Taking the needs of an entire organization into account ERP is essentially an extension of "MRP" "Manufacturing Resources Planning" which attempts to ascertain needs and abilities of a company system.
Comments: Both ERP and MRP systems have been getting a lot of attention over the last several years and can have particular value when it comes to very large organizations with thousands of sku's.
Very often we find many "work-around's" to these systems which greatly compromises their usefulness and data. As software and understanding of systems improves these tools should become more useful.
Creating a Lean Organization that is strong and capable will be one of your greatest achievements.
