# ERP

> ERP (enterprise resource planning) is cross-departmental business software that manages and analyses processes such as production, sales, logistics, finance and human resources.

Original page: https://t10.de/en/glossary/erp
Publisher: total10 GmbH, https://t10.de/en/glossary

According to the business dictionary [Gabler Wirtschaftslexikon](https://wirtschaftslexikon.gabler.de/definition/enterprise-resource-planning-system-51587) (in German), an ERP system supports all the business processes that run in a company. It is made up of modules for areas such as procurement, production, sales, asset management, human resources, and finance and accounting, all linked through a shared database. Newer systems can also manage and analyse processes outside the company.

The same dictionary has a separate entry for a related idea, the merchandise management system. It describes this as software that models the steps goods go through and handles all the data that accompanies them for a defined purpose. The dictionary places it in retail and wholesale. A warehouse management system (WMS) has its own entry in this glossary.

In our view, ERP and warehouse management systems handle the core processes reliably, but they are designed for standard cases. Where a workflow falls outside those cases, we build bespoke software alongside the ERP instead of rebuilding the ERP itself. This applies to SAP as much as to any other system. In e-commerce we connect the ERP to the shop, and where keeping the two in step follows fixed rules, no AI agent is needed.

## See also

- [API](https://t10.de/en/glossary/api): An API (application programming interface) is a defined set of functions and rules that lets one piece of software use the features or data of another system or service.
- [Interface](https://t10.de/en/glossary/interface): An interface is the point at which two systems, programs or components meet and exchange data; the word also covers the user interface between a person and software.
- [Business application](https://t10.de/en/glossary/business-application): In general terms, a business application is software used to perform or support business functions.
- [WMS](https://t10.de/en/glossary/wms): WMS stands for warehouse management system; according to the short description of VDI 3601, its task is to manage and optimise a company's internal storage and transport systems.

## Where the term appears

- [Bespoke software & business apps with Symfony](https://t10.de/en/symfony-development)
- [Pharma IT services: Non-GxP software](https://t10.de/en/pharma)
- [Online shops: Shopify and Shopware 5](https://t10.de/en/online-shops)
- [Non-GxP in pharma: what we build, what we leave out and where our systems stop](https://t10.de/en/blog/non-gxp-pharma-logistics)
- [Custom AI agents for businesses](https://t10.de/en/ai-agents)

## Sources

1. [ERP](https://wirtschaftslexikon.gabler.de/definition/erp-32375), Gabler Wirtschaftslexikon (Springer Gabler), accessed 2026-11-07
2. [Enterprise-Resource-Planning-System](https://wirtschaftslexikon.gabler.de/definition/enterprise-resource-planning-system-51587), Gabler Wirtschaftslexikon (Springer Gabler), accessed 2026-11-07
3. [Warenwirtschaftssystem (WWS)](https://wirtschaftslexikon.gabler.de/definition/warenwirtschaftssystem-wws-49748), Gabler Wirtschaftslexikon (Springer Gabler), accessed 2026-11-07