Why Wrike made G2’s Top 50 PLM and ERP software lists

In G2’s 2026 Best Software Awards, Wrike showed up in two categories you might not typically associate with work management software. Wrike was named: 

• #42 on the Best CAD and PLM Software Products list
• #29 on the Best ERP Software Products list

But Wrike isn’t a PLM or an ERP. It’s a work management platform. 

So why did users rank Wrike among PLM and ERP products? Moreover, in the PLM list, why was Wrike named the only dedicated project collaboration/work management platform to make the top 50?

Because your PLM and ERP tools are only as powerful as the work management software used to connect them.

PLM, ERP, CRM, and PSA tools run your data and transactions, but they don’t fully run your work. Wrike fills that gap as a central work management layer — the connective tissue between systems, teams, and processes.

Before we give ourselves a pat on the back, we want to explain the value of that layer. Today, we’re going to dive into how organizations across manufacturing, professional services, and beyond are using Wrike to get more from the systems they already own. 

Why is a work management layer important if you already have PLM and ERP?

Let’s start with the basics. Most mature organizations already have a rich systems landscape:

• PLM / CAD for product data, engineering changes, and configurations
• ERP / PSA for finance, inventory, billing, and revenue recognition
• CRM for sales and account management
• Specialized tools for design, analytics, and support

Individually, these tools are powerful. But the work that connects them is often scattered across a range of sources. 

• Spreadsheets
• Slide decks
• Email threads
• Chat channels
• Local file shares 
• One-off project tools

The result is a familiar and inefficient pattern. Silos between teams living in different systems, causing significant delays. Friction and duplicated work with information having to be copied and reinterpreted. Limited visibility into project progress, who’s doing what, and what’s at risk. And slow decisions leading to missed targets for launches, projects, and results. 

That’s not a problem with your PLM or ERP. It’s a problem with work orchestration. And that’s why you need Wrike. 

How does Wrike integrate with PLM and ERP systems?

Wrike connects to your PLM, ERP, CRM, and other core tools through integrations, APIs, and automations so work can flow smoothly between systems. Your PLM and ERP remain the systems of record for product and financial data, while Wrike becomes the shared workspace where teams plan, execute, and track the work that depends on that data.

Wrike functions as your central work management layer.

Wrike sits alongside your systems of record to act as the central hub for planning and execution. 

Wrike integrates with leading PLM and ERP systems via native integrations, APIs, and iPaaS connectors, so you can orchestrate work across tools like CAD/PLM, ERP/PSA, and CRM.

Instead of each team managing projects in its own tool or spreadsheet, Wrike becomes the shared workspace for planning and executing cross-functional work. That means stakeholders can see a single, real-time view of status and risk, and that decisions are captured with full context. 

Better yet? The right data flows into your systems of record. 

For technical teams, this means moving beyond the rigid structures of traditional software toward a more agile approach.

In practice, this looks like:

• Unified orchestration: Connecting people and data through structured workflows with clear owners, due dates, and phase-gate approvals that mirror your actual business logic.
• Reduced manual effort: Using automation to handle updates and handoffs, cutting down the friction of moving data between teams.
• Total portfolio visibility: Accessing dashboards and Gantt views for real-time insight into team capacity, project timelines, and audit trails for every decision made.
• Cross-tool transparency: Gaining a high-level view of who is doing what across various teams and tools, ensuring at-risk work is spotted before it impacts the bottom line.
• Performance measurement: Tracking actual versus planned timelines and identifying bottlenecks or reworking trends to improve future resource utilization.

Your PLM, ERP, and other systems remain the systems of record. Wrike becomes the system of work that connects them.

This is especially critical in manufacturing, where the “work” around a CAD file involves dozens of non-technical stakeholders. 

The power of having a foundation for AI that spans your systems

There’s another emerging benefit to having Wrike as your central work management layer: it gives AI a unified, high‑quality view of how work actually happens across tools and teams.

Instead of each system applying AI in isolation to its own siloed data, Wrike:

• Aggregates work, context, and activity into a single environment
• Provides structured workflows, fields, and timelines that AI can reason over
• Becomes the place where AI can surface insights and recommendations that account for the full cross‑functional picture

This means your AI initiatives can move beyond narrow, system‑by‑system use cases and start supporting end‑to‑end workflows that span PLM, ERP, CRM, and more. For example, manufacturers are using AI and exploring how a unified work platform can accelerate product development and operations — a topic we explore further here.

Wrike’s role as the connective layer amplifies the potential of AI across your entire stack.

Why do you need Wrike to connect your core systems?

If you’ve already invested in PLM, ERP, CRM, and other core systems but still struggle with:

• Work is scattered across tools and teams
• Limited visibility into projects and portfolios
• Slow decisions and inconsistent execution
• Pressure to deliver more with the same resources

Then the missing piece probably isn’t another system of record. It’s a system of work.

Wrike is that layer: a central work management platform that connects your people, processes, and systems so you can run your business with clarity and control.

But you don’t have to take our word for it — our G2 reviewers managed to do that for us. Did you know that only 0.63% of the 179,500+ vendors listed on G2 earned a spot in Best Software 2026? Cracking both the PLM and ERP Top 50 lists is all the more impressive in light of that stat.

Ready to explore how Wrike can complement your current stack? Our free two-week trial is ready for you to take one of your critical workflows for a test drive. Or contact one of our sales team members for a full demo.