What is Enterprise Resource Planning?

Enterprise Resource Planning (abbreviated to ERP) refers to a software solution for resource planning in a company. ERP integrates a large number of business applications and operating data, which are processed and stored in a central database and are the heart of every company and always the central and leading system within the IT system landscape.

In manufacturing companies, a core function of ERP is material requirements planning (see also Material Requirement Planning and Manufacturing Resources Planning), which must ensure that all materials required for the manufacture of products and components are available in the right place, at the right time and in the right quantity. The overall aim is to eliminate the previous conflicts of objectives and achieve them as performance characteristics:

• High quality and high productivity

• High security of supply and low capital commitment

• Complexity reduction and flexibility

• High continuity and low lead time

Today, this task is mainly performed with the help of IT systems based on modern information and communication technology in the cloud or on premises.