Definition
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is business software that runs core operations, such as sales, purchasing, inventory and accounting, on one shared database so every department works from the same records.
What is ERP used for?
Without an ERP, each team keeps its own system or spreadsheet, and someone re-keys data between them: an order typed into the sales sheet, again into the warehouse list and again into the accounts. An ERP connects those steps, so a document created by one team is the starting point for the next, and transactions update the books as they happen.
ERPs range from large suites for multinationals to lighter systems for small and mid-sized companies, and many now run as cloud ERP in a browser.
Example: a distributor’s quotation becomes a sales order, a delivery note and then an invoice without anyone retyping it. See 9 signs your trading business has outgrown Excel.
Three apps, one login
- CRMCustomers, deals, quotations, sales orders
- InventoryStock, purchasing, receiving, warehouse
- AccountingBooks per entity, posting, receivables
One shared layer
- One data modelTasks, calendar, approvals, workflows, permissions