Q.Choose the correct option: The single most important feature of an ERP system is —

ERP exists to connect the whole organisation; the feature that defines it points to that purpose.

Integration is what makes ERP different from a collection of separate programs; the other options describe either a drawback or the very problem ERP was built to remove.

This question checks whether you can pick out the essential feature of ERP from among distractors.

• (a) high cost — cost is a limitation of ERP, not its defining feature.
• (b) integration of all functions — correct. ERP's whole purpose is to connect every department around one shared database so that data entered once updates everything, in real time. Integration is the single most important feature.
• (c) use of many separate databases — the opposite of ERP; separate databases are the old 'islands of information' problem that ERP was created to remove.
• (d) manual data entry in each department — again the opposite; ERP avoids re-keying by sharing one entry across all modules.

Do not pick 'high cost' just because it is true of ERP — the question asks for the defining feature, which is integration, not a drawback. Also remember ERP uses one central database, not many separate ones.