Records
ERP, CRM, PIM, PLM, MDM, tax, and order-state data become trusted enough for planning, execution, reporting, portals, and AI to use.
Business Systems Explained
Know what each system should own and how it supports the operation.
Use these vendor-neutral explainers to understand customer, planning, product, production, quality, maintenance, fulfillment, integration, data, automation, and governance boundaries before choosing or changing technology.
25system explainers
6system categories
3sequence layers
How These Systems Connect
Start with records, then automate workflows, then add intelligence.
Most system mistakes are sequencing mistakes. AI, quoting, reporting, portals, and warehouse automation all depend on a reliable operating record. This page groups the stack by the layer each system should stabilize.
Workflows
Planning, quoting, partner transactions, production, quality, maintenance, warehouse, fulfillment, service, and approvals stop depending on manual relay.
Intelligence
Forecasting, anomaly detection, and workflow copilots run on governed operational data.
Systems Directory
The operating stack by ownership layer.
Read each explainer to clarify what the system should own, what it should connect to, and where it belongs in the AI, ERP-connected, cloud, data, integration, automation, reporting, and governance roadmap.
Foundation
Core Systems
ERP, product data, order state, and master data controls that establish which records the operation can trust.
4systems
Foundation
ERP
Enterprise Resource Planning
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) — the operational backbone that connects finance, inventory, production, and orders in one system.
PIM
Product Information Management
Product Information Management (PIM) — the single source of truth for everything your sales, marketing, and operations teams need to know about your products.
OMS
Order Management System
An OMS orchestrates order flow from every channel — routing orders to the right fulfillment node, managing exceptions, and giving everyone visibility from placement to delivery.
MDM
Master Data Management
MDM defines which system owns your critical data — customers, products, vendors — and enforces the rules that keep every other system working from the same truth.
Automation
Revenue Systems
CRM, configure-price-quote, order orchestration, account rules, and commercial workflow patterns connected to a fulfillable customer promise.
5systems
Automation
CPQ
Configure, Price, Quote
Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) — guided selling software that turns complex product configurations into accurate, approved quotes without the back-and-forth.
B2B Ecommerce
Business-to-Business Commerce Platform
B2B Ecommerce lets customers browse, configure, price, approve, and order 24/7 without forcing complex products through a retail Ecommerce template.
Punchout / eProcurement
Punchout Catalog Integration
Punchout catalogs let enterprise buyers browse and select from your product catalog inside their own ERP or procurement system — then automatically create a purchase order without leaving their procurement workflow.
Headless Commerce
Headless & Composable Commerce
Headless commerce decouples the buyer experience (the "head") from the commerce engine (the "body") — letting you build any frontend while reusing pricing, catalog, and order logic via APIs. Composable commerce takes this further, assembling best-of-breed services for each capability instead of buying a monolithic platform.
CRM
Customer Relationship Management
Customer Relationship Management gives customer-facing teams a governed record of accounts, contacts, opportunities, activity, ownership, and the context behind demand before it becomes an operating commitment.
Execution
Production Systems
Planning, product-definition, production, quality, and maintenance systems that connect the executable plan to controlled work and reliable evidence.
5systems
Automation
MES
Manufacturing Execution System
A MES bridges the shop floor and the ERP — translating production orders into directed work, capturing real-time progress, and feeding completions back into inventory and scheduling.
QMS
Quality Management System
A Quality Management System governs the evidence, decisions, and corrective work used to prevent, detect, contain, and resolve quality problems across suppliers, production, and customers.
PLM
Product Lifecycle Management
Product Lifecycle Management governs the approved product definition—from requirements and design through revisions, release, change, and retirement—so downstream systems execute the right version.
CMMS / EAM
Computerized Maintenance Management System and Enterprise Asset Management
CMMS and EAM systems govern the maintenance work and asset records used to keep production equipment available, supportable, and connected to operating priorities.
APS
Advanced Planning and Scheduling
Advanced Planning and Scheduling evaluates demand, materials, capacity, labor, tooling, sequence, and operating constraints to build an executable plan and expose the tradeoffs behind customer commitments.
Automation
Fulfillment Systems
Warehouse, transportation, 3PL, and supply-chain visibility systems that keep order status, inventory movement, and exceptions visible.
4systems
Automation
WMS
Warehouse Management System
A WMS controls every movement inside your warehouse — from receiving dock to shipping dock — and maintains the inventory accuracy that every downstream system depends on.
TMS
Transportation Management System
A TMS manages the movement of goods from your facility to your customers — selecting carriers, tendering loads, tracking shipments, and controlling freight costs across every lane.
3PL Systems
Third-Party Logistics Integration
3PL (Third-Party Logistics) integration connects your ERP and OMS to an outsourced fulfillment partner — so orders flow out, inventory syncs back, and exceptions are visible without manual coordination.
Supply Chain Visibility
Supply Chain Visibility (SCV)
Supply chain visibility (SCV) is the ability to track materials, components, and products across your entire network — from supplier to production floor to customer — in real time, so you can respond to disruptions before they become shipment failures.
Controls
Supporting Systems
EDI, middleware, workflow automation, digital assets, compliance documentation, and tax controls that prevent the stack from fragmenting.
6systems
Automation
DAM
Digital Asset Management
A DAM is the single source of truth for every file that represents your products — images, drawings, spec sheets, certifications, videos, and marketing materials — with version control and distribution rules.
Tax Compliance
Tax Calculation & Compliance
Tax compliance automation calculates the correct sales tax for every transaction, in every jurisdiction, in real time — and handles exemption certificates, filing, and audit documentation so you don't have to.
Middleware
Integration Middleware
Middleware is the integration layer that connects your systems — translating data formats, routing messages, handling errors, and giving you visibility into what's flowing between your ERP, WMS, commerce platform, and every other system in your stack.
Workflow Automation
Business Process Automation
Workflow automation replaces manual coordination — routing decisions, approval chains, exception handling, and cross-system handoffs — with defined rules that execute without human intervention.
Compliance Docs
Regulatory & Compliance Document Management
Managing SDS sheets, certifications, test records, and traceability documentation at scale — so the right documents reach the right customers, every time, with version control and audit trail.
EDI
Electronic Data Interchange
Electronic Data Interchange moves structured business documents between customers, suppliers, logistics partners, and internal systems through agreed formats, transport, validation, acknowledgement, and exception rules.
Intelligence
AI & Intelligence
AI assistants, predictive analytics, and workflow intelligence built on clean records and observable handoffs.
1system
Sequence Before Software
Not sure which systems you need, or which one has to be fixed first?
Launchpad captures the operating record, workflow handoffs, integration dependencies, reporting gaps, and portal exposure. Metrotechs uses that Roadmap to scope the technology sequence before delivery starts.