Custom ERP: features, development roadmap, costs & benefits

January 30, 2025

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Custom ERP

Head of ERP Center of Excellence

Custom ERP is an enterprise resource planning platform built from the ground up to meet the business needs, goals, and industry-specific requirements of a particular company. With a tailored set of functional modules and integrations, custom ERP are more flexible and easier to adopt and scale.

ERP software is a powerful tool that helps companies achieve real-time visibility of business processes, ensure cross-organizational data integrity, and improve decision-making. However, not every off-the-shelf ERP platform can effectively address existing business needs, and that’s when a company turns to ERP software development services to get custom-built solutions with the functionality tailored to their business workflows.

About Itransition

10+ years of experience in delivering ERP solutions

50+ successful ERP projects across multiple industries, including healthcare, manufacturing, retail, automotive, and insurance

Providing IT consulting and software development services since 1998

Hands-on experience with data analytics, BI, AI, and ML

Why opt for a custom ERP solution?

You have established non-trivial business workflows, and the default functionality of packaged ERP software cannot effectively cover them, significantly increasing TCO.
Your business is actively evolving, demanding significant scaling and adjustments to your ERP system (e.g., adding new users or industry-specific or advanced functionality, such as real-time data analysis or interactive visualization) - requirements that off-the-shelf ERP solutions cannot meet effectively.
You operate in a highly regulated industry, which imposes strict compliance requirements that off-the-shelf ERP software cannot address.
As your company grows, you want to mitigate escalating licensing costs and maintain better control over long-term expenses.
You need to cost-efficiently integrate your ERP software solution into a complex IT environment with multiple systems, legacy systems, and third-party services.
You want to minimize user resistance and reduce additional investments in end-user training and onboarding.

Wondering if custom ERP is an optimal choice for your business?

We can help

Custom ERP vs platform ERP

Custom ERP software

Off-the-shelf ERP software

Functionality

Tailor-made functionality and integrations, as the software is built for specific company needs

A predefined functional structure that could be excessive or insufficient for your unique business needs

Ease of adoption

Adoption is faster as the solution aligns with your business processes

Users might need more time learning how to use and tune the ERP system to take full advantage of it

Deployment speed

Deployment is slow due to the time spent on the project team assembling, solution architecture design, tech stack selection, ERP application development, testing, and deployment

Fast deployment for small or medium sized companies Deployment among enterprises can be slowed down due to the need to customize the ERP system to a company’s complex workflows at the source code level

Customization capabilities

Vast customization capabilities

Little to no customization capabilities

Scalability

Scalability can be adjusted to the in-house infrastructure

Scalability can be limited Upscaling results in higher TCO

Control over ERP

Complete control over the solution’s development and management, full ownership over the system

Little to no control over the solution

Support

Upgrades and maintenance activities are performed by the in-house team or are negotiated with the development vendor

Commonly, first-line support by the ERP vendor is included in the subscription fee Advanced and premium support plans are available for an extra fee

Cost

High upfront costs due to development expenses TCO can be lower in the long run The pricing is transparent

Lower entrance cost Expensive customizations and advanced support Can imply hidden costs (for security, maintenance, upgrades, etc.) ERP vendors mostly offer software for a subscription fee, which can change over time

Major risks

Heavy resource investment Outdated technology Maintenance burden

Vendor lock-ins Functionality gaps Hefty pricing in the long-run

Deployment

Complete flexibility on how and where the software runs

Deployment inflexibility, the company has to factor in deployment models (cloud-based, on-premises, or hybrid) when selecting an ERP vendor

Custom ERP functionality

Tailored ERP functionality

Custom ERP can include multiple tailor-made modules supporting particular business processes. The combination of these modules, their number, capabilities, and types depend on the industry-specific requirements, business needs, and optimization goals of a particular company. Among the most common ERP modules are:

Financial management
Sales and distribution
Business intelligence and reporting
Warehouse and inventory management
Supply chain management

Field services
Quality management
Human resource management and payroll
Project management

Custom ERP integrations

Unlike off-the-shelf ERP solutions, custom ERP software has almost unlimited integration flexibility. With a seamless bi-directional data flow between ERP modules as well as between the ERP software and other corporate and/or external systems and SaaS applications, companies automate and streamline manual and error-prone data extraction and input activities, which increases overall reporting accuracy and speed. Among the systems custom ERP software can be integrated with are:

Hardware
Mobile devices
Software of your partners/clients
Banking and financial services

Business process management systems
Ecommerce platforms
Accounting software
Customer relationship management (CRM) software

Real-life examples of custom ERP by Itransition

21%

increase in sales

A furniture manufacturing software suit

Itransition developed a manufacturing software suite, including a custom ERP system, which helped a furniture producer transform their back-office workflows and expand their business.

7x

shipments increase

A supply chain management ecosystem

Itransition optimized and upgraded the customer’s ERP platform for large retailers with new features, which helped increase the average number of shipments for end clients, positively affecting their satisfaction rate.

Custom ERP software development roadmap

1

Analysis

Business needs analysis
Industry regulations and compliance requirements definition
Technology environment evaluation
ERP software requirements specification

2

Design & technology selection

ERP solution architecture design
ERP integration scope definition
Choosing an optimal technology stack

3

Planning

Project scope, deliverables, implementation strategy definition
Project scheduling and budgeting
Data migration strategy development
User onboarding planning
Risk management strategy development

4

Development

Front-end and back-end development
Platform integration with existing systems or third-party solutions using custom or pre-built APIs and connectors

5

Testing

Functional and security testing
Usability testing with focus groups
Performance testing
Compatibility testing
Issue resolution

6

Deployment & launch

ERP solution deployment to production
Data migration from corporate systems and applications to the ERP platform
User acceptance testing to check the ERP system in real-world circumstances
User training and onboarding

7

Post-launch support (L1-L3 support)

Ongoing support of the platform users and infrastructure
System fine-tuning following customer’s concerns or suggestions
System troubleshooting
Technology upgrades

Custom ERP technology stack

For convenience, the following architectural levels of ERP systems can be distinguished:

Data storage for storing data about each area of business activity
Back-end services including business logic, data processing, and integrations
A user interface for users to submit requests and access information

From this perspective, the technologies used to build custom ERP software can be grouped into front-end, back-end, and databases, which can be deployed either in the cloud or on-premises.

Front-end technologies

Back-end services

Databases

The cost of custom ERP solutions

To calculate the cost of building a custom ERP application, you have to factor in:

Functional scope

the number of functional modules an ERP solution will incorporate (financial management, supply chain management, sales and distribution, procurement, order management, etc.)

Integration capacity

the number of integrations with internal and external systems, pre-built connectors for future integrations, and the openness of the solution’s architecture

Data management activities

data cleansing, reformatting, and migration activities required for ERP adoption

Technology stack

the cost of third-party solutions used to build an ERP platform, licensing fees for storage and computing, and hardware-related costs

Team composition & team size

a standard team composition includes a project manager, a business analyst, UX/UI designers, solution architect, back-end/front-end/full-stack developers, QA engineers, and a DevOps engineer

Training activities

training sessions and support documentation/materials/manuals for end-users

Support level

any maintenance activities to ensure the smooth operation of the software, regular updates and upgrades, and user support

Custom ERP benefits

Tailored functionality

By developing a custom solution, you define your ERP system’s environment, key features, and integrations, which eliminates the risk of overpaying for unnecessary functionality.

High utilization rate

As the ERP platform was designed following your functional and non-functional requirements, with proper documentation and comprehensive user onboarding, the platform is much easier to learn and use and promises a tailored user experience.

Flexibility

As your workflows, user base, and business requirements and needs change, you can seamlessly scale and adjust your custom ERP solution accordingly.

Optimized TCO

Being tailored to a company’s specific business processes, custom ERP promises higher productivity and efficiency, and as it entails no subscription fees, in the long run, the TCO will be lower compared to packaged solutions.

Product ownership & fast issue resolution

With custom ERP software you do not have to wait for updates or bug fixes from the vendor, as your support team performs any changes or maintenance activities once a need arises, minimizing the risks of business process disruption.

Higher security levels

Custom ERP systems are tailored to an organization’s specific security and compliance requirements, incorporating protection measures such as end-to-end encryption, authorization controls, multi-factor authentication, and compliance management, which can be lacking in off-the-shelf solutions.

Common risks of adopting custom ERP

Custom enterprise resource planning is a valuable IT asset, so building it is a complex process fraught with potential barriers. To create a high-quality custom ERP, beware of the following:

Heavy initial investment

Custom ERPs are usually associated with a higher price because of the heavy initial investment into the hardware, software, and human resources required to build the system. In this scenario, sticking to a third-party solution can initially seem cheaper. However, as your business scales, you will be charged more for a larger number of users, new functional modules, and integrations. Thus, building a personalized ERP solution can be more cost-effective in the long run.

Extended timeline & insufficient resources

With custom ERP solutions, you need to assemble a development team, create business logic, design the solution's architecture, draw up a technology stack, and develop, test, and deploy the software. The more complex your business workflows are, the more time-consuming the ERP development becomes. Additionally, poor project management can incur delays and increased costs. Custom ERP development also requires excellent technical expertise and a niche skillset, which can become a roadblock. To ensure the project’s success, you can consider developing a custom ERP solution with an experienced partner that possesses all the required technical and project management skills.

Vague functional scope

When building an enterprise resource planning solution, you can be tempted to stuff the ERP system with all possible capabilities. To avoid ending up with a boundless functional scope, we recommend you start by interviewing your critical stakeholders for their requirements and expectations for the system. Then, elaborate and split all the elicited requirements into groups, for example, 'must-have,' 'beneficial,' and 'nice to have,' to make sure that the first two groups lay the solution's foundation.

Finding the right technology partner

An experienced ERP partner helps ensure that your ERP solution mirrors your business processes, is implemented within the time and budget, and has high ROI and adoption rates. When choosing an ERP software development company, check if it has a strict and proven ERP development process, a portfolio with ERP implementation projects for companies similar to yours (same industry, size, tech maturity, etc.), and a deep understanding of your business, strategic goals, and needs.

How Itransition can help

ERP development

We build ERP solutions from scratch with the functionality tailored to the unique needs of our customers to help them boost process transparency and operational efficiency.

Consulting

Our certified ERP consultants help align your business needs and objectives with ERP software and assist with ERP vendor selection to lay a solid groundwork for successful ERP implementation.

ERP customization

We help you align your ERP solution with your business operations by performing various ERP customizations from high-level design modifications to functional extensions.

Ensure the success of your ERP project with Itransition

To create a future-proof custom ERP system with guaranteed business value, we recommend first developing a comprehensive ERP strategy carefully aligned with your business development goals. Being a transformative technology for any company, an ERP solution is not an endpoint but the next step to automation and digital transformation. To execute it safely and achieve your objectives as quickly as possible, you can rely on Itransition’s certified ERP consultants.

Looking for a reliable ERP technology partner?

Custom ERP FAQs

What is custom ERP?

Custom ERP is an enterprise resource planning software designed and developed for a particular company, which ensures maximum operational efficiency and a competitive advantage. Deciding whether to build a custom ERP system or implement a one-size-fits-all solution, such as NetSuite, SAP, or Microsoft Dynamics 365 F&O, requires a comprehensive analysis of a company's specific needs and objectives.

How long does it take to develop an ERP?

A custom ERP system development timeline depends on the project complexity, any ballpark estimates are possible after the analysis of specific business needs. Contact our consultants to get a quote.

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