What is an ERP system? This guide explains what an ERP system is and how it works for your business. Two primary concerns of any business are efficiency and profitability. This is basically what an ERP system is designed to optimize. An ERP system allows you to perform the necessary money-making processes of your business as efficiently as possible. To achieve a level of efficiency and profitability, a business aims to maximize it’s bottom line while keeping overhead costs low. An ERP system provides a business with management software that fosters productivity. The term “ERP” stands for Enterprise Resource Planning. Basically, an ERP system is a shared database that reflects the moving parts of a company. This provides a much broader, top-down perspective of your business. Installing an ERP system will grant you a much fuller picture of what is actually going on, in any given period of time. Some processes in which you can gain some business insights include: sales, human resources, inventory, purchasing, finances, online ordering and many more buckets. The main objective of an ERP system is to improve how your business resources are spent, and that means money and time. By taking a wide-view, and analyzing every aspect of your business, you will be able to decide if you are properly deploying your resources in a way that will drive maximum profitability.