ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) Software

Manufacturing was the original spawning ground of MRP and MRP II which later evolved into the now ubiquitous ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) that we find in virtually every type of corporate entity.

ERP has evolved from a technique to plan dependent demand materials (“Material Requirements Planning” or “MRP”) in the seventies via a coherent set of best practices to plan and control the resources in a manufacturing concern (“MRPII”) in the eighties to “Enterprise Resource Planning” (ERP) software systems in the nineties. Nowadays, ERP is seen as an integrated computer system that powers the business processes of any business, not just manufacturing, via embedded best practices and a unified database.

ERP Software Functionality

Integrated Information

• Integrates information across all departments

• Allows users to input data in one location that can be processed with other data and accessed as informational reports in real-time
  

Flow of Information

• Facilitates the flow of information between the different functions and processes of an enterprise

• Functions: manufacturing, finance, HR, sales and distribution, material management, logistics

• Processes: order entry, reporting, receiving, shipping, accounting

Plan Events

• Plans future events

Track Events

• Tracks a wide range of events in the enterprise in an integrated fashion

Analyze Events

• Supports analysis of trends, to improve the performance of the enterprise.

NINE ERP Software Components

There are many different ERP software systems on the market and each is configured differently in terms of modules and major elements. We present the following nine components as characteristic of any modern ERP system:

1. Financials & Accounting Software
   
2. Human Resources
3. Sale and Distribution
4. Manufacturing
5. Materials Management
6. Logistics
7. Reporting
8. Business Rules
9. Workflow

Find out more about ERP Software by downloading the ERP Software PDF!