Propel has officially earned the Best for Customization distinction in the Quality Management category from Software Advice for 2026. If you're evaluating QMS software for a complex manufacturing environment, that distinction is worth unpacking.
It's easy for software vendors to claim flexibility. It's harder to earn it from 50+ verified reviews by the people who actually live in the system every day. That's what makes this recognition meaningful.
But the award is really a reflection of something Propel has been building toward since day one: the belief that a QMS should adapt to how you work, not the other way around.
Why QMS Customization Is a Strategic Requirement in 2026
In 2026, manufacturers are navigating a perfect storm. The FDA's new Quality Management System Regulation (QMSR)—which harmonizes 21 CFR Part 820 with ISO 13485:2016 and took effect February 2, 2026—has reset the regulatory baseline for medical device manufacturers.
The EU MDR continues to demand rigorous post-market surveillance and documentation. And across every industry, customer expectations for faster cycles and higher quality are accelerating.
The companies that will win aren't the ones with the most rigid compliance infrastructure. They're the ones whose quality systems can evolve without a full implementation project every time a regulation shifts.
This is precisely what makes customization a tier-one QMS requirement — not a nice-to-have. When your workflows are locked in by your software vendor, adapting to a new regulatory requirement means waiting for the next release, hiring consultants, or both. When your platform is built to flex, your team makes the change themselves.
"Compared to legacy PLM systems, Propel feels intuitive and configurable without being overly complex. I can tailor workflows, page layouts, and approvals to match our actual business processes instead of forcing the business to adapt to the tool. That flexibility is a big deal when products, teams, and compliance requirements evolve.”
Colton W., Verified Software Advice Review
What Makes Propel Different: Customization Without Compromise
Most legacy QMS tools were built in an era of on-premise software, where customization meant hiring a developer to write Java code that would break every time you upgraded. Oracle Agile PLM's Process Extensions are a textbook example: powerful in theory, but requiring extensive custom code that created maintenance nightmares, security vulnerabilities, and upgrade paralysis.
Propel was built from the ground up on Salesforce, the world's most trusted business cloud platform, used by over 150,000 companies worldwide. That architectural decision is what makes Propel's customization story fundamentally different from every legacy competitor.
Here's what customization actually looks like in Propel across four distinct layers:
1. Data Model Extensibility
Propel's objects can be extended with custom fields of virtually any data type. Need to capture a regulatory classification, a custom risk score, or a supplier-specific attribute? You add it through a no-code interface — no tickets to IT, no development queue. You can also create entirely new objects and connect them to Propel records via related lists, building data structures that mirror exactly how your business works.
2. Process Automation With Clicks, Not Code
Propel’s workflow automation, powered by Salesforce Flow, gives quality teams a drag-and-drop tool to build complex workflows, conditional routing, multi-step approvals, and automated notifications, all without writing a single line of code. When a change order is released, a platform event can automatically push data to connected ERP and supply chain systems. When a CAPA is opened, workflows can route automatically based on severity, product line, or site. The people who design these workflows are quality engineers and admins, not developers.
3. User Interface Configurability
Propel's interface is built on Salesforce Lightning and Lightning Web Components, which means every team can have a UI tailored to their role and workflow. Tabs can be added, removed, or shown conditionally based on user permissions. Buttons can be relabeled or repositioned. Custom components can surface exactly the data a user needs, exactly where they need it, without creating a fork in the codebase that makes upgrades painful.
4. Integration at Every Layer
Modern quality teams don't operate in isolation. Propel connects to ERPs, CAD/PDM tools, supply chain platforms, and service systems through REST and SOAP APIs, streaming APIs, and platform event-based integrations. With 7,000+ solutions available on the Salesforce AppExchange, you can extend Propel to virtually any enterprise application without custom middleware. And unlike legacy integrations that break every upgrade, Propel's integration model is upgrade-friendly by design.
Compliance Built In, Flexibility Built On
A critical point: customization in Propel doesn't mean trading away compliance.
The platform ships with out-of-the-box support for FDA 21 CFR Part 11 electronic records and signatures, ISO 13485:2016 and ISO 9001:2015 document traceability requirements, Design History Files (DHF), Device Master Records (DMR), CAPA, NCMRs, Complaints, Audits, and Supplier Quality. The compliance framework is the foundation. The customization is everything built on top of it.
This is what "Best for Customization" actually means in a regulated industry context: you don't have to choose between a system that's auditable and a system that fits your business. Propel delivers both.
What Propel Users Are Saying
The Software Advice recognition is grounded in the voices of real users. What they describe isn't feature checklists, it's day-to-day impact.
The below are verified Software Advice reviews:
“Propel, the best eQMS tool available in the market! What I love most about Propel is its incredible efficiency and comprehensive functionality. It’s an all-in-one powerhouse that keeps our entire eQMS on track and aligned with regulatory requirements.”
– Gabriela P., Propel user, medical devices
“I use Propel every day, not only for my Product Development job, but also to support our manufacturing teams in any challenges they might have. I can't imagine going back to how we were doing things pre-Propel. Propel allows users to consolidate from multiple platforms into once single interconnected platform. It has proven to reduce development time and facilitate data management.”
– Stivalis M., Propel user, medical devices
“[With Propel], my product data, customer data, cases, opportunities, and quality records all live on the same platform. That unified data model is a huge advantage, especially when I need engineering, quality, and commercial teams aligned around the same product record. I also really value the user experience. Compared to legacy PLM systems, Propel feels intuitive and configurable without being overly complex. I can tailor workflows, page layouts, and approvals to match our actual business processes instead of forcing the business to adapt to the tool. That flexibility is a big deal when products, teams, and compliance requirements evolve.”
– Colton W., Propel user, information technology and services
These reviews reflect something more than software satisfaction. They describe the confidence that comes from a platform that adapts to your work instead of forcing your work to adapt to it.
The Results Speak for Themselves
For manufacturers who've made the switch, Propel's flexibility translates directly into measurable business outcomes:
- Breg, a medical device company, achieved 186% ROI in under 13 months, cut product development time by 77%, and reduced quality document control effort by 50%. See case study.
- MSA Safety unified CRM, PLM, and QMS on a single platform and drove a 25% increase in revenue while headcount decreased 20%. See case study.
- Savant Systems achieved a 74% reduction in time to market and a 35% increase in revenue. See case study.
- Surmodics shaved approximately 205 days off its change management cycle by leveraging Propel's configurable workflows. See case study.
The common thread across every one of these stories: a platform that could be shaped to the way each company works — not the other way around.
What's Next: Customization Meets AI
Propel isn't standing still. The launch of Propel One, the company's agentic AI suite built on Salesforce Agentforce, takes customization to a new frontier.
Role-based AI agents now automate repetitive quality tasks, accelerate CAPA and NCR resolution, auto-generate training quizzes from SOPs, and surface compliance insights, all within the same configurable, secure platform.
The key distinction: because Propel One is built natively within the platform (not bolted on), AI capabilities inherit all of Propel's configurability. Your AI works the way your business works.
Why "Best for Customization" Is the Right Metric for QMS Buyers
When you're evaluating QMS software, "customization" isn't just a feature category; it's a proxy for how much control you'll retain over your own processes over time.
A rigid system will constrain your workflows at go-live and make every subsequent regulatory change more expensive. A flexible system compounds its value: it fits your processes today and adapts to whatever comes next.
Software Advice's Best for Customization distinction—awarded based on independent, verified user reviews—confirms that Propel delivers on this promise in practice, not just in sales pitches.
If you're building life-saving medical devices, cutting-edge high-tech hardware, or anything in between: your QMS should work for you. Propel does.
Propel holds a 4.3 out of 5 star rating based on 50+ verified reviews on Software Advice. Software Advice's independent and objective insights help software buyers evaluate which systems are most appropriate for their needs. Those insights are driven by proprietary data generated using their research methodologies.
Click here to request a personalized demo of Propel's QMS platform.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What does "customizable QMS" mean for medical device manufacturers?
A: A customizable QMS lets medical device manufacturers configure workflows, approval routing, data fields, and compliance processes to match their specific operations, without writing custom code. For regulated industries, this matters because FDA QMSR, ISO 13485, and EU MDR each impose distinct documentation and process requirements that a rigid, one-size-fits-all system can't easily accommodate. A truly customizable QMS adapts as regulations evolve, so teams aren't forced into costly reimplementations every time requirements shift.
Q: Does Propel QMS require coding to customize?
A: No. Propel is built on Salesforce's low-code/no-code platform, which means quality teams and system administrators can configure workflows, automate processes, add custom fields, and tailor the user interface using clicks, not code. Tools like Salesforce Flow Builder and Lightning App Builder allow non-developers to build complex automations, conditional approval routing, and role-based views without any development resources or IT tickets. Customizations are also upgrade-friendly: Propel releases updates three times per year, and customer configurations persist across upgrades.
Q: How is Propel QMS rated on Software Advice?
A: Propel holds an overall rating of 4.3 out of 5 stars on Software Advice, based on 50+ verified user reviews. In 2026, Software Advice recognized Propel with its Best for Customization distinction in the Quality Management software category, an award based on independent, proprietary research and real customer feedback, not vendor self-reporting.
Q: Can a QMS be flexible and still stay FDA and ISO compliant?
A: Yes, and this is one of the most important distinctions in QMS selection. Propel is designed to deliver compliance out of the box (supporting FDA 21 CFR Part 11, 21 CFR Part 820/QMSR, ISO 13485:2016, and ISO 9001:2015) while giving quality teams the flexibility to configure workflows on top of that compliant foundation. The compliance framework is fixed; everything built on it is configurable. This means manufacturers can adapt approval processes, document control workflows, CAPA routing, and training assignments to their exact operations without creating audit risk.
Q: What QMS software works best for high-growth or scaling manufacturers?
A: Manufacturers that are scaling—adding sites, expanding into new markets, or managing increasing regulatory complexity—need a QMS that grows with them without requiring re-implementation. Propel's cloud-native architecture on Salesforce means the data model, workflows, and integrations can be extended as the business evolves. Customers like Breg achieved 186% ROI in 13 months after switching to Propel, and MSA Safety drove a 25% revenue increase while reducing headcount by 20%. For high-growth companies, the platform's configurability eliminates the ceiling that legacy QMS tools typically impose.
