ERP Features, Modules & Capabilities

Demystifying ERP—Features, Modules, and Industry-Specific Solutions

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are the glue that holds the different activities or departments of your organization together and where all stakeholders of your organization can work from its single source of truth. That central database enables you to send messages to external and internal staff and stakeholders in real time, oversee activities, track compliance, check the accuracy of your data and, in general, automate key business functions, freeing up your staff to focus on more important, value-adding activities. Managers and execs can also use the system’s analytics for insights on how to improve their business.

Organizations of any size or industry benefit from ERP systems. For example, manufacturers use ERP solutions to regulate their production and supply chain activities, among others, while retailers use the software to supervise their inventory, discount pricing, and sales interactions. In recent years, the cloud has made ERPs accessible to even small companies, lowering its costs.

Buying ERP software is a commitment. There are thousands of packages on the market with vendors offering three deployment options: cloud based, on-premise, and a hybrid of the two. Within these options, a business can choose generic ERPs, customizable ERPs, or systems that are industry-specific such as ERP products for process manufacturing; discrete manufacturing; mixed-mode manufacturing; oil and gas industries; and even for school districts.
Where does one start?

TEC ERP Features and Modules Lists

The standard approach is to draft a comprehensive requirements list that matches your own business needs to the thousands of ERP software features on the market that could support them. This takes months of research to compile and even longer to find a vendor that supports your requirements.

To solve this problem, TEC has designed easy-to-read ERP Software Modules and Features lists covering thousands of features and functionality sets you should expect to find that ERP software category.

Each list covers every capability you should expect in each ERP software category and includes the vendor’s level of support for each feature in your chosen selection. These unbiased ratings indicate which features are out-of-the-box, add-ons, customizations, offer third-party support, or are planned future releases. The ERP modules and features lists themselves are organized into modules and submodules corresponding to business domain or processes (e.g., Inventory Management or Human Resources) for easy navigation.

For example, TEC’s ERP modules and features list on NetSuite’s ERP for Mixed-Mode Manufacturing not only outlines each of the solution’s 3,738 features and functions but also reveals NetSuite’s level of support for each one of those features, from full out-of-the box support to customization and seven other rating types.

In addition to quickly understanding how well this specific ERP system supports your particular business needs, the list also helps you compare NetSuite’s ERP system for mixed-mode manufacturing with other contenders for mixed-mode manufacturing.


TEC offers complete modules and features lists, including the vendor’s level of support, for 161 ERP software solutions. See all ERP software features lists.

Core ERP Features and Modules

ERP solutions cover all areas of your business. Modules of generic ERP products mostly include the following components:

Financial Management

This module typically encompasses tools for accounting, financial reporting, budgeting, and financial analysis to streamline and manage an organization’s financial processes. Features include tools like the general ledger, the central repository for accounting data, with features such as easy account setup, journal entry processing, flexible reporting, and drill-down capabilities. The general ledger records all financial transactions and journal entries, maintains the chart of accounts, produces financial statements, and enables financial reporting and analytics.

The module’s accounts receivable (AR) functionality records customer invoices and payments. Features include automated invoicing, customer statements, credit terms management, collections tracking, customer account analysis, payment matching, and integration with order management.

The Financial Management module’s accounts payable (AP) functionality allows users to record and manage supplier invoices and payments. It subsumes invoice and payment processing, early pay discounts, payment terms management, vendor analysis, check and payment automation, and expense reporting.

Another main functionality set is cash management, allowing for tracking cash inflows and outflows using features such as bank reconciliation, cash position and forecasting reports, cash flow analysis, bank account management, and optimized liquidity planning.

Other common financial management functionality features include fixed assets management, budgeting, asset management, tax management, financial planning and analysis, audit trails, currency management, and expense management for comprehensive control and visibility over an organization’s finances.

The integrated financial module of ERP systems provides centralized visibility, reporting, and control across all the accounting operations of an organization.

Human Resource Management (HRM)

This module centralizes HR processes to efficiently manage and nurture an organization's workforce, from the recruiting and onboarding stage to succession.

The functionality modules of the HRM module include recruiting functionality, which supports candidate sourcing, automated job board posting, applicant tracking, scheduling interviews, offer letter generation, and onboarding checks.

The HRM module’s employee records functionality centralizes employee data such as contact info, tax documents, family members, and emergency contacts and offers features for employee self-service to employee profiles, document storage, and data integration with payroll.

Talent management functionality manages employee performance reviews, goals, development plans, succession planning, and calibration—enabling 360-degree feedback and competency assessment.

The module’s learning management functionality tracks employee skills management, administers training courses and programs, tracks completion and expenses, manages instructors and classes, and distributes certifications to optimize employee development.

For its part, compensation management functionality streamlines salary, bonus, and benefits administration. It also standardizes pay grades and bands, prorates payments, and simplifies commissions management.

Finally, compliance management features support legal and regulatory compliance related to hiring, pay, health and safety, company policies, termination, and reporting—ensuring adherence to labor laws.

Additional functionalities in ERPs can include employee productivity, payroll, benefits administration, workforce scheduling, performance management, and talent acquisition. The HRM module enhances workforce visibility, analytics, and process efficiency across the employee lifecycle with the organization.

Supply Chain Management (SCM)

The module facilitates the integration and optimization of key supply chain processes, including procurement, inventory management, order management, and production planning.  

Procurement functionality automates and manages the purchasing process including vendor selection, purchase order creation, and receiving and payment while enforcing spending rules and approvals.

Inventory management functionality tracks inventory levels in real time, manages stock reorder points and targets, provides visibility across the supply chain, and integrates with warehousing operations.

Order management features centralize and manage customer orders from entry through fulfillment, integrate with credit checking, maintain order status visibility, and automate order routing.

Finally, production planning features enable demand forecasting, materials requirements planning, capacity planning, and production scheduling to optimize manufacturing activities.

The aim of this module is to consolidate the functionality sets required for logistics, demand forecasting, production planning, supplier relationship management, and other aspects of the supply chain to optimize and integrate key processes throughout the supply chain, enhancing operational efficiency and responsiveness.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

This module focuses on managing and optimizing customer interactions, sales activities, marketing campaigns, and customer service to enhance customer satisfaction and foster long-term relationships.

The module’s tools and processes handle customer management, centralizing customer data such as contacts, accounts, and interactions, and providing a 360-degree view of customers.

Opportunity management functionality tracks sales opportunities through the pipeline, forecasts potential revenue, optimizes lead assignment to sales reps, ties opportunities to customer records, and analyzes win/loss ratios.

The module’s marketing automation functionality supports email campaign creation, lead scoring and nurturing, customer segmentation, campaign return on investment (ROI) tracking, landing page and form building, and integration with email and social media platform.

Customer service functionality allows customer service teams to log customer cases and complaints, and routes issues to appropriate reps; it also provides case management dashboards and reporting, integrates with phone and chat channels, and enables self-service portals.

The overall goal of CRM features of ERP systems to improve customer satisfaction, streamline communication, and build long-lasting relationships.
 
Other common ERP modules typically include manufacturing/production management, asset management, workflow management, warehouse management, project management, quality management, inventory management, business intelligence, and reporting and analytics.

Custom ERP Solutions

Custom ERPs are ERP solutions that are tailored to fit your company’s needs and processes. They’re helpful for businesses with unique processes and specific needs that standard ERP software cannot fulfill as well as those that need to adapt swiftly to market changes or have ambitious growth plans. Such solutions help you not only more flexibly integrate legacy systems with new systems but also innovate faster. They also provide organizations with tailored systems for your industry-specific compliance needs and data privacy/security requirements.
 

Examples of custom ERP systems include:
 

• Manufacturing, where ERP software modules can be tailored to address specific production processes, incorporating features like demand forecasting, production planning and scheduling, and quality control, to optimize efficiency and adapt to the unique requirements of the manufacturing industry.
• Retail, where ERP customization involves configuring modules to address inventory management, point-of-sale integration, omnichannel sales, and customer loyalty programs, ensuring a streamlined and responsive operational framework that caters to the specific demands of the retail industry.
• Healthcare, where modules are customized to manage patient data, appointment scheduling, billing, and compliance with industry regulations, thereby optimizing healthcare operations and ensuring seamless integration with electronic health records (her) and other health information systems.

 Industry-Specific ERP Solutions
As industries become more complex, 67% of industrial executives look for ERP solutions with features precisely tailored to their particular sector or business. Such specialized ERPs are faster to implement and deploy as well as cheaper than customizable ERP solutions. They almost always integrate with other software applications and are supplied by technology vendors that understand your needs.
 
Industry-specific ERPs cut across industries or particular categories within industries such as manufacturing and distribution. As examples, consider Aptean’s ERP for  Process Manufacturing, which boasts nearly 2,500 features and functions that are particularly suited for the food and beverage industry, whereas Procore is an ERP that is desgined for the construction industry.
 
Also check out Epicor’s ERPs—including Epicor Kinetic for mixed-mode manufacturing, (with nearly 3,800 features available in TEC’s features and modules list); Epicor Eclipse for distribution (with nearly 3,400 features in TEC’s features and modules list). Also consider Unit4 ERP for services, such as higher education (with nearly 3,300 features in TEC’s features and modules list). 

Examples of industry-specific ERP categories include:

Manufacturing ERP Systems

These systems offer specific features to facilitate production flow, quality control, material planning, and integration with shop floor tools. Manufacturing ERP systems vary to accommodate diverse industry needs, such as Discrete Manufacturing ERPs for distinct unit production, Process Manufacturing ERPs for continuous or batch processes, and specialized solutions such as Make-to-Order, Make-to-Stock, Engineer-to-Order, and industry-specific ERPs like Automotive or Food and Beverage. Examples include Plex Manufacturing Cloud ERP.

Retail ERP Systems

These systems offer capabilities to integrate advanced inventory management, omnichannel selling capabilities, seamless point-of-sale integration, and customer loyalty programs. These products focus on enhancing the overall operational efficiency and customer experience across retail models that include traditional brick-and-mortar stores, ecommerce platforms, and mobile sales channels. Examples include Brightpearl software.

Healthcare ERP Systems

These systems offer features that prioritize patient data management, appointment scheduling, billing and claims processing, and regulatory compliance, supporting healthcare delivery across various models, including hospital information systems (HIS), electronic health record (EHR) systems, and health information exchange (HIE) platforms.
 
Other industry-specific ERP solutions are available that cater to various other industries. These include products for Finance, such as Unit4 Financials, Infor CloudSuite Engineering & Construction for engineering & construction, Infor SunSystems for hospitality, and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance for retail just to name a few. Each of these systems offers tailored features to optimize specific sector processes, ranging from financial analytics to project management and customer experience enhancement.

ERP and Security and Compliance

ERP systems handle sensitive data that include financial records, customer information, and proprietary business data. As such, they’re designed with robust security features to protect confidential customer data stored on your system. They’re also designed to help you adhere to your particular industry-based security standards and regulations. Tools include built-in audit trails and compliance features to ensure accurate transaction recording and adherence to legal obligations. For data privacy measures, tools include access controls, encryption, firewalls, and detection systems to protect sensitive data.
 
Examples:

• Healthcare ERP systems secure patient confidentiality through robust access controls, encryption mechanisms, audit trails, and compliance with healthcare regulations like Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).
• ERP accounting and financial management software automates documentation, transactions, and processes according to built-in SOX compliance controls (that is, compliance with an act of congress called the Sarbanes-Oxley Act). These types of software include Oracle NetSuite, SAP S/4HANA, Acumatica Cloud ERP, and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance).

ERP and Sustainability
ERP systems can help businesses reduce their negative environmental impact by providing features and tools for resource optimization, waste reduction, and data-driven decision-making. This data can be used to identify areas of improvement and to integrate social responsibility into your business operations. Some examples of ERP systems with strong environmental, social and governance (ESG) and sustainability features include Oracle NetSuite, SAP S/4HANA, IFS Applications, and Microsoft Dynamics 365).
 
Examples:

• Sustainable Supply Chain Management

ERPs can help manufacturers track and monitor products across the supply chain from tracking and reporting, inventory management and control, to purchasing, warehousing and distribution. Results help them become more sustainable as they save on waste and  optimize their operations. Examples include SAP S/4HANA and QAD Adaptive ERP.
 

• Energy Efficiency

ERPs help the renewables sector save more of its valuable resources by helping them track their assets in real-time, monitor underutilized plant capacity and minimize energy waste through features like production management or manufacturing execution software. Examples include SAP S/4HANA, QAD Adaptive ERP, and IFS Applications.
 
Read further on this trend and others in our recent ERP article on trends for 2024 and beyond.

Choosing the Right ERP for Your Industry

Selecting the appropriate ERP system for your business hinges on your company’s specific needs. What are your company’s objectives? What are its main pain points that you want the new system to address? What are the key processes and functions that you need to support? A clear picture of expected outcomes helps you narrow your choice and focus on the features and capabilities that matter most to your business.

Other important items to consider include:

• Business size, which indicates whether you should check out cloud or on-premise deployment, software-as-a-service (SaaS), or an industry-specific solution.
• Customization and scalability: Look for systems that offer flexibility to customize to your specific needs and accommodate future expansions or changes in your business requirements.
• Integration: The software should seamlessly integrate with other software, hardware, and network systems used within the company.
• Functionality and usability: The system should be easy to use and support your core business processes (such as accounting, inventory, or sales). It should provide real-time data and analytics to improve your performance.
• Budgetary considerations: Consider both the upfront costs, which includes not only the initial implementation or subscription fees, but also ongoing costs such as maintenance, upgrades, training, and support.

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Conclusion