Research suggests that there are different levels of maturity for companies looking to move closer towards smart manufacturing, which typically includes both types of systems in the mix: ERP and MES. The problem, though, is that many manufacturing companies are stuck at Level 1 (Struggle) – in fact, over 80% according to LNS Research.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are the backbone for high-level business management in virtually any-sized company. It is typically considered a “back-office” system, as people in departments like Finance and Purchasing use it, and they are not “customer-facing”.

ERP has some manufacturing functionality, but as we’ll discover in this article, ERP for shop floor operations is often insufficient in relatively complex manufacturing environments.

Typical ERP modules include:

• Finance and Accounting – Report on financial performance, financial statements, financial budgets, invoice processing, cash management, etc.
• Sales and Customer Service – Process sales quotations, create sales orders, monitor inventory, and check fulfillment schedules for shipping.
• Enterprise Planning – High-level planning of a product forecast, master production schedule (MPS), and production plan at the production/work order level.
• Inventory Management – Monitor stock levels, reorder points, and warehouse operations, including receiving, shipping, and material issue.
• Procurement – Oversee purchasing and supplier management, including supplier portals, and dealing with exceptions to PO vs purchase invoice matching.
• Shop Floor Control – Once production/work orders have been created, basic functionality like material issue and recording labor hours is available in the ERP, although it’s not ideal for sophisticated manufacturers (which is where MES comes in).
• Human Resources – Manage employee data, time tracking, and payroll. Some of this data, such as paid hours, can be compared to “absorbed” or “earned” hours for hourly workers on the shop floor.

For manufacturers, ERP plays a vital role in planning, forecasting, and resource allocation. Typically, it doesn’t manage detailed hour-by-hour production tasks, such as labor and machine reporting – or, at least, not as well as some other technologies. 

ERP provides the data and structure needed to guide operational decisions from the “top down”. It provides all the orders and transactions that contribute to financial accounting, so it is the “one version of truth” for all financial reporting and some operational reporting as well.

At the beginning of ERP in the ‘90s and early 2000s, manufacturers were often persuaded that ERP was the only transactional system that they needed. Once they got the basic functions under control, however, they began finding that ERP was clumsy to use on the shop floor with computer terminals and laptops, and it slowed the lines down.

Production order information was often entered into desktop computers in offices at the end of the day. Materials were pulled without recording issues in the system. Traceability meant writing notes on “shop travelers”, which meant paper! This all added up to manual processes, frequent mistakes, and sometimes grossly inaccurate information to manage manufacturing operations. In other words, needless pain.

As the diagram below shows, travelers were combined with Excel spreadsheets and manual monitoring of KPIs, like Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), because there was no connection between the ERP at the high level and the shop floor equipment and automation at the low level.

Learn more about Infor ERP by clicking here

Companies tried to customize the ERP systems (i.e., building ERP Extensions) in the shop floor control and quality management modules, only to find they still couldn’t connect ERP directly to the shop floor equipment or assets. That meant they couldn’t take advantage of technology advances there either.

Although Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) also debuted in the ‘90s, like the larger ERP systems, they didn’t really come into vogue until they could easily connect to shop floor equipment, fixed assets, and ERP systems.

In the 2000s, advances in the Internet of Things (IoT), sensors, machines with wireless connections, statistical process control (SPC), and other technologies led to the evolution of the modern MES System.

So, what is modern MES, and how does it compare with and complement ERP?

Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) operate on the shop floor. Once a production/work order has been released from ERP, as part of the big picture production plan, MES focuses on the minute-by-minute flow of production.

Unlike ERP, MES systems are designed to monitor, control, and optimize manufacturing processes in real time. They bridge the gap between enterprise-level planning and physical production execution – without customization.

Key MES functions include:

• Production Tracking – MES monitors production or work orders, operations, and progress in real time as opposed to ERP, which is typically batch-driven with aggregated information. After ERP issues production/work orders into MES, MES can do the whole order and quality processing without any operational users having to touch ERP. This is a huge advantage over ERP alone!
• Machine Integration – MES connects to IoT (Internet of Things) devices, PLCs, sensors, and automation systems to capture performance data such as OEE. Some of that performance data, such as machine time, can be communicated back to the ERP…automatically.
• Traceability – MES captures who is working on what order, what they’re working on, when they’re clocked in, and how every unit is produced. This traceability is important for compliance, such as lot control for the FDA, and management of jobs.
• Scheduling – MES allocates work orders (jobs) to machines and workers with dynamic scheduling tools. The best MES systems in the market today have Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) with constraints built in, whereas many ERPs are still “unlimited capacity – i.e., unrealistic.
• Quality Management – MES tracks inspections, scrap, rework, defects, and compliance on the shop floor. Although most ERPs have a quality control module that can do just basic inspection orders, MES adds user-friendly test scenarios and inspection steps/parameters that can be easily performed on tablets and handheld scanners.

An MES helps manufacturers maintain control, ensure quality, and respond quickly to issues as they arise. It’s built for operators, supervisors, and plant managers who need live feedback and more precise control over daily operations than ERP can provide.

Infor MES Production Demonstration

The basic difference between the two types of systems is that ERP plans and executes the business, while MES executes the shop floor. Here is a breakdown of the primary differences between Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES).

The VKS article quoted above did a nice job of summarizing the high-level differences between ERP and MES, and we added more detail to each point.

High-Level Differences:

• ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning): Think of the ERP as the “high-level planner.” It operates at strategic and business levels, managing high-level transactional data across the entire organization, including finance, HR, purchasing, and sales.ERP can schedule production on a macro scale, such as a list of production orders with dates for sequencing overall, but it doesn’t know what is happening minute-by-minute at individual cells or workstations.
• MES (Manufacturing Execution System): Think of the MES as the “execution engine.” It operates at the tactical shop-floor level, managing, monitoring, and controlling physical production processes in real time.MES can also schedule production, but it does it on a micro scale. So, it does get down to sequencing orders, machines, and operators to generate a minute-by-minute detailed schedule at individual cells and workstations.

This table compares ERP and MES “at a glance”.

Even though they are different, rather than competing, these two systems are highly complementary. In a modern smart factory, they form an interconnected information loop:

1. The ERP Sets the Production Target: The ERP determines what needs to be built, when it needs to be delivered, and what resources are allocated. It then sends these high-level work orders down to the shop floor.

2. The MES Drives the Shop Floor Work: The MES takes that production/work order and guides operators through step-by-step work instructions, enforces quality checks, and captures live production (e.g., assembly) data.

3. The Connected Loop: The MES automatically updates the ERP with actual quantities produced, scrap rates or units, and time spent – both operator and, if needed, machine hours. This allows management to monitor inventory and machines in real time and adjust future forecasts with accuracy.

As MES expert Matt Barber says in his MES Matters Blog: “Implement MES to remove complexity from your ERP”:

“MES is specifically built to manage and control manufacturing operations, capturing real-time data from the shop floor and translating it into actionable insights. It acts as a bridge between the shop floor and the ERP system, enhancing the capabilities of both. By integrating MES with ERP, companies can achieve a seamless flow of information and reduce manual data entry and reconciliation efforts.” – Matt Barber, MES Matters

The relationship between ERP and MES is often misunderstood, yet it’s crucial for modern manufacturing success. Here’s why they need to work together, and how they complement each other.

Here’s an infographic that presents six reasons why ERP is better when MES is added. Matt Barber deserves credit for the words, and we made an infographic to display them!

ERP issues the production/work orders to the shop with the estimated materials, coming from the bill of materials (BOMs), and the estimated hours per operation, coming from the routing and engineering.

So, by itself, ERP can provide only:

1. Limited raw materials and WIP visibility
2. Work order scheduling and high-level production plan
3. Basic work list per work center
4. Minimal contribution to UI as ERP was not designed for operational users
5. Manual data collection from shop floor equipment

MES is a huge boost to ERP for shop floor control because it can receive production/work orders from ERP and allow shop floor users to execute production easily. This includes recording actual labor hours per operation, taking the machine hours per operation from the machine controllers, and displaying production KPIs like OEE that otherwise (with ERP alone) must be recorded manually.

MES does this because it can provide:

1. Connection to PLCs and other sensors via IoT
2. Traceability, including quality checks and tooling
3. Real-time visibility and control
4. Error-proof business processes
5. Connection to quality gauges
6. Real-time Statistical Process Control (SPC) analysis
7. Capture of energy data for Environmental, Social, and Governmental (ESG) initiatives
8. Operational data for AI/ML
9. Generative AI predictive analytics that are built into core MES
10. Asset care and tool management

Together, ERP and MES provide the ultimate combination to achieve:

1. Increased productivity & efficiency
2. Increased plant output & capacity
3. Reduced WIP, accurate traceability
4. Improved quality, reduced scrap/rework
5. Faster issue resolution
6. Improved visibility and control
7. Increased on-time in-full (OTIF) delivery
8. Better predictive analytics using AI that can pinpoint critical failure points like machine downtime

• VKS: ERP vs MES: What’s the Difference & Why You May Need Both’ by Michell Shostko-Datch
• Parsec: MES vs. ERP: The Guide to Manufacturing and Enterprise Systems
• Maveneer: MES vs ERP: Understanding the Differences
• GE Vernova: MES vs ERP: What’s the Difference?
• MES Matters Blog: Implement MES to remove complexity from your ERP, Matt Barber, Infor https://www.mesmatters.com/post/implementing-mes-can-simplify-your-erp
• MES Matters website (multiple great articles): https://www.mesmatters.com/

At PCG, we help manufacturers understand how ERP, MES, and SmartFactory should integrate to enable true smart manufacturing. Through many combined ERP and MES projects, we have seen in practice how aligning the two can unlock breakthroughs and transformational value.

PCG has a variety of resources for those interested in how ERP and MES can work together to help manufacturers thrive in an uncertain and challenging environment.

Useful Links:

• You can find out more from our websites for PCG services and solutions including ERP and MES at com and for SmartFactory at asmartfactory.com.
• Our Infor ERP page for Infor CloudSuite Industrial (CSI/SyteLine) and Infor Cloudsite Enterprise (CSIE/LN) is here.
• The MES systems we use, Infor MES and SmartFactory, are tightly integrated to the ERP systems we use, which are Infor CSI (CloudSuite Industrial), Infor LN (CloudSuite Enterprise), and NetSuite.
• If you have Infor SyteLine or LN on premises, then we sell and implement Infor MES (formerly Lighthouse). Here’s our Infor MES page.
• If you have CSI or CSIE, we have our PCG SmartFactory which integrates seamlessly with both – the only solution in the market that can do it! Our dedicated SmartFactory MES page is here.

We have also developed a 400+ video library that we call the PCG Insights HUB. Here’s a link to the main PCG Insights HUB page where you’ll find tiles to see demo videos by product (e.g., NetSuite ERP), by industry (e.g., Aerospace & Defense), and by role (e.g., Accounting and Finance).

Here are links to the HUB pages for the major solutions we offer at PCG, including both ERP and MES, and we can implement them together.

• Infor CloudSuite Industrial (CSI), aka SyteLine
• Infor CloudSuite Industrial Enterprise (CSIE), aka LN
• NetSuite ERP
• SmartFactory MES (works with both Infor ERPs (CSI, LN) and NetSuite ERP)

We hope you enjoyed our blog “ERP vs MES: What’s the Difference, and Why Manufacturers Need BOTH”. For more from our Insights BLOG, read and sign up here.

Here’s our PCG Contact Page if you would like help with Infor CSI, Infor CloudSuite LN, Infor M3, Infor MES, NetSuite ERP, and SmartFactory!

If you want to talk to the ERP Doctor, his LinkedIn profile is here, and the PCG LinkedIn page is here. Ring the “bell” to follow.

Looking forward to connecting!

• 1. Assess Your Level: Determine the appropriate CMMC level required based on the type of information (FCI or CUI) you will handle under a DoD contract. 
  2. Perform a Self-Assessment: Conduct a thorough assessment of your current cybersecurity posture against the requirements of the chosen level. 
  3. Develop a System Security Plan (SSP): Create an SSP detailing your security controls and practices. 
  4. Create a POA&M: Develop a Plan of Action & Milestones (POA&M) to address any security gaps identified during the self-assessment. 
  5. Select a C3PAO (If Required): For Level 2 and Level 3, engage a Certified Third-Party Assessor Organization (C3PAO) for your independent assessment. 
  6. Undergo Assessment: Complete the assessment process, which may be a self-assessment or a third-party validation. 
  7. Maintain Compliance: CMMC compliance requires ongoing maintenance and periodic reassessments. 
  8. Choose a CMMC-compliant ERP System: The easiest way to comply with CMMC 2.0, particularly if you have on-premise ERP systems where you’re not sure if they are compliant, is to upgrade to a compliant cloud ERP system built for A&D that is running on a CMMC-compliant cloud platform.
  9. Start a digital and business transformation: Change the business processes that have held your organization back and made it non-compliant in the past!

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems date back all the way to the last century and really started dominating the market in the 1990’s. Back then, ERP vendors like SAP, Oracle, and Baan claimed to be everything to everybody. They said, “ERP has everything needed for manufacturers to run their businesses”.

The Shop Floor Control modules of these ERP systems were used to create production or work orders, which required manual recording of shop floor operators’ time, issuing materials from the warehouse or shop floor (work in process), and receiving finished goods back into inventory inside the ERP.

This was a time-consuming process, fraught with errors and delays in system processing. Without a Manufacturing Execution System (MES), what was in the ERP rarely, if ever, matched the reality on the shop floor.

A Manufacturing Execution System integrates directly with machines, sensors, and operators on the shop floor, capturing and analyzing data in real time to create a live picture of production.

MES empowers manufacturers and their ERP systems by:

• • Providing real-time visibility into production status, scrap rates, and performance.
  • Aligning execution with planning by feeding accurate shop floor data back into ERP.
  • Closing the loop between what ERP plans and what actually happens.

For example, suppose ERP schedules 1,000 units of production in a production or work order. MES will show production managers and operators how many of the 1,000 units were produced, exactly when, and at what quality level.

Similarly, if an ERP creates a production order with a complex Bill of Materials (BOM), an MES solution will ensure the necessary inventory is available when it’s needed, to keep production moving smoothly. Better than ERP alone, MES with ERP helps remove common production errors and optimize inventory levels.

When MES and ERP work together, manufacturers see dramatic improvements, including:

• • Accurate Data for Better Planning: Eliminate manual reporting delays with automated updates.
  • Improved Decision-Making: Leaders base decisions on real-time shop floor performance, not estimates.
  • Faster Response to Issues: Production managers can identify and correct issues immediately.
  • Compliance & Traceability: MES maintains detailed audit trails that ERP can leverage for reporting and regulatory compliance.
  • Much Better Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): Important KPIs such as Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), predictive maintenance on machines, operator efficiency and quality/scrap can be measured easily and accurately.

Ultimately, MES ensures ERP delivers the “single source of truth” manufacturers strive for—backed by real-time data from the factory floor. This source of truth is not just financial, such as EBITDA, but it is also operational to give a better picture of productivity and the health of a company’s supply chain.

Our hundreds of customers report a wide range of improvements in their business key performance indicators (KPI’s) as shown in the graphic below. Some of the most impactful are:

• • Up to 50% improvement in line and machine downtime.
  • Up to 15% improvement in Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), which is one of the most important measures of shop floor efficiency.
  • Large increases in efficiency, machine utilization, and labor productivity which translates into cost savings and much better throughput.

Click on the graphic below to go to our PCG InsightsHUB page and find excellent demo videos for MES and SmartFactory!

By the late 1990s, the next evolution began. In 1997, NetSuite launched the first cloud-based ERP platform. It took traditional vendors such as Oracle, SAP, and Baan (now Infor) several more years to follow suit.

Convincing organizations to abandon their costly, complex on-premises ERP systems proved difficult. Many companies had invested millions—sometimes billions—in heavily customized environments. Even today, Gartner estimates that fewer than 40 percent of SAP ECC customers will have migrated to S/4HANA by 2027, despite more than a decade of pressure. Those who don’t move will lose maintenance support—and access to SAP’s new AI platform, Joule.

The bottom line: On-prem ERP customers, regardless of vendor, are falling behind if they don’t move to the cloud.

Infor has taken a very different path with its new Leap program, an innovative upgrade initiative that combines Infor’s Velocity Suite and Agentic AI to accelerate migration from on-prem ERP systems to the cloud.

Infor’s Leap makes it possible to take existing Infor environments—such as LN, Baan, XA, or SyteLine—and modernize them into the secure, multi-tenant Infor CloudSuites running on Amazon Web Services (AWS).

In the spirit of Armstrong’s famous words, this is truly one small step for Infor, one giant LEAP for Infor customers.

Unlike other ERP vendors, Infor has paired cloud migration with industry-specific intelligence and fixed-price project delivery. No one—not even SAP or Oracle—is offering a similar combination of industry focus, AI automation, and predictable cost.

Infor CloudSuites are consistently ranked among the top ERP systems by Gartner, Nucleus Research, and independent advisors such as Third Stage Consulting’s Eric Kimberling. Built on AWS, Infor’s cloud ERP offers the scalability, security, and AI infrastructure modern manufacturers need.

Each Infor CloudSuite is designed for a specific industry—manufacturing, distribution, aerospace & defense, automotive, high tech, and more. Preconfigured best practices reduce costly customizations and speed time to value.

Here is our PCG Insights BLOG article that explains “What is Infor CloudSuite?” including several instructional videos from our new PCG Insights HUB.

To make the Leap successful, you need the right partner. PCG is the only Infor partner in North America offering both:

• SyteLine upgrades to Infor CloudSuite Industrial (CSI)
• LN, Baan, and XA upgrades to CloudSuite Industrial Enterprise (CSIE)

For over a decade, PCG has refined its Velocity implementation methodology, delivering fixed-price, on-time, on-budget cloud migrations. In essence, PCG “took the Leap” years ago.

Here is our PCG Insights BLOG article entitled “Why PCG Should Be Your Infor Consulting Partner”. We’ve been doing Infor ERP implementations for over 20 years, so we know our way around these systems really well!

For Infor’s on-prem customers (LN, XA, SyteLine, Baan, etc.), PCG’s Leap offering delivers:

1. Industry-Specific Cloud ERP
CloudSuites are built with decades of industry experience, embedding best practices from day one. PCG tailors only where it matters, minimizing risk and cost.

2. Unparalleled Industry Knowledge
From aerospace to electronics, PCG brings deep vertical expertise. One example: implementing CloudSuite A&D for AEVEX Aerospace—the first drone manufacturer in North America to do so—in just six months.

3. Free Cloud Readiness Assessment
PCG begins with a complimentary workshop to design your personalized cloud roadmap. Using Infor’s Industry Process Catalog, the team builds a demo tenant—later used in production—to accelerate deployment.

4. Deployment and Adoption
PCG’s proven project methodology ensures smooth migration and end-user adoption. Tools such as Infor Adoption Accelerator provide in-app guidance to increase proficiency and engagement.

5. Value Realization and Ongoing Support
Post-go-live, PCG continues to deliver value through its Customer Success and Assure Support programs, combining managed services with customization assistance.

PCG helps you qualify for the Leap program and ensures a fast, cost-effective journey to the cloud. Customer fit is evaluated across key criteria—company size, users, plant locations, business model alignment, and industry-specific functionality.

For many manufacturers, the Leap program eliminates long-standing fears about re-implementation complexity or uncertain project costs. PCG’s structured “health check” determines eligibility and defines a realistic, fixed-price scope.

PCG leverages Infor’s Velocity Suite—a set of advanced tools for business process mining, robotic process automation (RPA), and AI-driven insights.

At the core are Industry AI Agents: pre-trained, role-based assistants built on micro-vertical models. These agents are ready to work out of the box, requiring minimal setup.

With Industry AI Agents, organizations can:

• Optimize every process with AI grounded in industry context
• Make faster, data-driven decisions
• Orchestrate and scale automation securely across the enterprise

PCG has deployed both Infor’s pre-built agents and custom AI agents tailored to client workflows—helping customers unlock measurable productivity gains.

While the Leap program focuses on technical migration, PCG ensures that transformation extends across people, processes, and technology:

1. People – Cloud Readiness Assessments evaluate organizational culture, staffing, and change-management needs, supported by robust training and testing plans.

2. Processes – Infor’s standardized Industry Process Catalogs and process-mining tools help streamline operations and identify inefficiencies.

3. Technology – PCG handles configuration, data cleansing, migration, and documentation with AI assistance—ensuring your system is optimized for the cloud

What makes AI so interesting in combination with ERP, especially compared to other technologies, is how many applications it has. It impacts nearly every industry and every job function – from the shop floor all the way up to the CEO.

The ERP software industry is undergoing a significant transformation due to the influence of AI. But what specific impacts does AI have on ERP software and what do we need to know about it?

Outside of maybe Sales, the department in a company that’s probably most in need of AI in their ERP system is finance. Here’s the summary of an article from ERP Advisors Group:

“Most busy, productive finance and accounting professionals wish they and their staff had more time in the day to do the value-add tasks that require time and space to analyze their financial data and make recommendations to better the business. However, many find themselves mired down in manual processes including spreadsheet manipulation, repetitively clicking through multiple systems, and performing time-consuming data entry to complete basic tasks.”

A great example is an application of Robotic Process Automation (RPA), a form of AI, in interpreting purchase invoice information from scanners, matching to purchase orders, and automating approval. Crazy!

The potential risks are the reason why guys like James Cameron and Elon Musk are understandably freaked out about the rapid progress of AI.

For instance, what will prevent ERP vendors that have data on the cloud from sharing comparative data with other customers, endangering competitive advantage? Obtaining data from company ERP systems in the cloud increases the risk for fraud, data piracy, and stealing proprietary secrets.

Conceivably AI in ERP could also make decisions on its own, such as reviewing customer accounts receivable data like aging history and credit checks to determine what’s a “good” or “bad” customer; and then going ahead and blocking them if they’re “bad”.

In other words, humans could be delegating authority to AI to make decisions on behalf of the company without human oversight or intervention.

Skynet, anyone?

To me, although there is almost unlimited potential for good in AI and ERP, there also needs to be much more discussion about the dangers. For instance, AI can access internal ERP data sources like customer data files and the internet together to pit one company against another or spy on competitive advantage.

Using the Terminator analogy, it would be as if the competitor chasing you is a late-model Terminator in a tractor- trailer who’s tapped into a satellite that’s tracking your every move in your pickup truck. Oh…and that tractor-trailer can time travel!

While I don’t think AI in ERP is going to completely replace human users anytime soon, I believe the writing is on the wall for job reductions and machines taking over certain functions.

Infor CloudSuite LN (M3 for process) comes in as a BIG #1 in analyst Sam Gupta’s list of the Top 10 Manufacturing ERP Systems in 2025 from ElevatIQ.

In Gupta’s estimation, Infor CloudSuite is the right size for mid to large-sized companies from $50 million to over $10 billion in revenue, and it competes straight up head-to-head with SAP S/4HANA as one of the few true multi-tenant cloud solutions in the market. (SAP S/4HANA ranks #5 on Sam’s list, btw).

Here is a graphic of the rankings. Nice to see Infor CloudSuite #1 where it belongs. Take that, Ernie Els!

Here are some links and screenshots that I gathered for you. The Infor Global YouTube channel has demo videos, podcasts, customer testimonials, etc.

There are many Infor CloudSuite videos on the Infor Youtube channel that are focused on Infor’s innovative technology. This is one that I especially like called “Introducing Infor Operating Service (OS) Portal”; which is the platform to build AI, RPA, Workspaces, Predictive Analytics, Workflows, APIs and many other technologies to link Infor and non-Infor technologies together.

PCG is the largest Infor CloudSuite LN and SyteLine combined partner and we’re the only Infor Partner to offer implementations and upgrades for both Infor LN and SyteLine. Here is our Infor Services and Solutions page.

The Infor CloudSuites are usually an excellent fit for medium-sized manufacturers, typically defined as $100 million to $10 billion…or even larger companies with 10’s of billions in revenue. They are especially appropriate for companies in the vertical industries of Automotive, Aerospace & Defense, Industrial Machinery, Electronics/High Tech, and general discrete manufacturing.

The Infor CloudSuites are an excellent choice for you if you are:

• • A medium to large discrete manufacturer in the verticals mentioned above.
  • Medium to high-growth business.
  • Needing a more flexible ERP solution.
  • Needing a more flexible set of industry business models.
  • Looking for business process workflow automation.
  • Looking for a lower complexity cloud solution that can be implemented as largely standard.
  • Currently have an older or end-of-life Infor ERP like Baan IV, Baan 5, Infor LN (any version), or some “compass” solutions like Infor XA or BPICS.
  • Currently have end-of-life systems from Microsoft like Dynamics AX or GP as going to Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations or Dynamics 365 Business Central may require a reimplementation.
  • Currently have SAP ECC and you’re fearing the significant investment and time required to upgrade to SAP S/4HANA Public or Private Cloud by the stated deadline of the end of 2027.

I hope you liked this article and I invite you to read the others in the series. I welcome your comments and would greatly appreciate a share of this blog on LinkedIn.

If you are interested in evaluating the Infor CloudSuites like Infor CloudSuite LN or Infor CloudSuite CSI/SyteLine in your shortlist, then we can help with that as well. We have done Infor CloudSuite and Infor ERP LN implementations around the world.

We offer the following Infor/CloudSuite/Baan Consulting Services:

• • Assist with ERP Selection projects
  • Infor ERP Implementations of CSI or CSIE
  • Infor ERP Upgrades from Syteline to CSI or Baan IV, Baan 5, Infor LN, Infor XA, etc. to CSIE
  • Infor LN or Baan Consulting
  • Legacy ERP Assessments like Microsoft Dynamics GP, AX, SAP ECC, etc.
  • Discuss the CSI and CSIE Roadmaps
  • Business Process Management (BPM) through Industry Process Intelligence
  • Business Process Mining
  • Business Impact Analysis Studies
  • Change Management Strategies
  • Solution Architecture Strategies (e.g., Infor OS)
  • Strategies for Existing Solution Migration and Upgrades from legacy Infor ERPs
  • Business and Enterprise Optimization

I welcome your comments and would greatly appreciate a share of this blog on LinkedIn. I’m the Director of Marketing for PCG | PREDICTABLE BUSINESS AND DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION working out of our VA USA office. We are one of the most sought-after Oracle NetSuite partners in the North American market.

Explore more on our website or on our YouTube channel

If you are interested in evaluating Oracle NetSuite in your shortlist, then we can help with that. Also, although we are focused on North America, we support international manufacturers and distributors with NetSuite ERP implementations around the world.

Upon request, we are offering a FREE NetSuite “health check” with up to 2 hours of consultation with a PCG team consisting of one of our NetSuite consultants and an experienced solution architect.

If needed, we can sign an NDA leading up to this session where we will focus on “readiness” and “Phase 0” of a potential project.

To get more information about this health check offer, email me using the link below.

We offer the following Infor/CloudSuite/Baan Consulting Services:

• • Assist with ERP Selection projects
  • Infor ERP Implementations of CSI or CSIE
  • Infor ERP Upgrades from Syteline to CSI or Baan IV, Baan 5, Infor LN, Infor XA, etc. to CSIE
  • Infor LN or Baan Consulting
  • Legacy ERP Assessments like Microsoft Dynamics GP, AX, SAP ECC, etc.
  • Discuss the CSI and CSIE Roadmaps
  • Business Process Management (BPM) through Industry Process Intelligence
  • Business Process Mining
  • Business Impact Analysis Studies
  • Change Management Strategies
  • Solution Architecture Strategies (e.g., Infor OS)
  • Strategies for Existing Solution Migration and Upgrades from legacy Infor ERPs
  • Business and Enterprise Optimization

After the SOW is completed and released from Engage, it’s crucial to secure the best people possible on the project team from the customer side (yes, that’s you) to ensure commitment and key stakeholder support for working with the consultants (that’s us) and the consulting firm PM.

The project plan must fit to the SOW, the project team (key users) schedules and the strategic plan. We generally use MS Projects but can use other online tools as well (ask us).

Deliverables of this phase:

• Project plan and schedule. This is the detailed plan with the phases and milestones clearly laid out.
• Resources and staffing plan. Who are the key stakeholders, key users, and end-users at each plant or location? This helps ensure the best people can be backfilled from their “real jobs.”
• Define an Organizational Change Management (OCM) plan. OCM is perhaps the most important step in the People part of the project and perhaps the most frequently undervalued. The readiness for change of the people working on the project and the organization, in general, should be measured at each stage of the project. That’s why the development of OCM is in this Inception phase, and then Performing OCM is listed under every phase after.

Here’s a diagram that shows the major parts and details under each for OCM courtesy of projectplanexcel.net.

• Review High-Level Requirements — This is a “50,000-foot” review of the main business processes. It is a survey of the “as is” business processes and the business’s desires/needs that aren’t being met by the current ERPs. This should include a listing of the customizations because many may be eliminated, but some may have to be recreated.
• Define Key Business Data Structure — This is an assessment of the data that’s in the old ERP systems plus any production “edge” systems. Before the start of the data conversion, there should be an attempt to clean it up and to normalize bad master data that the transactions will use. For example, there could be duplicate business partners (e.g., customers and suppliers that were entered because of slightly different spellings or addresses that are really the same.

Elaboration —

• Review Business Process Models — This is where we use business process management (BPM). It can be aided with Infor Process Catalogs (IPCs) that start at the highest Business Control Model level 1. Some examples are (Sales) Order to Cash or (Purchasing) Procure to Pay. Then we drill down all the way through the levels, using the Dynamic Enterprise Modeler (DEM), to do a complete development of the “to be” business processes.
• Develop and Validate Prototype (CRP 1) — The prototype typically involves a day-long conference room pilot (CRP) presentation by the key users to the stakeholders and maybe end users. It uses sample test data from the client’s existing data and the level 3 (main) and level 4 (more detailed) process flows to run through the actual entry of orders and transactions.
• Perform Gap Analysis — This is an analysis of “as is” processes, integrations, reports, etc. that are missing from the “to be” core model. If a gap is identified it needs to be not just put on the list, it needs to be followed up on regularly until it’s filled.
• Data Migration — Here is a great slide which shows an overview of the proven data migration process that we use at PCG. Essentially, we can take ANY legacy ERP system, including on-prem, old single tenant or hosted cloud ERPs, and convert the data/system to the CE multi-tenant cloud on AWS – in an automated way.

• Perform System Testing (CRP 2) — CRP 2 should be done after the initial data conversion with cleaned-up master data has been done. It should be done in the production-configured Company, and the “to be” process flows should be done in the DEM. Sometimes, companies don’t do all the exception processes in CRP 1.
• Prepare Documentation and End User Training — Documentation can be a lot of things, including online help, module descriptions, different presentations, and the business model itself. A huge help with documentation is that Infor has put all its documentation online in this amazing resource!

Transition —

• Prepare Final Production Environment — This is the final system with all the companies, modules activated, master data, data sharing set up, operating service (OS) installed, workflows defined, business process flows for all processes defined, all applications installed (e.g., Birst Analytics), KPI’s running and approved customizations built. It’s ready for final data conversion.
• Train End Users — We generally use a “train the trainer” approach, where the key users train the end-users, but that doesn’t always suffice. If the step of end-user training has been done well, which typically means help from the consultants at that stage, then the end-users should be able to follow the “work instructions.”
• Perform User Acceptance Testing (UAT) — We have templates for the UAT scripts (documents) and the UAT list for monitoring how it’s going.
• Final Data Conversion — This is the proof the data is solid and that it’s been cleansed of impurities like duplicate records. We recommend migrating only master data, open orders (sales orders, purchase orders, production orders) and open transactions such as open Accounts Payable (AP) and Accounts Receivable.

NOTE: Migrating history weighs down the new system and there tends to be many referential integrity errors caused by dirty data. If you start to use AI, dirty data is also going to cause “hallucinations” and maybe even bad decisions if you allow AI to make decisions in workflows that include it. Scary!

Optimization —

I used to say to clients, “The optimization of your systems is never over.” It’s a continuing, virtuous cycle that leads to efficient processes, happy employees, accurate data as the “source of truth”, and ever-improving business metrics. Basically, your systems can stay healthy and ready to rock!

Conclusion —

If you have old on-premise ERP systems, then you’re already at risk. They may not be dead, but they are dying. Fortunately, the forecast is for a cloudy future – and that’s a good thing! If you follow the ERP Doctor’s guidance that I’ve provided here, then you will be able to upgrade your old ERP system to the cloud – without dying.

Once the system is upgraded, clients can have all the benefits of the multi-tenant cloud, such as: