An enterprise resource planning (ERP) system is a set of core software modules that enable organizations to share data across the entire enterprise through the use of a common database and management reporting tools. The goal is to enable easy access to business data and to create efficient, streamlined work processes.

Origin of "ERP"
In 1990 Gartner Group first employed the acronym ERP as an extension of material requirements planning (MRP), later manufacturing resource planning and computer-integrated manufacturing. Without supplanting these terms, ERP came to represent a larger whole, reflecting the evolution of application integration beyond manufacturing. Not all ERP packages were developed from a manufacturing core. Vendors variously began with accounting, maintenance and human resources. By the mid–1990s ERP systems addressed all core functions of an enterprise. Beyond corporations, governments and non–profit organizations also began to employ ERP systems.[7] Expansion
ERP systems experienced rapid growth in the 1990s because the year 2000 problem and introduction of the Euro disrupted legacy systems. Many companies took this opportunity to replace such systems with ERP.
ERP systems initially focused on automating back office functions that did not directly affect customers and the general public. Front office functions such as customer relationship management (CRM) dealt directly with customers, or e–business systems such as e–commerce, e–government, e–telecom, and e–finance, or supplier relationship management (SRM) became integrated later, when the Internet simplified communicating with external parties. "ERP II" was coined in the early 2000s. It describes web–based software that allows both employees and partners (such as suppliers and customers) real–time access to the systems. The role of ERP II expands from the resource optimization and