What is Enterprise Relationship Management (ERM)?

Enterprise relationship management (ERM) is a business strategy that leverages an organization's network to maximize revenues. Constituents within that network may include business partners, suppliers, customers, and employees, to name a few. Enterprise relationship management involves transparent sharing of data and coordination of business processes.

Because it involves so many different groups, enterprise relationship management is often considered a change management effort focusing on people, rather than a technology initiative. However, there are several technologies that can be leveraged to support ERM efforts, including customer relationship management (CRM) applications, human resource management (HRM) systems, and enterprise resource planning (ERP) applications. Data from these systems is critical to executing successful enterprise relationship management (ERM) initiatives.