Enterprise resource planning is a business management system that trys to integrate data from all facets of a business, including planning, manufacturing, sales, and marketing. This approach is best known by its abbreviation -- ERP. As enterprise resource planning has become accepted by managers, software applications have been developed to support inventory control, order tracking, customer service, financial management and human resource management.

The major vendors of ERP software include: SAP, Oracle, Infor, Sage Group, Microsoft, and Lawson.