ERP

(pronounced: E-R-P or urp)

A business management system designed to help companies manage and analyze the business processes associated with manufacturing goods, such as inventory control, order taking, and accounting. ERP is a broad set of activities that help a business manage certain processes. It is usually integrated with a relational database system (see: DBMS). Deploying ERP can be a complicated, enterprise-wide process, involving the analysis of business processes, the development of new work procedures, the replacement of legacy systems, and the retraining of staff. ERP systems address the people and partners that manufacturers collaborate and coordinate with in their supply chains. The software component helps midsize manufacturers effectively automate and manage business-critical operations across their supply chains, tying the front and back office together by integrating multiple applications for production, planning, engineering, finance, and customer relationship management (CRM). To keep midsize manufacturers competitive with their larger counterparts, extended ERP suites also offer interfaces to e-business technologies. PeopleSoft, SAP, and J.D. Edwards are a few providers of ERP outsourcing.