Companies That Use ERP Software

Updated July 2026.

Companies that use ERP software span every industry and size. Amazon, Apple, Coca-Cola and Nestlé are widely reported to run SAP; Walmart moved its finance systems onto SAP; Starbucks and FedEx use Oracle; Netflix runs Workday; and tens of thousands of mid-market firms use NetSuite, Sage Intacct or Acumatica. In short, most large enterprises and a growing share of smaller businesses rely on an ERP system to run finance, supply chain, HR and operations.

Below we look at real, named companies and the ERP systems they use, grouped by company size and industry, followed by a comparison table and the questions buyers most often ask. If you came here to compare products rather than adopters, jump to our ERP vendors guide instead.

Big companies that use ERP systems

The world's largest enterprises almost universally run ERP, and the majority standardise on SAP or Oracle for their global finance and supply-chain backbone. These are multi-year, multi-hundred-million-pound deployments that touch every part of the business.

• Amazon has publicly used SAP to support parts of its financial and logistics operations, alongside a large amount of in-house software.
• Apple is a long-standing SAP customer, using it across manufacturing, supply chain and finance.
• Nestlé ran one of the most-studied ERP projects in history — a global SAP rollout that became a standard business-school case study on enterprise standardisation.
• Coca-Cola and its bottling partners use SAP to harmonise finance and distribution across dozens of countries.
• Walmart announced a shift of its core finance and HR systems onto SAP HANA, moving one of the world's largest retailers onto a modern ERP platform.
• BMW, Chevron, Colgate-Palmolive and IKEA are all publicly referenced SAP customers, using ERP to co-ordinate global manufacturing, energy and consumer-goods operations.

The pattern is consistent: at enterprise scale, ERP is not optional. It is the system of record that keeps a global P&L, a global inventory position and a global workforce consistent. For a fuller ranked view of who builds these systems, see our best ERP systems breakdown.

Which companies use SAP, Oracle or NetSuite?

The three names buyers ask about most are SAP, Oracle and NetSuite — and each tends to attract a different profile of company.

What ERP does Amazon use?

Amazon is widely reported to use SAP for significant portions of its financial and operational back office, while building extensive proprietary systems for its retail and AWS platforms. Like most companies its size, Amazon runs a hybrid landscape rather than a single monolithic ERP, but SAP has been the enterprise resource planning anchor for its corporate finance and logistics functions.

What ERP does Walmart use?

Walmart historically ran heavily customised in-house systems, but publicly announced a move to SAP HANA for finance and, over time, broader ERP functions. The shift was notable precisely because Walmart's scale — the largest retailer in the world by revenue — made it one of the most demanding ERP implementations ever attempted.

Does Starbucks use ERP?

Yes. Starbucks uses Oracle for enterprise applications, including Oracle's cloud ERP and retail systems, to manage finance, supply chain and store operations across tens of thousands of locations. Oracle is a common choice for retail and hospitality brands that need to co-ordinate high transaction volumes with complex supply chains.

Which companies use NetSuite?

Oracle NetSuite is the ERP of choice for fast-growing mid-market and high-growth technology companies rather than the Fortune 100. It powers many venture-backed start-ups and scale-ups because it is cloud-native, quick to deploy and built to handle multi-entity, multi-currency growth. Companies frequently cited as NetSuite users include high-growth consumer and technology brands that outgrew QuickBooks but were not ready for a full SAP or Oracle Fusion programme. See our independent NetSuite overview for where it fits.

Small and mid-sized companies that use ERP

ERP is no longer just for the enterprise. A large and growing share of small and mid-sized businesses run ERP to replace a patchwork of spreadsheets and disconnected accounting tools.

• Mid-market manufacturers and distributors commonly run Microsoft Dynamics 365, Epicor, Infor or Acumatica.
• Professional-services and project-based firms — engineering, architecture, consulting — often use Deltek, Sage Intacct or NetSuite to manage project accounting and utilisation.
• High-growth SaaS and technology companies typically start on NetSuite or Sage Intacct for subscription billing and revenue recognition. If that is your situation, our dedicated guide to ERP for software companies covers the specifics.
• Smaller businesses increasingly adopt cloud ERP such as Odoo, Acumatica or SAP Business ByDesign, which deliver enterprise-style integration at a fraction of the traditional cost and implementation time.

The takeaway: company size no longer determines whether you use ERP — it determines which ERP you use. A 50-person distributor and a 50,000-person manufacturer both need integrated finance, inventory and operations; they simply buy from different tiers of the market.

Comparison: companies and the ERP systems they use

The table below maps well-known companies to the ERP vendor they are publicly associated with, alongside the type of business each vendor tends to serve. ERP landscapes at large companies are often multi-system, so these reflect each organisation's primary or most-reported ERP platform.

For a full, structured directory of the systems in this table, see our ERP systems list.

Why do enterprises standardise on ERP?

Large organisations adopt ERP for the same core reasons, regardless of industry:

• A single source of truth. ERP consolidates finance, inventory, procurement and HR data into one system, so leadership reports off one number rather than reconciling a dozen spreadsheets.
• Global consistency. Multinationals need the same chart of accounts, the same processes and the same controls in every country. ERP enforces that standardisation.
• Compliance and auditability. Public companies need traceable, controlled financial processes. ERP provides the audit trail and segregation-of-duties controls regulators expect.
• Scale without chaos. As a company grows through acquisition or geographic expansion, ERP absorbs new entities into a common operating model instead of multiplying disconnected systems.

This is why ERP adoption rises sharply with company size: the cost of running a fragmented back office grows faster than the business itself, and at a certain scale an integrated system becomes cheaper than the alternative.

What industries use ERP the most?

ERP adoption is heaviest in manufacturing, distribution and retail, where co-ordinating inventory, production and finance in real time is mission-critical. Other high-adoption sectors include:

• Consumer goods and food & beverage — complex, multi-country supply chains (Nestlé, Coca-Cola).
• Energy and industrials — asset-heavy operations with long project cycles (Chevron, BMW).
• Professional services — project-based accounting and resource management (engineering and consulting firms).
• Technology and SaaS — subscription billing, revenue recognition and multi-entity growth.

Service-only businesses with simple finances adopt ERP later than product-centric ones, but even they increasingly move to cloud ERP as they scale.

Looking for ERP vendors rather than adopters?

If your goal is to compare products and shortlist a system for your own business — not to see who else uses ERP — these guides are the better starting point:

• ERP vendors — a structured comparison of the leading ERP software companies.
• Best ERP systems — our independent ranking of the top ERP platforms.
• ERP systems list — a full directory of ERP products by tier and market.
• ERP for software companies — the specific shortlist for SaaS and technology businesses.

Frequently Asked Questions

What companies use ERP software?

Companies of every size and industry use ERP. Large enterprises such as Amazon, Apple, Nestlé, Coca-Cola and Walmart run SAP; Starbucks and FedEx use Oracle; Netflix uses Workday; and hundreds of thousands of small and mid-sized businesses use NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Sage Intacct, Acumatica or Odoo. If a business needs to integrate finance, inventory, procurement and HR, it is a candidate for ERP.

Does Amazon use ERP?

Yes. Amazon is widely reported to use SAP for significant parts of its financial and operational back office, alongside a large amount of proprietary in-house software. Like most companies of its scale, Amazon runs a hybrid landscape, with SAP acting as the enterprise resource planning backbone rather than a single all-encompassing system.

What ERP does Walmart use?

Walmart publicly moved its core finance systems onto SAP HANA, making it one of the largest and most demanding ERP implementations in the world. Historically Walmart relied on heavily customised in-house systems, but it adopted SAP to modernise and standardise its financial and operational reporting at global scale.

Do small companies use ERP systems?

Increasingly, yes. Small and mid-sized businesses adopt cloud ERP such as NetSuite, Sage Intacct, Acumatica, Odoo or SAP Business ByDesign to replace disconnected spreadsheets and standalone accounting tools. These systems deliver enterprise-style integration at a lower cost and faster implementation timeline than traditional on-premise ERP, putting ERP within reach of companies with as few as a dozen employees.

How many companies use ERP software?

Precise global counts vary by definition, but ERP is effectively universal among large enterprises — the vast majority of Fortune 500 companies run an ERP system — and adoption among small and mid-sized businesses continues to climb as cloud ERP lowers the cost of entry. ERP is one of the most widely deployed categories of business software in the world.

What is an ERP software company?

An ERP software company is a vendor that develops and sells enterprise resource planning software — the integrated system businesses use to run finance, supply chain, manufacturing and HR. The leading ERP software companies include SAP, Oracle, Microsoft, NetSuite, Infor, Epicor, Workday, Acumatica, Sage and Odoo. For a full comparison of these vendors, see our ERP vendors guide.