The short version: MRP is the subset of ERP that runs your production. ERP bolts accounting, HR, CRM, warehouse, procurement and more on top. For most small manufacturers, you already have the other pieces, in Xero, in Shopify, in a CRM, and an ERP would have you replace all of them at once. What you need is the MRP.
Plain-English definitions
MRP (Material Requirements Planning)answers: “given what I need to ship, what do I make and buy, in what quantities, by when.” Inputs are orders, stock, BOMs, and lead times. Outputs are production orders and purchase orders.
ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) is a bundle of modules. MRP, accounting, HR, payroll, CRM, sales, warehouse management, sometimes more, sharing a database and running the whole business on one platform.
Every ERP contains an MRP. Not every MRP is part of an ERP.
When an ERP genuinely makes sense
- You have more than ~100 staff, multiple legal entities, or consolidated reporting requirements.
- You need tight integration across functions that touch the same transactions in different ways (warehouse and finance and procurement all working the same PO).
- Your regulatory environment demands a single auditable system of record.
- You have the budget and runway for a six-to-eighteen month implementation.
If the answer to at least three of those is yes, an ERP is probably right. If it's zero or one, an ERP will consume more of your time than it saves.
When an MRP is the right shape
- You are the owner-operator, or the ops lead. You can carry the decisions yourself.
- You already have Xero or QuickBooks for accounting and it works.
- You have Shopify for DTC and possibly a wholesale channel, and that works.
- The thing that doesn't work is production planning, purchasing, BOMs, or traceability.
This is most small manufacturers. You don't need to replace your accounting, your storefront, and your production system at the same time. You need to add production.
The cost difference is not small
Price is a proxy for complexity. A system priced at €2,000/month is priced that way because it takes six months to implement and needs a consultant. That is a feature when your business needs it, and a liability when it doesn't.
Integration is the deciding factor
An MRP that cannot integrate cleanly with the accounting and storefront you already run is worse than useless, it becomes a fourth island of data. The integration pattern that works:
- MRP owns stock, BOMs, production, purchasing, traceability.
- Shopify owns orders and customer-facing stock display; reads stock from the MRP.
- Xero or QuickBooks owns invoices, tax, bank reconciliation; receives invoices from the MRP.
- The MRP is the connective tissue, not an extra island.
The real choice
For most small manufacturers the honest framing is:
- Keep Xero / QuickBooks. Your accountant already knows it. Your tax returns already run on it.
- Keep Shopify. Your customers already know it. Your brand already runs on it.
- Add an MRP that integrates with both. That is the gap you actually have.
An ERP asks you to rip and replace all three. For a team of five to fifty, that is the wrong trade.
Where Stokka sits
Stokka is an MRP: inventory and manufacturing for small manufacturers, designed to integrate with the accounting and storefront you already use. Xero, QuickBooks and Shopify sync coming at launch. Stokka is quoted per deployment, with unlimited users and no per-seat fees, and every customer runs the whole product rather than a cut-down edition. Live in under a week from import. You keep your accountant, your brand, and your stack; you add the MRP the business actually needs.
Further reading
If you're earlier in the decision, start with what MRP is, in plain English. If the trigger is that spreadsheets have stopped working, read the MRP switchover. For the foundation every MRP needs, see how to build a BOM.