This research article aims to provide an overview of various materials and material groups that are employed in the manufacturing lifecycle of a pharmaceutical product. These groups may vary from raw materials, packaging material, active pharmaceutical ingredient and other intermediates that contribute towards the formulation of a finished drug. From a business perspective, such a classification of materials is necessary to simplify business processes such as inventory management and procurement as well as enabling effective decision making in supply/demand processes. The article also dives into how these materials can be classified and managed through standard, off-theshelf solutions provided by a complex and feature-rich configurable Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system such as SAP.