Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is a business management software—usually a suite of integrated applications—that a company can use to collect, store, manage and interpret data from many business activities, including:
Product planning, cost
Manufacturing or service delivery
Marketing and sales
Inventory management
Shipping and payment
ERP came to represent a larger whole that reflects the evolution of application integration beyond manufacturing. ERP provides an integrated view of core business processes, often in real-time, using common databases maintained by a database management system. ERP systems track business resources—cash, raw materials, production capacity—and the status of business commitments: orders, purchase orders, and payroll.
ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems typically include the following characteristics: [1] An integrated system that operates in (or near) real time without relying on periodic updates. [2] A common database that supports all applications [3] A consistent look and feel across modules