ERP

ERP, enterprise resource planning, is software that runs a company's core operational and financial processes on one shared database, so that a transaction entered once is available everywhere it is needed. What it covers in practice depends on the industry the system was built for.

What does an ERP system typically include?

Finance and accounting, purchasing, inventory, sales, and some form of production or service delivery, often with human resources alongside. The common factor is the shared database, not the module list, which differs considerably between systems. What it covers in practice depends on the industry the system was built for.

Why does ERP mean different things to different companies?

Because ERP grew out of manufacturing, where the central objects are materials, stock and production orders. A business that sells hours rather than goods needs the same idea applied to different objects, which is why project and service variants exist.

What is the difference between ERP and a collection of separate tools?

One database instead of several, and therefore one version of each figure. The cost of separate tools is not the licences but the reconciliation, and the questions that cannot be answered because the data never meets. With one shared database, a transaction entered once is available everywhere it is needed.

When is a classic ERP the wrong fit?

When the thing being sold is time. A system organized around stock and bills of materials has nowhere natural to put a billable hour, a quoted effort or a utilization rate, and those are exactly the figures a project business runs on.

troi is an ERP and PSA system for project-based companies. See all features.