What an ERP is and what a CTRM is
An ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) is a company’s backbone software: accounting, invoicing, purchasing, sales, inventory, HR and, depending on the case, production or projects. Its primary entities are invoices, journal entries and master data — customers, suppliers, products.
A CTRM (Commodity Trading & Risk Management) is vertical software for physical commodity trading. Its primary entity is the deal: an operation with its counterparty, route, currency, itemised costs, documents and individual P&L.
They do not compete: they cover different areas of the same business. The common mistake is asking the ERP to do what a CTRM does out of the box.
Where an ERP falls short in physical trading
- It does not model the deal as an entity. The ERP sees invoices and orders; it does not see “operation GR-2041 with its aggregate margin and its 12 cost lines”.
- Multi-currency at deal level. ERPs handle multi-currency at invoice or journal level, not per operation. Reconciling the FX exposure of a deal with several purchases and sales in different currencies forces custom reports.
- Decorative incoterms. An ERP usually stores the incoterm as a text field. A CTRM uses it structurally, to decide which cost lines belong to the buyer and which to the seller.
- Scattered logistics costs. Freight, port charges, certifications and bank fees end up as loose expenses in the chart of accounts, not as traceable lines of the deal.
- Per-deal cashflow. ERPs forecast treasury at company or project level, not per operation with its own schedule of payments and collections.
- Critical documents. The Bill of Lading, pro forma invoices, health certificates and packing lists live in separate document modules, not attached to the deal.
Comparison table
| Function | ERP | CTRM (Granel) |
|---|---|---|
| Primary entity of the system | Invoice, order, journal entry | Deal (with all its lines) |
| Per-deal multi-currency with daily FX | Possible through configuration, rarely native | Native, with automatic conversion |
| Structural incoterms | Just a text label | Drives cost lines and responsibility |
| Itemised logistics costs (freight, charges, certificates) | Loose expenses in the chart of accounts | Per-deal template with budget and actuals |
| Real-time per-deal P&L | Custom report, usually monthly | Calculated automatically, instantly |
| Rolling 30/60/90 cashflow per deal | Through budgets or projects, not per deal | Native dashboard |
| Documents attached to the deal (B/L, invoices, certificates) | Separate document module | Attached to the deal, with status |
| Commercial anomaly alerts | No | Thresholds and per-line deviations |
| Onboarding and implementation | Months, with consultants | Days, self-service |
| Typical cost for small teams | Licence + consultant hours | Monthly SaaS, no lock-in |
| Replaces accounting and finance | Yes (that is its core) | No — it lives alongside the ERP |
A weaker showing in the ERP column does not mean the ERP “cannot do it”: it means the ERP does that job with more effort, or less naturally, than a CTRM.
Three typical scenarios
ERP only (no CTRM)
Works if your trading is occasional, in a single currency and under one incoterm, and everything fits in invoices and journal entries without needing per-deal P&L.
- Company that buys and sells occasionally
- Few deals a month
- A single currency
CTRM only (no ERP of your own)
Common in trading boutiques or small teams whose ERP sits in a separate holding company. The CTRM covers the whole operating cycle and exports what the external accounting needs.
- Independent trading desk
- Holding with central accounting
- Team of 2-10 people
CTRM + ERP (the usual case)
The CTRM runs deals, margins and operations. The ERP takes the summaries and handles accounting, tax, HR and inventory. They connect by API or periodic exports.
- Mid-sized trading company
- Team with its own CFO or accountant
- Accounting compliance and tax reporting requirements
How a CTRM and an ERP work together in practice
The typical integration between a CTRM and an ERP works in layers:
- Synchronised master data: products, counterparties and cost centres are maintained in one place — usually the ERP — and reflected in the CTRM.
- Invoices and payments: the CTRM issues the commercial invoice; the ERP records it in the books. Payments made or received reach the ERP and are reconciled in the CTRM against the relevant deal.
- Period closes: the CTRM hands the ERP the monthly P&L summary per closed deal, inventory adjustments and expected treasury movements.
- Documents: documents attached to the deal (B/L, certificates, packing lists) live in the CTRM with their status, and are referenced from the ERP when needed.
In general the integration can run through an API or periodic exports, and for small teams a monthly export is usually enough. In Granel, today: CSV and Excel export on every plan and a read-only API on Growth and Enterprise.
Which one suits you
- ERP only: your commercial activity is not pure trading — you sell the same thing at stable prices, in one currency, with few logistics costs.
- CTRM only: you are a small trading desk, or your accounting is handled by an external holding company with its own ERP.
- CTRM + ERP: the most common case in companies that combine trading with production, distribution or their own services. The CTRM orders the operation; the ERP closes the books.
Further reading
If you are coming from running deals in a spreadsheet, the CTRM vs Excel comparison may also help. And if you want to get the basic concepts straight first, go through the glossary — terms such as CTRM, ETRM, P&L or cashflow.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to replace my ERP with a CTRM?+
No. A CTRM does not replace the ERP: it complements it. The ERP remains the company’s accounting, tax and operational system of record. The CTRM handles what the ERP does not understand well: the deal as a living entity with all its costs, currencies, documents and associated cashflow.
Why is customising the ERP for trading not enough?+
It can be done, but the real cost — consultancy, maintenance, dependence on the partner — usually runs several times higher than a SaaS CTRM. Customisations also age badly with every ERP upgrade. A dedicated CTRM is born with trading concepts inside: deal, incoterm, cost line, per-deal P&L.
Can I connect Granel to my ERP (SAP, Odoo, Holded, Sage)?+
There are no native connectors to any ERP today. What there is: CSV and Excel export from the interface on every plan, which your ERP or your accountant can import, and a read-only API (v1) on Growth and Enterprise so your technical team can pull deals, counterparties and exchange rates. API keys are read-only and there are no scheduled exports: a two-way integration is scoped under contract on Enterprise.
What if I am a sole trader or a very small team?+
If you do fewer than 5-10 deals a month and everything is in one currency, you probably need neither a full ERP nor a full CTRM: a light accounting tool and a well-built spreadsheet will do. A CTRM starts to pay once multi-currency, several costs per deal or more than one person appear.
What about accounting?+
Accounting stays in the ERP or the accounting tool. Today Granel does not push data to the ERP by itself: you export deals, cost lines and P&L to CSV or Excel and your ERP or accountant imports them. The rule of thumb: the ERP is the “official book”; the CTRM is the kitchen where deals are prepared before they reach it.
How long does a CTRM take compared to a trading module in the ERP?+
A modern CTRM like Granel goes live in days: create the account, import products and counterparties, configure currencies and routes. A trading module inside a corporate ERP usually takes weeks or months of consultancy.