As commerce enterprises grow in scale and complexity, whether adding B2B channels or expanding internationally, they often turn to enterprise resource planning (ERP) software designed for modern enterprises.
Yet, according to Gartner, more than 70% of recently implemented ERP initiatives will fail to fully meet their original business case goals. Many organizations, according to ERP Today, are constrained by ERP environments burdened by years of customization, technical debt, and fragmented data models. These systems were never built to support the automation and orchestration modern operations need.
Further, Panorama Consulting reports the median ERP implementation costs $450,000, with budget overruns typically driven by unforeseen technology costs.
Ahead, we’ll examine popular ERP software options, show you how to integrate them with Shopify, and explore the benefits and limitations of popular ERP vendors in 2026.
What is ERP software?
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software is a system for running back-end operations in a business, including everything from finance to inventory management. ERP systems create a single source of truth for gathering and analyzing several categories of enterprise data, but they are only designed to handle operations.
Businesses use ERP software to manage a variety of business processes:
- Financial management, connecting financial records with orders and inventory
- Inventory management, tracking stock levels to support accurate supply chain management
- Order and fulfillment workflows, which help businesses facilitate smooth movement from order capture through delivery
- Customer relationship management (CRM), including storing and syncing customer data
- Human resources, supporting back-end operations like hiring, payroll, and workforce planning
But an ERP platform doesn't build the storefront, process checkout, run point-of-sale (POS), or orchestrate an omnichannel experience. Those are commerce platform jobs.
More and more, modern commerce operations need both.
For example, Death Wish Coffee integrated their ERP system with Shopify to track inventory across multiple locations and channels, generating a single automated report for real-time business performance visibility. So when more than 150,000 Super Bowl viewers flooded the site simultaneously after seeing the brand’s ad, the system held. The company experienced 200% year-over-year top-line growth, successfully launched a subscription service, and expanded into wholesale with major grocers.
For commerce businesses, ERP becomes the operational system of record, handling all back-end processes. That system then connects to Shopify, which supplies the storefront, B2B and direct-to-consumer (DTC) buying capability, POS, and omnichannel execution.
What is ERP software good at, and where does it fall short?
ERP software is primarily built to centralize business data and execute standardized processes. But according to Bain & Company, more than 80% of ERP transformations miss budget, timeline, and value goals. The root problem, according to the analysis, is that ERP excels at consolidating data and enforcing process conformity.
ERP software handles the back-end operations well, including:
- Coordinating inventory management and supply chain visibility by creating a single source of truth for stock levels and supplier performance
- Standardizing processes across departments, enforcing consistent workflows so that finance, operations, and procurement all work from the same rulebook
- Managing core business functions like HR and payroll, enabling companies to handle hiring, benefits, and workforce planning through a unified system
But where it struggles is flexibility, including adapting to new business models without extensive customization or supporting real-time responsiveness. And according to Harvard Business Review, generative AI is “dissolving” the economic logic that made standardized enterprise software the only practical choice for most companies.
Take SilkSilky. The Chinese silk fashion brand, after upgrading to Shopify, integrated their custom ERP system via API to link inventory, forecasts, production schedules, and stock levels. They used the ERP to handle the back end—what they needed to make and when. Shopify handled the storefront, international expansion via multi-site management, and regional customization.
The ERP integration allowed SilkSilky to reduce costs by 40%, driven by data analysis made possible by the ERP connection. Meanwhile, Shopify Flow allowed them to filter high-risk orders automatically, reducing their return rate from as high as 8% to less than 1%.
“Through the ERP system, SilkSilky can clearly see dynamic data on sales forecasts, production schedules, inventory estimates, and stock levels, and can use algorithms to minimize waste as much as possible,” says founder Sam Peng.
Types of ERP software
There are two parameters across which ERP systems are differentiated:: how they're deployed, and how they're architected.
Deployment models
ERP can be hosted in three ways:
- Cloud ERP is hosted by a vendor and accessed via browser. You subscribe to the service, deploy quickly, and don't manage infrastructure. The trade-offs are often less control, ongoing subscription costs, and dependency on the vendor's roadmap.
- On-premises ERP is installed on servers your company owns and operates. You control customization, data residency, and the upgrade timeline. The trade-off is high up-front costs, slower updates, and internal IT overhead.
- Hybrid ERP combines cloud and on-premises systems. This approach often works for companies gradually migrating legacy systems. The trade-off is complexity in managing two environments simultaneously and ensuring data stays in sync.
In Panorama’s 2026 ERP report, 73.5% of respondents said they implemented ERP using cloud deployment, including hosted, managed services, or software-as-a-service (SaaS) platforms, versus 26.5% who used on-premise.
Architectural approaches
Some ERP systems were built vertically, often with specific industries in mind. Others were built horizontally, offering more flexibility and composability for a range of different business models.
- Industry-specific ERP platforms come pre-configured with workflows, data structures, and compliance rules for your sector. You get faster time-to-value but less flexibility outside your industry's norms.
- Modular or composable ERP platforms connect to other systems via APIs rather than forcing everything into one platform. You pick your choice of tools for each function and integrate them. This requires technical skill to coordinate, but gives you flexibility to scale and swap components.
Cloud ERP integrates easily with modern commerce platforms like Shopify. On-premises ERP can integrate but often slowly, requiring custom middleware and careful coordination.
With a composable approach, work is divided between systems. The business uses a commerce platform like Shopify to manage commerce operations, and an ERP to handle back-end operations.
For example, a $100 billion automotive enterprise could use Shopify for global storefronts and localized experiences while their ERP system manages accounting and inventory management across regions.
The best ERP software options to know in 2026
The table below can help you compare ERP vendors, focusing on strengths, trade-offs, and most importantly, how they support commerce.
| ERP software | Best fit | Strengths | Common trade-offs | Commerce note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oracle NetSuite | Midmarket to enterprise businesses | Strong financial management, order management, core ERP modules, and advanced multi-location inventory with complex lot tracking | Price: starts at $80–$110/user/month plus $999 platform fee; pricing is non-transparent and requires negotiation | Strong for ecommerce and retail with native integrations to Shopify |
| SAP | Large global enterprises, complex operations | SAP S/4HANA Cloud integrates via OData V4 APIs and Business Technology Platform; use SAP Integration Suite (formerly CPI) as integration-platform-as-a-service (iPaaS) layer for commerce scenarios | SAP integration is typically more expensive than NetSuite at the same complexity tier due to data-model edge cases | Integrates with Shopify through TMG Fuse |
| Microsoft Dynamics 365 | Growing enterprises with hybrid work environments | Microsoft rolled out Copilot in 2026 with AI-driven expense categorization and anomaly detection | Modular architecture means more integration points; requires Dynamics 365 Sales for CRM functionality | Business Central exposes a clean REST API that maps well to Shopify objects |
| Acumatica | Midmarket, especially companies in distribution and manufacturing | Cloud ERP with strong inventory and warehouse management; all connectable via iPaaS platforms like Celigo, Boomi | Smaller network compared to Tier 1 ERP vendors | Native integrations make easy connections with Shopify |
| Infor | Industry-focused enterprises | Industry-specific solutions; strong manufacturing workflows | Less flexible outside of the industries for which it was designed | Connectable to Shopify; may require iPaaS platform for modern ecommerce integration |
| Sage Intacct | Finance-focused teams, service businesses | Strong financial reporting and core business functions like expense management | REST APIs exist but are less rich; most merchants use iPaaS connectors | Often paired with Shopify to execute the commerce side |
| Epicor | Manufacturing, distribution | Epicor released Prism AI with more than 200 manufacturing use cases in 2026; announced end of Classic UI, shifting to modern interface | Complex bill-of-materials (BOM) and shop floor integration without significant customization remain challenging | Needs thorough integration to support modern ecommerce and omnichannel offerings |
| Odoo/ERPNext | Small to midsize businesses | Modular ERP platforms with lower cost; XML-RPC and JSON-RPC APIs cover full functionality | Requires technical expertise to scale | For mid-market merchants, Odoo + Shopify is one of the most cost-effective stacks on the market, starting at $35/month |
ERP software vs. unified commerce platforms
ERP is designed to cover back-end operations like financing and manufacturing workflows, while commerce platforms handle customer-facing operations like sales, storefront management, and customer engagement..
There will be some overlap between the two. A commerce platform may work with existing data ranging from inventory to orders, customers, pricing, and channels, and ERP may cover some of the same data.
Where unified commerce fits in
Beyond the ERP-versus-commerce question, there is a solution that combines the best of both systems. But unified commerce is not one specific software tool, as much as it is a comprehensive architectural and strategic approach to commerce.
The backbone of a unified commerce operation is taking the single-source-of-truth model from ERP and implementing it across commerce operations. With unified commerce, a retailer can manage sales across multiple channels like DTC, B2B, and marketplaces, with real-time visibility into inventory levels, orders, and detailed records of all customer interactions through unified customer profiles.
ERP systems on their own aren’t optimized for rapid product launches or frequent merchandising updates. But when a composable commerce platform has a strong and reliable integration with a modern ERP platform, the resulting combination enables teams to connect customers and selling strategies with the benefit of reliable real-time data across all key categories.
Shopify is built for unified commerce, enabled for stable integrations with top ERP systems.
| ERP software alone | Unified commerce platform | |
|---|---|---|
| Core purpose | Managing internal operations | Managing customer-facing commerce across multiple channels |
| Example use case | Finance, supply chain management, inventory, reporting, operations | Storefronts, checkout, B2B, POS, omnichannel selling |
| Typical users | Internal business units like finance teams, operations leaders, IT | Ecommerce, digital, marketing |
| Data model | Single source of truth | Unified view of orders and inventory across channels |
| Customer experience impact | Limited; focus is on back-end operations | High impact, including everything from experience to conversion |
| Implementation risk | Highly complex with longer timelines | Faster deployment, easy to change |
| Ongoing maintenance | Customization and ongoing maintenance, especially at scale | Easier updates with fewer dependencies across systems |
Brands that enable unified commerce on Shopify report up to 150% omnichannel GMV growth and 20% faster rollouts.
NRBY Clothing, for example, unified their online and in-store channels with the platform and experienced 250% growth between 2021 and 2024. Multichannel shoppers, who represent just 2% of NRBY's customer base, now drive 8% of total net sales.
“There are solutions and answers to everything in the Shopify ecosystem. You just need to look for them,” says NRBY founder Jo Hooper.
Shopify integrates directly with major ERP systems through purpose-built connectors and a broader network of integration apps. The Shopify Global ERP Program offers certified integrations for five enterprise systems: NetSuite, Dynamics 365 Business Central, Brightpearl by Sage, Acumatica, and Infor M3.
Beyond that, the Shopify App Store has 154 ERP apps available, including prebuilt connectors for Odoo, Katana, Fulfil, and others. For complex operations like multi-entity structures or custom tax logic, you can use iPaaS platforms like Celigo or Boomi as middleware.
Jonathan Adler, an international home decor brand, had multiple fragmented systems that didn't talk to each other, limiting inventory visibility across channels and creating daily operational friction. After migrating to Shopify with a Celigo integration connecting their ERP, the brand saw 163% revenue growth, a 65% conversion rate increase, and 17% higher average order value (AOV).
“You can do everything with Shopify that you could do with any other site. Shopify is truly an enterprise solution,” says Caroline Dau, director of product at Verbal+Visual, a Shopify partner.
ERP software FAQ
What is ERP software used for?
ERP software is used to manage a company’s core business processes in one system, such as finance, inventory, procurement, supply chain, order management, HR, and reporting. A good ERP software system helps teams centralize data management, improve resource management, and run business operations with fewer manual handoffs.
What’s the difference between ERP software and CRM?
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software manages the back office: finance, inventory, supply chain, procurement, and operations. Customer relationship management (CRM) software manages customer-facing work, such as sales pipelines, customer conversations, and account history. In simple terms, ERP supports business management and operations; CRM supports customer relationships and revenue teams.
Is Shopify an ERP system?
No, Shopify is not an ERP system. Shopify is a commerce platform for selling online, in person, and across channels, while enterprise resource planning systems are built to manage broader back-office functions like finance, procurement, supply chain, and enterprise performance management.
Many businesses like Jonathan Adler and Death Wish Coffee use Shopify alongside an ERP solution rather than treating one as a replacement for the other.
Can Shopify integrate with ERP software?
Yes. Shopify can integrate with ERP software through apps, APIs, and connector partners. Shopify’s Global ERP Program includes certified ERP apps designed to sync data between Shopify and ERP platforms, which can support seamless integration across orders, inventory, products, and customers.
When should a business replace its ERP vs. integrating it with Shopify?
A business should usually integrate Shopify with its existing system if the ERP still handles finance, inventory, or compliance well, but the commerce experience needs to move faster. Replacing the ERP makes more sense when the platform is too rigid, expensive to maintain, hard to integrate, or blocking operational efficiency across the business.
Either way, the decision should account for ERP implementation time, migration risk, and how much change the team can realistically absorb.
What should a business look for in ERP software?
Look for ERP software that fits your operating model, integrates cleanly with your commerce stack, and supports the workflows your team actually uses. The best modern ERP systems can streamline processes, improve business intelligence, support regulatory compliance, and scale as the company grows.
For many businesses, cloud-based ERP systems are the right choice because they can be easier to update, connect, and maintain than heavily customized legacy software.
