Zoho launches Made-in-India ERP platform from rural Tamil Nadu to challenge global giants

Indian SaaS giant Zoho recently launched Zoho ERP, an enterprise resource planning platform for Indian businesses, positioning it as a cost-effective, easier-to-implement alternative to legacy ERP systems dominated by global players such as SAP, Oracle and Microsoft.

The company announced the launch from Kumbakonam, a rural town in Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu, where part of the Zoho ERP team operates from Zoho’s regional office.

Zoho said it will continue to hire local talent as the product scales and is rolled out globally. The company said it has replicated its “Tenkasi model” in Kumbakonam, referring to its approach of building product and talent capacity outside large metros.

“With Zoho ERP, we have built a powerful, compliance-ready platform that serves as a strong homegrown alternative to global ERP solutions. This product, requiring deep-tech R&D, has been developed with the support of talent from Kumbakonam, and its future growth will also be driven from here. We have replicated our Tenkasi model successfully here,” Shailesh Davey, CEO, Zoho Corp, said.

Zoho said the product targets a gap faced by fast-growing Indian companies that outgrow basic financial systems but find legacy ERP migrations complex, disconnected from other systems, and consultant-dependent, often leading to longer implementation timelines, higher costs, and limited organisational visibility.

Zoho ERP, it said, was built to reduce third-party dependency through native low-code and no-code capabilities, enabling implementation and customisation with lower complexity and total cost of ownership.

Unlike traditional ERPs that add AI as an external layer, Zoho said the platform embeds “continuous intelligence” across workflows, including AI-driven customisations, voice-based assistance through Ask Zia, automation, predictive insights, anomaly detection, and end-to-end visibility across finance and operations.

“Drawing on our proven expertise in building solutions across finance and operations, we’ve designed Zoho ERP, a new generation of ERP, keeping in mind how modern, fast-growing businesses actually operate,” said Sivaramakrishnan Iswaran, Global Head of Finance and Operations BU at Zoho and CEO of Zoho Payment Technologies.

He added that the platform includes “built-in local compliance” through payroll and tax engines, alongside a role-based user experience aimed at improving productivity and operational efficiency.

Zoho ERP combines core financial management, billing management, spend management, supply chain management, omnichannel commerce and payroll management on one platform. It also includes asset management, budgeting, continuous financial close, and financial controls with audit trails, the company said.

On compliance, Zoho said the platform supports GST and e-invoicing and includes revenue recognition aligned with IFRS 15 and ASC 606. Payroll capabilities are tailored for Indian businesses, with automated statutory compliance for Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF), Employees’ State Insurance (ESI), Tax Deducted at Source (TDS), Professional Tax (PT) and Labour Welfare Fund (LWF), it said.

The launch includes industry-specific capabilities for manufacturing, distribution, retail and non-profit organisations. Zoho said manufacturing customers can manage material planning, procurement, production planning, shop-floor execution and sales, including bills of materials and job work, with visibility from raw materials to finished goods.

For distribution, the platform supports dealer management, inventory and order management, returns and sales insights, and field sales beat management. For retail, it includes outlet and in-store operations, sales and payment collection, barcode scanning, store performance monitoring and demand forecasting. For non-profits, it supports tracking contributions and utilisation and generating Form 10BD to facilitate Income Tax Department e-filing for donor tax deductions.

Zoho said it established its presence in Kumbakonam in 2020 and plans to open a larger office later in 2026 to support the ERP’s global rollout. The proposed campus will have capacity for up to 2,000 people, the company said, and will expand local software development hiring. It also highlighted local upskilling and community initiatives, including a Zoho Schools of Learning branch in Kumbakonam opened in 2025 for its School of Technology, and plans to expand education support in the region.

Zoho ERP is available in India for immediate use, the company said.