Mitigating ERP Risk, Maximising Performance
18 March 2025
18 March 2025
Robin Cook, Head of Business Development at Inforlogic, looks at the importance of keeping an eye on ERP risk, and highlights the competitive advantage which comes with embracing modern capabilities before it’s too late.
ERP has evolved, not just from a technological standpoint, but in what it represents. Once a system of record for manufacturing and financial data, modern ERP brings so much more to the table.
The latest offerings not only bring intelligence from which to extend visibility and inform decision-making, but instil unprecedented levels of automation from which to support innovation. In a world where expediting consumer demand converges with cost pressures and squeezed margins, the leverage digital holds in producing the right products in the most efficient way, cannot be underestimated.
Against this backdrop, harbouring legacy ERP systems can bring trouble. While on the face of it, the cost, perceived business disruption, and resource requirements in supporting change management, can make the idea of a migration daunting. Often, manufacturers put off and postpone projects because budgets don’t allow. Yet the cost of maintaining older systems, including the shortfall in capabilities and capacity to innovate, can send risk spiralling.
As the landscape evolves and technology continues to accelerate in what it can do, accepting this level of risk has become somewhat contradictory to business goals and winning market share.
While the prospect of a project is rarely going to invoke the kind of enthusiasm which comes with a new factory or product launch let’s say, investing in the right capabilities and future-proofing ERP really is the only way to mitigate this risk.
Smart manufacturers have already taken action to stay one step ahead and instil the digital fabric necessary for sustained success and scale. And for those who haven’t, it’s moving ever closer to the top of the priority list.
Future-proof, de-risked ERP is smart by default. Technologically agile, scalable and flexible, the best modern systems are both functionally rich and manufacturing-centric.
Infor SyteLine is a great example of ERP which has transcended these core pillars, with integrated capabilities which cover all core business processes from Quality Management to CRM with additional modules where required. But crucially it is run on Infor’s digital transformation platform, Infor OS, which has BI and AI built in as standard. This means that enhanced capabilities can be unlocked as and when you are ready to expand your digital footprint.
Additionally, because it runs on Amazon Web Services (AWS), Infor’s deep industry expertise converge with this global infrastructure to deliver high performance, easy scaling, and adaptability to changing demands. Crucially it enables access to the latest developments and technologies for long term innovation.
And while nobody is going to pretend that an ERP project, even a modern one, can be rolled out in a few weeks, the advances in functionality mean that deployment times are shrinking. In fact, we recently worked on a project with Northern Ireland-based bottling leader Norbev, which not only came in at 20% under budget, but took just 85 days against an initial timeframe of 105.
The right skills and experience combined with a world-class modern ERP system ensure that the process of migrating need not be disproportionately painful, expensive or time consuming. Infor campus, combined with its accelerators for example expedite training and skills while providing dedicated processes to follow as part of an implementation methodology for a smoother and faster deployment.
Legacy ERP simply doesn’t have a place long term in the world of modern manufacturing. In fact, the longer you hold on to an older system, the greater the risk and more likely you are to fall behind your more digitally-savvy competitors.
If you’d like to learn more about how Inforlogic can help you, get in touch or call us on 01606 720499.
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Cheshire Business Park, Northwich,
Cheshire, CW9 7UA