ERP (enterprise resource planning) is an integrated transaction-processing system that handles an organization's internal information.
The great benefit of ERP is integration. If you add a new sales order to the system, everything related to the order also changes, including sales commissions, inventory requirements, manufacturing schedules and the balance sheet. With ERP-enabled integration, all employees can use the same information and business processes and get the same results when the system is queried.
From ERP: still alive in the Internet age, Network World, 02/28/00
