Comparing BPM and ERP software is similar to juxtaposing two musical artists from different genres. These solutions share a similar purpose but offer different approaches to fulfill that purpose. Despite their equal intentions, these solutions aren’t interchangeable.

A BPM ERP comparison will demonstrate critical differences. It’s essential to understand the role each one plays so you can decide what is best for your business.

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This article breaks down BPM vs ERP by reviewing their features, advantages, how they work together and choosing the best solution.

Table of Contents

• What Is ERP?
• What Is BPM?
• ERP vs BPM
  • ERP Is About Modules and Functions
  • BPM Offers Workflow Customization
  • Both Provide Business Intelligence
  • ERP Provides Data Storage and Visibility
• Can You Use Them Together?
• In Conclusion

What Is ERP?

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is a type of software that provides users access to numerous department capabilities. These modules serve multiple business sectors, such as human resources, accounting, inventory management, manufacturing, product lifecycle management (PLM) and more. An ERP system’s core purpose is to store and pull data from a common database, allowing a single source of truth.

This centralization enables all employees to work with the same set of data. Companies no longer have to stand by while different departments work with outdated stock levels or ledgers. ERP systems provide real-time data to keep everyone on the same page.

ERPs provide other benefits, such as:

• Reducing costs and time as you boost productivity.
• Monitoring and enhancing customer satisfaction.
• Supervising all supply chain facets.
• Garnering business intelligence (BI) data to make more-informed business choices.
• Verifying your company aligns with all standard and regional compliances (i.e., FDA, ISO and more).
• Offering scalability as you upscale or downsize your business.

ERP software provides a comprehensive overview of your company.

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What Is BPM?

Business process management (BPM) software is a solution comprised of diverse strategies and techniques to automate workflows. This system offers process modeling tools to design and edit workflows. Process modeling allows you to add descriptions to inform others about what happens during workflows.

This feature helps you include instructions for specific tasks. These instructions may have strict rules or flexible guidelines. Process modeling also includes workflow explanations to justify jobs. You can also explain how to perform specific duties.

Other BPM software features include:

• Real-time reports and analytics
• Scalability
• Mobility
• Knowledge management
• Compliance management
• Integrations

An example of Appian’s request tool.

Like ERP, BPM offers several advantages, including:

• Increasing productivity by catching and fixing production bottlenecks.
• Ensuring you meet all compliances.
• Managing data accessibility and protection.
• Simplifying internal and external collaboration.

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ERP vs BPM

ERP Is About Modules and Functions

If you think the definition of BPM still sounds a lot like ERP, you’re not wrong.

ERP systems focus on various business functions and modules. ERP can also track module data. This solution tracks everything from sales to employee wages, all while allowing the free flow of information between modules.

BPM Offers Workflow Customization

But let’s say you need software to manage one specific HR workflow. An ERP vendor can only provide the entire HR module, which can be costly if you’re not benefiting from all the available features. A BPM system allows your business to manage that workflow with a level of customization that ERP systems don’t possess.

ERP process management exists, but ERPs don’t always provide the same granular data as a BPM system. Both types of software utilize BI tools but differ in the scope of their analyses.

Both Provide Business Intelligence

Both systems provide analytics using your KPIs and custom reports. However, BPM can track specific process efficacies. BPM’s BI capabilities provide insight into process execution times, statuses and the number of open and closed procedures.

ERP Provides Data Storage and Visibility

In this ERP vs BPM comparison for data storage and transparency, ERP wins. It stores data on a central server allowing different departments to input data, and it all gets stored in one location. This centralization exhibits how the company and its functions collaborate.

ERP gives users a holistic view that BPM cannot offer. It also stores much more data, allowing for extensive analysis across all business functions showing how each is interrelated. This solution provides almost-infinite functions and requirements that stretch.

Can You Use Them Together?

The short answer is yes; you can use these systems as a joint BPM ERP solution.

Much of the confusion surrounding BPM and ERP stems from the fact that they perform the same job in some instances when used separately. Interestingly, you observe the differences between the two systems best when used together as an ERP business process solution.

Typically, BPM is integrated into a more extensive ERP system to manage what ERPs can’t. This gap can lead to numerous company inefficiencies and tedious workarounds as you resolve them.

A BPM’s heightened analyses strengthen the process, allowing the more extensive ERP to facilitate more general business functions. If integrated properly, the two can complement each other. You can have automated process management that monitors the use of resources and assigns tasks along with centralized data storage and collaboration.

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Choosing the Right Software

Whether you choose BPM, ERP, an ERP business process system or any other software, you need a strategy. First, we must consider factors that affect the total cost of ownership (TCO).

Cost Considerations

How Big Is Your Company?

Do you own a Fortune 500 or 1,000 organization, a local mom-and-pop shop or somewhere in between? Are you looking to expand or downsize in the next five to ten years? Most business programs scale as you add more employees, machinery and other assets. When starting a business out of your basement, you don’t want to buy an enterprise-level platform with many features.

Size, in this case, matters.

How Much Are You Willing To Spend?

ERP costs, and other business software, can range anywhere from $1,000 to $100,000+ depending on the vendor. Establishing a budget early on will help you know which features you need, the necessary deployment option and what you want to gain in ROI.

Think of business software as buying a car, home or appliance. Sure, the sticker price is high, but establishing a reasonable budget and financing plan can ensure you’re purchasing something you need and that it’s worth every penny.

Which Deployment Option Is Best?

Do you want the cloud, on-premise or a hybrid of both? Each has its pros and cons and heavily affects your TCO.

Cloud solutions, which typically operate with subscriptions, enable you to run the solution through the vendor’s third-party server. In short, you can access the solution on any device via the internet. This option can work if you have multiple regional or worldwide businesses that you need to monitor closely.

Also, if you need to run to conferences or special meetings, you can monitor data on the go instead of waiting to return to the office.

On-premise solutions are more expensive and run on your company’s servers and hardware. You’re in charge of maintenance and updates. Some on-premise vendors offer customer support packages to help you in case problems arise. This deployment option is ideal if you have a few company locations and don’t have much traveling.

The hybrid option merges characteristics from both cloud and on-premise deployment. You’d have to discuss fees, capabilities and more with vendors.

Do You Need Add-ons or a New Solution?

When your computer mouse stops working, do you get a new laptop or a brand new mouse? Apply this principle to your business software. If you own a BPM or ERP that manages accounting, CRM and BI but need supply chain management (SCM) tools, you can just look for SCM vendors and ask if their features can integrate with your current system.

Lean Selection Simplifies the Software Selection Process

After reviewing cost factors, it’s time to discuss a software selection strategy.
SelectHub’s nine-step methodology, aptly named Lean Selection, offers a thorough roadmap for finding the right software for any company or industry. Here’s a quick rundown of this technique:

1. Establish: Understand why you need a new BPM ERP or a standalone system. Are you having trouble boosting workflows, collaborating with other sectors or storing information?
2. Collaborate: Establish a software selection committee of internal and external stakeholders, department leaders, end users, IT and more for in-depth analysis.
3. Define: Collaborate with your software selection team to determine ideal requirements and modules.
4. Distribute: Compare vendors with your requirements list, and shortlist potential suppliers.
5. Justify: Ask yourself and your team: Do we need new software, add-on tools or to stop the software selection process?
6. Prove: Sit down with prospective software providers and ask to demonstrate their features through standard demos, use cases or proofs-of-concept (POCs). Score software-specific functionality performance.
7. Rank: Categorize at least two to three potential programs based on demo scores and TCO.
8. Negotiate: Converse and bargain with your number one vendor on terms and contracts. Seek professional legal advice, if necessary. If you can’t meet a compromise with one vendor, repeat this step with your other ranked software providers.
9. Sign: Sign with your provider and establish an implementation strategy.

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In Conclusion

If you’re looking for a solution that can manage your business functions across your company with a heavy focus on storing data in a shared database, ERP is the system for you. If you’re more focused on specific processes and optimizing them to their full potential, BPM software is a better fit. You can also merge these solutions for maximum efficiency.

We hope our BPM vs ERP comparison helped you determine what you need for your business.

Given this ERP BPM comparison, which software system do you plan on implementing? Let us know by leaving a comment below!