What Is an Enterprise? Types & Examples

An enterprise is a business with large-scale or complex operations. Enterprises include privately owned companies, publicly traded corporations, and businesses with a social purpose. In enterprises, work is divided across departments led by an executive team.

Using 500 employees as the threshold, the US had 21,041 large employer firms in 2022, according to Census Bureau data released in 2025. Those firms represented 0.3% of employer businesses but employed 54% of workers and generated 65% of business receipts. What separates these firms from smaller businesses is how they organize and manage business operations at scale.

This guide covers the six characteristics that define an enterprise and the software used to manage enterprise operations.

What is an enterprise?

Eurostat, the European Union’s statistical agency, defines an enterprise as an organization that produces goods or services and makes its own operating decisions. It may conduct more than one activity or operate from more than one location. Several legal entities can form a single enterprise under the same management.

Enterprise is sometimes used as another word for business or company. Other synonyms include firm, organization, and venture. In the US, enterprise refers to a large company with intricate operations.

A startup, in comparison, assigns several functions to one person. Enterprises divide work across specialized departments. They may use more than one business model, such as selling directly to consumers and supplying other businesses.

What qualifies a company as an enterprise?

A company is an enterprise when it operates at a larger scale and greater complexity than a small business, though there’s really no universal size cutoff or definition. In business, the label generally distinguishes a company operating at a greater scale and complexity than a small business. Business success doesn’t impact the definition, since a profitable company can stay small by design.

The table below compares common characteristics of enterprises and small businesses. These are general patterns, not fixed cutoffs, and the specifics at individual companies can vary.

These six characteristics qualify a company as an enterprise:

A large workforce

Though there isn’t a universal cutoff, employee count is one measure of enterprise size. The European Commission defines a small or medium enterprise (SME) as a company with fewer than 250 employees. It also must have no more than €50 million in annual turnover or a balance-sheet total of €43 million.

Carrier, headquartered in Florida, reported approximately 47,000 employees worldwide at the end of 2025. Arhaus, based in Ohio, reported about 2,800 employees in the same year. Both exceed the EU threshold, yet their workforces differ considerably.

Specialized departments

The big difference between an enterprise and a small business is organizational structure. 

In a small business, one employee may cover marketing and sales or HR and legal. Large workforces call for a dedicated human resource management function to handle hiring, employee records, and workplace policies.

Common departments include:

• Research and development (R&D). Focuses on business innovation and works on products that might not hit the market for 5 to 10 years. 
• Legal and compliance. Manages global regulations, intellectual property protection, and business risk management across different jurisdictions. 
• Supply chain and logistics. Oversees the network of manufacturers, warehouses, and delivery systems. 
• Marketing and sales. Manages product marketing, brand standards, and sales infrastructure. The team uses competitive intelligence to track competitors and changes in customer demand.
• Information technology (IT). Handles data architecture and cybersecurity protocols, and integrates a company’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. 
• Human resources and talent development. Promotes and maintains the corporate culture, conducts specialized recruiting, and provides long-term leadership training. 

This structure allows an enterprise to enact a business strategy, whether it’s global expansion or digital transformation, without losing operational control. Roles and responsibilities are clearly defined, allowing teams to add new products or enter new countries while maintaining a unified corporate identity. 

For example, Arhaus reported about 1,200 employees in showrooms, 580 in distribution, and 310 in manufacturing at the end of 2025. Another 740 worked at its headquarters.

Multiple sales channels

Enterprises sell through several channels, from direct-to-consumer (DTC) ecommerce and retail stores to business-to-business (B2B) and reseller programs. Each channel has its own ordering, pricing, and payment processes.

Tony’s Chocolonely faced this complexity as its DTC, B2B, and reseller business expanded. Its small ecommerce team received as many as 30 pay-on-account requests a day in the Netherlands alone. “It was too much to handle manually,” Platform Lead Chiel Versteeg says.

Tony’s moved all three channels onto one Shopify setup across six markets and automated fraud and credit checks for B2B orders. The company recorded double-digit revenue growth in four key markets, including 70% growth in the US.

International sales

For enterprises operating in two or more countries, international sales require navigating a maze of regulatory environments, currencies, and fragmented supply chains. Enterprises must comply with the legal and economic requirements of each country they enter. 

Some complexities include:

• Managing varied VAT, GST, and local tax laws
• Calculating duties accurately to avoid customs delays
• Managing exchange rate volatility, which can hurt profit margins 
• Offering payment options local customers trust 

To manage these hurdles without a dedicated in-house legal and logistics department for every new territory, many enterprise merchants use Shopify Managed Markets. This merchant of record (MoR) solution is a specialized global operations arm within the Shopify admin.

With Managed Markets, you can handle documentation and pre-clearing duties at checkout, so packages move cross-border without surprise fees for customers. It also instantly activates more than 150 markets with local currencies and preferred payment methods, so your shopping experience feels local to every buyer. 

Significant resources

Enterprises invest capital in facilities and technology. They maintain distribution networks and specialized teams to manage large order volumes.

Staples operates more than 900 US stores and 20 fulfillment centers. Its network offers next-day delivery to more than 98% of the country. Staples Business also integrates with more than 170 purchasing platforms for enterprise customers. Their footprint combines retail, ecommerce, fulfillment, and business procurement operations.

Diverse products and services

Enterprise portfolios cover several customer groups and revenue sources. Their scope spans product categories, services, and intellectual property.

Mattel reported gross billings across four product groups in 2025, with dolls and vehicles each reaching about $2 billion. Its business also covers content, digital experiences, consumer products, and live events.

Mattel Creations sells collectibles and brand collaborations through Shopify. A Barbie collaboration with Funboy drew 57% of its sales from first-time customers and had a 31% higher average order value than the store’s evergreen products.

3 types of enterprise

US enterprise owners can choose from several types of business structures. Each legal structure offers different levels of liability protection for owners and tax treatments from the IRS. 

Here are the three common formats:

Legal disclaimer: This section provides general information and does not constitute legal or tax advice. Business formation rules and tax treatment vary by jurisdiction and individual circumstances. Consult a qualified legal or tax professional before selecting or changing a business structure.

1. Partnership

A partnership is a business run by two or more individuals or entities who share ownership. The distribution of ownership does not necessarily have to be equal between business partners.

Say you are a creator partnering with a business strategist. A partnership makes sense because you’re bringing complementary skill sets to the table. Service providers like lawyers or accountants who want to pool resources, operating expenses, and reputations may also find value in partnerships. 

Partners are legally responsible for each other’s actions. A written partnership agreement is essential to define who makes the decisions, who carries liability, and how to handle disputes. 

2. Corporation

A corporation is a for-profit entity designed to protect its owner(s) from liability in case of a lawsuit. The structure of a corporation can vary depending on the number of owners.

Corporations are a common structure for enterprise businesses, as many look for outside investment. Corporations can issue different classes of stock, which makes them the main choice for businesses that:

• Have a complex ownership structure
• Offer employee stock options
• Plan for an initial public offering (IPO) and public trading 

By default, C corporations are taxed on profits, and then shareholders are taxed again on dividends. Smaller corporations sometimes apply for S corp status, which allows profits to pass through to the owners’ personal taxes and still maintain the liability shield corporations provide.

3. Limited liability company (LLC)

A company can start an LLC to combine the legal protection of a corporation with the tax treatment of a partnership. LLCs and other limited liability business structures are common among licensed professional firms, such as accountants, architects, engineers, doctors, and lawyers, because they provide individual protection.

Examples of enterprise businesses

Enterprise businesses operate across every major industry. These Shopify brands run international storefronts, extensive retail networks, and several sales channels.

Consumer electronics

• JB Hi-Fi. Australian electronics retailer with more than 200 stores and over AU$1 billion in annual online sales.
• Sennheiser. Global audio brand with headless stores in 25 focus markets. Its team launched a new market in under eight weeks.
• Skullcandy. US audio brand that migrated its US site in 90 days, then launched in Canada, the UK, and the EU within seven weeks.

Apparel and outdoor

• Gymshark. Global fitness apparel brand that moved from Adobe Commerce to Shopify Plus to run international ecommerce and event sales.
• Cotopaxi. US outdoor brand with customized product discovery and checkout. It reported year-over-year increases of 50% in revenue and 40% in average order value.
• Good American. Los Angeles apparel brand operating ecommerce and retail stores on Shopify. Its stores recorded a Net Promoter Score—a measure of customer satisfaction—of 91.69.

Food and beverage

• Pepper Palace. US specialty sauce retailer that grew from 40 to more than 100 stores after moving its ecommerce and retail operations to Shopify.
• Nissin Foods. Global food company that migrated its DTC business to Shopify Plus in four months and increased gross merchandise value by 166%.
• Tony’s Chocolonely. Chocolate brand that unified its DTC, B2B, and reseller operations across six markets. Its US revenue grew by 70%.

Toys, gifts, and entertainment

• Taschen. International art publisher with 11 stores. Its headless site launched in five months, followed by 20% year-over-year sales growth.
• Mattel Creations. Mattel’s collector storefront launched a Barbie collaboration through Shopify Collective in two weeks. The product’s average order value was 31% above its evergreen products.
• Mastermind Toys. Canadian specialty retailer with 68 stores and 10,000 stock-keeping units (SKUs). It offers curbside pickup in as little as one hour.

What is enterprise software?

Owners and employees use enterprise software to manage business processes and share data across a large organization. Enterprise software helps coordinate work across departments, process high transaction volumes, and apply permission controls to sensitive information.

Grand View Research valued the global enterprise software market at $291.8 billion in 2025. The firm estimates it will reach $322.8 billion in 2026. 

Four common categories cover different business functions:

• Enterprise resource planning (ERP). ERP systems centralize financial records, inventory, procurement, and other operating data. Valued at $67.8 billion in 2025, ERP was the largest category in Grand View Research’s enterprise software analysis.
• Customer relationship management (CRM). CRM software records customer activity across sales, marketing, and service. The category reached nearly $49.8 billion in 2025.
• Supply chain management (SCM). At $18.7 billion in 2025, the SCM category covers software that tracks materials and inventory from suppliers through final delivery. These systems also coordinate orders and shipments.
• Business intelligence (BI). BI platforms track business metrics through reports and dashboards, accounting for $49.9 billion in 2025 market revenue.

Enterprise commerce software exchanges order, customer, inventory, and payment data with ERP, CRM, SCM, and BI platforms. With Shopify for enterprise, retail businesses can use the full platform or select modular components that work with their existing technology. Meanwhile, Shopify Checkout is the world’s highest-converting customizable one-click checkout.

Growing into an enterprise

Companies reach enterprise scale through a series of business milestones. Specialized hires, new sales channels, and international expansion add complexity over time.

Tools initially chosen for one team or channel become harder to manage across as a company grows. Enterprise software is valuable when departments need to share data, set access permissions, and coordinate work across systems. ERP, CRM, SCM, and BI platforms each manage a different part of that work as transaction volumes increase.

That point arrives at a different stage for every company, based on the complexity of its operations. Shopify for enterprise is a commerce platform for businesses reaching the enterprise stage of growth.