ERP is designed to streamline, control and optimize processes in an organization; sales enquiry to purchase to production to dispatch to receipt of payment. It also helps the organization coordinate various activities in an optimum manner. The goal of ERP is to integrate all facets of an business; planning, manufacturing, sales, human resources, financials to manage across the enterprise

ERP is variously defined as: -A unification of business processes through integrated enterprise applications and centralized data; & -Cure to the "Islands of information" syndrome In fact, ERP software can tackle just about every aspect of a manufacturer's business, from payroll and accounts receivable to inventory, purchasing, shop-floor control, configuration management, capacity and materials planning, lot tracing, distribution, and more. Many products are modular, allowing a company to start with the functions it needs now, and add more later.