ERP

ERP is the software that brings stock, purchasing, invoicing and accounting together in one system. Learn what an ERP system does and how it connects to Shopify.

By Arthur LauwersUpdated October 14, 2026

ERP, short for Enterprise Resource Planning, is software that brings a company's core processes together in one system: stock, purchasing, sales, invoicing, accounting and often production and HR.

What an ERP system does

Without an ERP, every department lives in its own tool. The store knows the orders, the accountant knows the invoices, the warehouse keeps stock in a spreadsheet. An ERP puts all of that data in one database, so a sale updates stock, invoice and accounting at once.

Common ERP systems in Belgium include Odoo, Exact Online, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, SAP Business One and, for smaller companies, Teamleader.

ERP and your online store

A store and an ERP each have their own job. The store sells: fast pages, a good checkout, marketing. The ERP manages: stock, customer-specific prices, invoices, suppliers. The question is which system is the source for which data.

Usually it looks like this:

The ERP is the source for stock, purchase prices, customer-specific prices and invoices.

The store is the source for orders, product copy, images and SEO.

An integration moves that data both ways, through an API or a connector.

When you need an ERP integration

You sell in a shop, through B2B and online, and stock has to be right everywhere.

You retype orders into your accounting by hand.

Your customers have their own price lists or payment terms.

You process more than a few hundred orders a month.

How 6th Man works with ERP

We connect Shopify to the ERP you already have, instead of pushing you onto a new system. On complex builds, product data sometimes runs through a PIM and orders through the ERP. We design that before we build, as part of a custom Shopify store.