Glossary · Manufacturing systems
Enterprise resource planning (ERP)
Also known as: ERP, ERP system
German: Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
In business and manufacturing IT, enterprise resource planning (ERP) is the integrated software that manages a company's core business processes, such as finance, purchasing, sales, inventory, production planning and human resources, on a common database.
- Manufacturing systems
In one sentence
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is integrated software for finance, purchasing, sales, inventory and production planning.
Example
The ERP system creates production orders from customer orders and sends them to the MES for detailed scheduling and execution.
How it applies
- Architecture: In the ISA-95 / IEC 62264 model, ERP sits at level 4 (business planning and logistics). It exchanges orders, material and performance data with the Manufacturing execution system (MES) at level 3.
- Production: ERP holds master data such as the Bill of materials (BOM) and routings, plans material requirements and capacity, and books consumption and output.
- Documentation: ERP master data often feed technical documentation (part numbers, variants, spare parts) and the digital product passport. Define which system is the source of truth for each data element.
ERP vs. MES
ERP plans in days and weeks and manages business transactions. The MES controls execution in minutes and seconds on the shop floor. Many functions, such as detailed scheduling or quality data, can sit in either system; each project must allocate them explicitly.