{"id":1831,"date":"2026-03-01T23:00:19","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T04:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog2wrkdev.wpenginepowered.com\/erp-system-integration\/"},"modified":"2026-09-30T07:59:35","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T11:59:35","slug":"erp-system-integration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\/erp-system-integration\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is ERP Integration? A Complete Guide for Businesses"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ERP integration is important for businesses looking to maximize the value of their ERP (enterprise resource planning) systems and streamline operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Primarily, ERP solutions focus on being the operational and financial backbone of an organization. They work on handling customer records, purchase orders, inventory updates, and more. However, you will realize their true potential only after connecting them with other business applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you don’t have proper ERP integration, your employees are forced to transfer data manually between disconnected systems. Eventually leading to inefficiencies like app hopping, excessive data entry, processing delays, and costly human errors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This will hinder the productivity of your employees and also impact customer experience, finally impacting the performance of your business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On that note, in this post, we are going to discuss why ERP integration is important. We will explore its key benefits and common integration methods. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You will also learn the best practices for maintaining a smooth ERP implementation. By the end of this post, you will understand how to connect your ERP system with business applications. This will help you achieve success and maximize efficiency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But to get us started, let\u2019s align on a few definitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related: <\/em>Common integrations between your ERP system and CRM platform<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Is an ERP System?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

An enterprise resource planning system is a type of software that allows organizations to collect, store, manage, and analyze information and documents related to business activities.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

These activities can fall under the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Supply chain management:<\/strong> Track the status of goods and services across your supply chain and coordinate directly with vendors and suppliers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Order management:<\/strong> Turn a quote into a sales order and then send a system-generated invoice to the new client soon after.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Procurement:<\/strong> Easily set up RFPs, send them to approved suppliers, store the responses, and, once the vendors are selected, deliver the purchase orders.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Analytics:<\/strong> View different types of data through a single dashboard to improve decision-making\u2014whether it\u2019s related to pricing, inventory management, customer support, etc.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    There are countless other ways to use an ERP system, but from these use cases alone, you can get a sense of how versatile and powerful the software is. Moreover, this versatility explains why a variety of business functions rely on the platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Finally, it\u2019s worth mentioning that ERP systems can be accessed in the cloud, on-premises, or through a hybrid deployment. However, given the demand for cloud-based software, ERP vendors are increasingly moving to the cloud\u2014if they aren\u2019t already built on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"An<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Examples of ERP Systems<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    There is a wide variety of ERP systems, many of which are best suited for specific industries, company sizes, and regions. That said, the most common ERP software solutions include NetSuite, Acumatica, SAP S\/4HANA Cloud, and Microsoft Dynamics 365.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Additionally, there are other new and widely used ERP systems suited for modern businesses. Epicor Kinetic, for example, specializes in offering flexibility for both hybrid and on-premise deployments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP offers a complete set of SaaS applications with in-built AI for standardizing, automating, and integrating data and processes. Integration platforms like Workato<\/a> help to streamline workflows by creating an automated data exchange between enterprise applications and ERP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Before selecting an ERP system, you should consider your organization’s needs, scalability requirements, and industry focus to choose the best fit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

    ERP Integration Definition<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    It\u2019s the process of connecting your ERP system with the other on-premise and cloud applications your business uses.<\/strong> This typically involves using their application programming interfaces (APIs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Once connected, your ERP system and the other apps can stay in sync, and you can implement workflow automations that work across them (we\u2019ll cover examples of this next).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Examples of ERP Integration<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Here are 5 common business processes that can benefit from ERP integration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. Sync Orders Between Your ERP and CRM<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Once an order is added to your CRM platform, it must also be added to your ERP solution as soon as possible. Otherwise, you risk delaying the early steps of client engagement. These steps include delivering the invoice, onboarding the client, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    To prevent any delays from occurring, you can integrate an ERP software like NetSuite<\/a> with a CRM like Salesforce<\/a>. From there, you can implement a workflow where any time a new client order gets created in the CRM, it creates a duplicate order in the ERP system in real-time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Note: For any of these examples, you can easily replace Oracle NetSuite with other ERP applications, like SAP ERP or Microsoft Dynamics 365.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

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    \"A<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

    2. Notify Management When They Need to Approve a Purchase Order<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    To help your team access the resources they need quickly, you\u2019ll need internal approvals for purchase orders to work seamlessly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    To address this business process, you can connect your ERP with your business communications platform (e.g., Slack<\/a>) and then build a workflow that works as follows: any time a PO gets submitted for review, the appropriate approvers get notified via a channel in the business comms platform, where they\u2019re asked to take a look at the document. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Once they have, they can approve (or reject) it with the click of a button inside the business comms platform.<\/p>\n\n\n

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    \"A<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

    3. Create an Invoice in Your ERP Once It Arrives in Your Spend Management System<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    To expedite invoice processing and ensure that no payment is late\u2014or worse, never made\u2014, you can connect your ERP solution with a spend management tool, like Coupa<\/a>, and implement a workflow where any time an invoice arrives in the spend management tool, a duplicate invoice gets created in the ERP.<\/p>\n\n\n

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    \"A<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

    Related: Common CRM integrations<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    4. Manage Important Documents in Your ERP Without Leaving Your File Storage App<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Keeping track of all the documents in your ERP and making changes to any of them over time can be a hassle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    You can find any item more easily by integrating the platform with a storage app you\u2019re comfortable using, like Box<\/a>. Once integrated, you can instantly share the documents from the ERP with the storage app, as well as allow for changes made in one platform to sync over to the other automatically.<\/p>\n\n\n

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    \"A<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

    5. Streamline Refunds in NetSuite Once a Request Arrives in Your ITSM Tool<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Providing a best-in-class customer experience involves following through on client requests quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Issuing refunds is no exception. To fast-track this process, you can sync your ERP with an ITSM, like ServiceNow<\/a>, and automatically initiate the process in the former once the customer-facing employee creates the request in the latter.<\/p>\n\n\n

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    \"A<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

    The Benefits of ERP Integration<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Here are just a few of the benefits you can expect after implementing the use cases above, among many others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. It Enables You to Eliminate Data Silos<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Data silos<\/a>\u2014when information only exists in certain apps\u2014can lead to all kinds of adverse outcomes for you and your colleagues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n