QAD is a company that provides enterprise resource planning (ERP) software to manufacturing companies.

QAD was formed in 1979 by Pamela Lopker, who remained president and chairman. QAD initially developed proprietary software applications for manufacturing companies in southern California. In 1984, QAD announced MFG/PRO. MFG/PRO was built using the Progress Software Corporation's Fourth Generation Language (4GL) and relational database. MFG/PRO was one of the first software applications built for manufacturers following the APICS principles. MFG/PRO was also one of the first applications to support closed loop Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP II), as well as operating in open systems. QAD software supports Lean Manufacturing principles and inter-operates with other systems via open standards. In 2003, a product called Supply Visualization was first hosted in multi-tenant configuration for QAD customers and those customers' suppliers making QAD an early player in providing SaaS software for manufacturing. Supplier Portal (previously called Supply Visualization and Supply Chain Portal) continues to allow customers and their authorized suppliers to share information about inventory, scheduling, purchase orders, shipments, Kanbans, and much more.

QAD stock began trading as of its initial public offering (IPO) on August 6, 1997.

It was in 2006 that QAD announced a user interface called .NET UI, and in 2007 its core product suite name was changed from MFG/PRO to QAD Enterprise Applications. QAD began their cloud apps in 2003, and it in 2011 they officially launched QAD On Demand, which has since been named QAD Cloud ERP. The QAD Cloud ERP solution was enhanced further when in 2015 the Channel Islands UX initiative was launched in phases named after the Channel Islands off the coast of Santa Barbara, CA. In 2017 the QAD Enterprise Platform was released as an easier way to deliver functionality to users utilizing Channel Islands in QAD Cloud ERP.

QAD sells its products and services to companies in six main manufacturing industries: automotive, consumer products, high technology, food and beverage, industrial equipment and life sciences. The company’s product suite is called QAD Enterprise Applications (known as MFG/PRO prior to 2007). QAD Enterprise Application is designed to streamline the management of manufacturing operations, supply chains, financials, customers, technology, and business performance. QAD Cloud ERP is marketed as software as a service (Saas) using cloud computing.

2006 - QAD acquired Precision Software, a company delivering transportation, global trade and supply chain management software to businesses.

2006 - QAD acquired Bisgen Ltd., a UK-based company whose product is tailored to the unique sales force and marketing automation needs of manufacturers.

2006 - QAD acquired FBO Systems, Inc., a Georgia-based company and leading provider of enterprise asset management (EAM) products and professional services.

2008 - QAD acquired FullTilt Solutions’ product suite, including Perfect Product Suite, called master data management (MDM) for Internet-enabled commerce.

2012 - QAD acquired CEBOS, a provider of quality management and management system standard software and services.

2012 - QAD acquired DynaSys, a European provider of collaborative demand and supply chain planning software.