap that nobody talks about – the connection between perfect backend logistics and intelligent frontend sales consultation.

What Is Xentral ERP? (And Who Is It Really For?)

Xentral is a cloud-based ERP software specifically developed for e-commerce companies, D2C brands (Direct-to-Consumer), and modern wholesale operations. Unlike classic "dinosaurs" like SAP or pure on-premise solutions like JTL-Wawi, Xentral runs 100% in the browser.

The Target Audience: Who Needs This?

Xentral isn't designed for the hobby shop packing 5 packages a day. The sweet-spot target audience can be clearly defined:

• Scaling Startups & SMBs: You've achieved product-market fit and ship between 500 and 50,000 orders per month.
• Multichannel Retailers: You don't just sell on Shopify but also on Amazon (FBA/FBM), OTTO, Kaufland, and perhaps even in brick-and-mortar retail (POS).
• Automation Enthusiasts: You want processes like invoicing, shipping label printing, and inventory synchronization to run without human intervention.

The Strategic Twist: Xentral as Your Data Foundation

Many retailers see Xentral only as a tool to avoid warehouse chaos. That's thinking too small. In a world where AI (Artificial Intelligence) is taking over sales, Xentral becomes your "Single Source of Truth".

When your product data (attributes, inventory, prices, EANs) is cleanly maintained in the ERP, Xentral becomes the launch pad for advanced sales technologies. Without a clean ERP, there's no functioning AI – more on that later.

Deep Dive: Key Xentral Features in Our Test

To understand whether Xentral is worth the investment, we need to dive deep into the core features. Based on updates from 2024 and 2025, the platform has evolved massively according to Xentral's official documentation.

3.1 Logistics & The Order Traffic Light System

The heart of Xentral is logistics automation. One feature stands out particularly, praised in almost all Xentral user experiences: The Order Traffic Light as documented on Xentral's help pages.

How it works: Each order passes through a visual traffic light check:

• Inventory Status: Is the product in stock? (Green/Red)
• Payment Status: Has the customer paid? (Green/Red)
• Shipping Status: Is the address valid? (Green/Red)

Auto-Shipping: When all lights are green, "Auto-Ship" kicks in. The system automatically creates the delivery note, prints the DHL/DPD label, and sends the tracking email to the customer – without any employee lifting a finger.

Mobile Picking App (2025 Update): Xentral released a new Mobile Picking App in 2025 as announced on their community platform. This replaces old MDE devices with modern smartphones (iOS/Android). It drastically reduces picking errors as employees are guided through scanning (Multi-Order-Picking).

3.2 Multichannel & Integrations

An ERP is only as good as its connections. Xentral follows an API-First approach as detailed on their developer documentation. This means every function is theoretically accessible via code.

• Shopify & Shopware 6: The integration runs deep. Not only are orders imported, but inventory is synchronized in real-time, tracking data is returned, and even payment status is reconciled as shown in YouTube tutorials.
• Marketplaces: Amazon (including FBA relocation), eBay, OTTO, and Kaufland are natively connected.
• DATEV: Essential for German retailers. The DATEV interface was completely overhauled in 2024/2025 according to OMR Reviews, enabling seamless transfer of accounting data (invoices, credits) to your tax advisor.

3.3 Xentral Flows: The New Automation Engine

A highlight from the September 2025 product update is Xentral Flows as detailed on the Xentral community.

Previously, retailers had to commission expensive custom scripts for special logic ("If customer is from Switzerland AND order value > €1,000, then send email to customs officer").

• No-Code/Low-Code: With Flows, you can visually click together workflows.
• Use Case Example: A VIP customer places an order. Xentral Flows recognizes the "VIP" tag in the Shopify order and automatically sets the order to "High Priority" in the warehouse and triggers a Slack message to support.

3.4 NextGen UI: Modern Interface Design

For a long time, Xentral's user interface was functional but dated. With the NextGen UI shown on their main platform, the design was modernized. There's now a "Smart Search" (similar to Spotlight on Mac) that lets you find orders or products in a flash without clicking through menus.

Xentral Experiences & Test: The Unvarnished Truth

When searching for "xentral experiences", you'll find a mixed picture on platforms like OMR Reviews, Capterra, or Trustpilot. We summarize the consensus and add insider knowledge.

The Strengths (Pros)

1. Scalability: Users report growing from 100 to 5,000 orders per day with Xentral without switching systems.
2. Process Hygiene: Xentral forces you into clean processes. It's painful at first but saves you in the long run.
3. Ecosystem: With over 200 integrations and an active community, you'll find a solution for almost every problem.

The Weaknesses (Cons) & Criticism

1. Price Increases: A massive criticism point in 2023-2025 were the pricing adjustments. Users reported cost jumps from €300 to €600. This is often the price of transitioning from a "startup tool" to an "enterprise platform."
2. Support Response Times: Despite improvements (Helpbot, Academy), users often complain about slow ticket processing for complex technical issues.
3. Steep Learning Curve: Xentral is powerful but complex. Without professional onboarding (see costs), many retailers fail at setup. It's not "plug & play" like simple Shopify apps.

Xentral Costs 2025: A Realistic TCO Analysis

The question of "xentral costs" is complex since the pricing model is dynamic and based on order volume. Here's the breakdown based on current data from the Xentral pricing page.

5.1 License Costs (Monthly)

Note: Additional orders cost extra (approx. €0.20 - €0.30 per order).

5.2 The Hidden Costs (Total Cost of Ownership)

Many retailers only calculate the license fee. That's a mistake. A realistic calculation for the first year looks different:

Xentral vs JTL vs Plentymarkets: The Comparison

The market is fiercely competitive. Here's the direct comparison for 2025/2026 based on analysis from Magnalister and Xentral's comparison pages.

Our Verdict on ERP Selection

• Choose JTL if you need to watch every penny and have no problem with Windows servers.
• Choose Plentymarkets if you have a huge focus on marketplaces and want everything (Shop & ERP) from one source.
• Choose Xentral if you're looking for a modern, API-driven cloud solution that serves as a clean data backend for further tools (like AI).

The Future: Agentic ERP – More Than Just a Buzzword?

In 2025 and 2026, the term "Agentic ERP" appears more and more frequently as discussed by Microchannel and covered in ERP Today. Xentral is positioning itself strongly here. But what does it mean?

From Automation to Autonomy

• Classic Automation (2020): "If inventory < 5, send email to purchasing." (Rule-based).
• Agentic AI (2026): An AI agent monitors inventory. It notices that sales for Product A are rising because an influencer posted about it. The agent decides independently to prepare a reorder and suggests slightly increasing the price to optimize margin. It only asks the human for confirmation ("Should I order?").

Xentral is building these "Agents" directly into the ERP to revolutionize internal processes (purchasing, disposition, accounting). That's fantastic for operational efficiency.

The Missing Puzzle Piece: From Managing to Selling

Here lies the great strategic opportunity that most Xentral tests overlook.

You now have a high-end ERP (Xentral) that keeps your data clean and automates your logistics. Your warehouse is efficient. But your online shop is still "dumb." The customer sees a list of 500 products and has to click through filters themselves.

The Full Circle Tech Stack Strategy

To become a market leader in 2026, you need to use the ERP as the foundation and AI as the architect.

1. Backend Intelligence (Xentral)

• Structures data (attributes, variants, inventory)
• Knows return rates ("Product A is often returned because it runs small")
• Knows the margins

2. Frontend Intelligence (AI Solution)

• This is where specialized AI software comes into play
• It accesses the clean data from Xentral
• It acts as an active sales consultant in chat

Why Simple Bots Fail and ERP Data Is the Key

A simple chatbot (like those often found in shops) fails because it has no idea about reality.

That's the difference. Xentral delivers the data (inventory, delivery time, return knowledge), the AI delivers the consultation.

Conclusion & Recommendation

Is Xentral the right ERP for you?

• Yes, if you're building a modern e-commerce company that doesn't want to drown in paperwork. The investment in Xentral is an investment in scalability. The costs are significant, but the experiences show that the efficiency gains justify this.
• No, if you only run a hobby project or are extremely price-sensitive.

Our Final Verdict

Xentral is currently one of the best operating systems for the German e-commerce mid-market. It excellently solves the problem of operational complexity.

FAQ: Common Questions About Xentral