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
3operating layers
How These Systems Connect
Connect the records and workflows each task needs.
Useful AI and dependable self-service need reliable records, connected workflows, and people who know how to maintain and use them. Start with the operating task and its owner, then examine the systems and dependencies that support it. A focused AI application can be evaluated while wider changes are phased through the Roadmap. The directory explains those roles before you choose what to change.
Workflows
Planning, quoting, production, quality, warehouse, delivery, and service connect through defined handoffs, named owners, and exception handling.
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 organizes approved product content and its publication to sales channels, with clear ownership and connections to engineering and operating records.
OMS
Order Management System
An Order Management System coordinates accepted orders, fulfillment rules, status, and exceptions across the connected channels and locations in its agreed scope.
MDM
Master Data Management
Master Data Management establishes ownership, definitions, identifiers, and correction rules for shared customer, product, supplier, and location records.
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 applies agreed configuration, pricing, and approval rules to the quote, with a defined handoff to the accepted order.
B2B Ecommerce
Business-to-Business Commerce Platform
B2B Ecommerce provides authorized business buyers with product, pricing, ordering, and account tasks connected to the operating records and approvals those tasks require.
Punchout / eProcurement
Punchout Catalog Integration
Punchout connects a supplier catalog to a buyer’s procurement workflow, returning selected cart information for the buyer’s requisition and approval process.
Headless Commerce
Headless & Composable Commerce
Headless commerce separates the buyer interface from commerce services through APIs. Composable approaches combine selected services when the operating need justifies their added coordination.
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 Manufacturing Execution System records and directs agreed production work and exchanges progress, material, quality, and completion events with planning and business systems.
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 Warehouse Management System directs agreed receiving, storage, picking, packing, and shipping tasks and records the inventory movements that connected systems need.
TMS
Transportation Management System
A Transportation Management System supports freight planning, carrier selection, tendering, shipment events, and cost review within agreed modes, lanes, and partner connections.
3PL Systems
Third-Party Logistics Integration
3PL integration exchanges agreed orders, stock events, shipment updates, and exceptions between a manufacturer and its outsourced logistics provider.
Supply Chain Visibility
Supply Chain Visibility (SCV)
Supply chain visibility connects available material, production, stock, and delivery evidence so teams can understand commitments, constraints, and exceptions.
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
Digital Asset Management organizes approved product and channel assets with metadata, versions, permissions, and publication responsibilities.
Tax Compliance
Tax Calculation & Compliance
Tax compliance systems support transaction tax calculations, exemption records, and filing evidence within defined coverage and qualified tax oversight.
Middleware
Integration Middleware
Middleware routes and translates agreed exchanges between connected systems, with monitoring, reconciliation, and recovery responsibilities.
Workflow Automation
Business Process Automation
Workflow automation applies agreed routing and action rules, preserving approvals, exception ownership, and review where people must make the decision.
Compliance Docs
Regulatory & Compliance Document Management
Controlled-document management supports approved versions, access, distribution, expiry review, and traceable evidence for applicable product, customer, and regulatory requirements.
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?
We assess your operating evidence, responsibilities, current systems, and learning needs. Your complete Digital Transformation Roadmap sequences the agreed process and system changes. Metrotechs brings the delivery team together and leads implementation, training, adoption, and acceptance, supported by Launchpad.