ERP customization: options, best practices, services & our roadmap

ERP customization: options, best practices, services & our roadmap

ERP customization is a reshaping process that involves substantial custom coding modifications of an existing platform-based or custom enterprise resource planning system in line with an owners’ vision and best industry practices. Itransition is well-equipped to deliver various types of ERP customizations, ranging from high-level design changes to feature-level revamps. Our ERP experts will help you outline the scope of your project, identify a suitable technology stack, and select a team of qualified professionals to perform end-to-end customizations.

ERP customization landscape in figures

of organizations surveyed implemented their ERP software with moderate or heavy customization.

Panorama Consulting, 2022

Percentages may not total 100 percent due to rounding

About Itransition

10+ years providing ERP services

50+ completed projects of different scales across various industries

Hands-on expertise in delivering out-of-the-box, custom, and hybrid ERP solutions

An Odoo Silver Partner

A NetSuite Solution Provider

The scope of our ERP customization services

Custom ERP upgrade

Itransition helps you modify the functionality of the proprietary ERP system that no longer meets your specific needs to enable capabilities unique to your business workflows and business requirements.

An Odoo Silver partner, Itransition tailors the Odoo platform to help you support specific business functions and address the pain points of your industry.

An accredited NetSuite partner, Itransition extends NetSuite's out-of-the-box capabilities to tailor the platform to your business workflows and processes.

Tailor an ERP platform to your unique needs with Itransition

Contact us

Success stories from Itransition’s portfolio

Odoo ERP customization

90%

manual work reduction

When implementing a customized Odoo ERP solution for a US repair and maintenance service provider, Itransition developed a custom warehouse management algorithm to streamline product search and procurement processes.

eLearning ERP customization

10%

DevOps cost cuts

Itransition provided a US-based eLearning company with a comprehensive LMS solution, featuring an array of fully customized ERP and CMS functionalities to streamline and automate its administrative workflows.

ERP customization vs ERP configuration

Both key steps in ERP implementation, configuring and customizing an ERP represent two distinct ways of adapting this tool to your software ecosystem and corporate workflows. Here's a brief comparison to help you select the most viable option based on your operational scenario:

ERP customization

ERP configuration

Functional extension
Functional extension

Functionality is expanded beyond the out-of-the-box capacity.

Out-of-the-box functionality is altered using default settings only.

Possible modifications
Possible modifications

The scope of changes is defined by the owner’s business requirements and the platform’s functional limitations.

The scope of changes is limited to the settings enabled by the ERP vendor.

Expertise required
Expertise required

Needs to be performed by qualified software engineers.

Can be performed by ERP administrators.

Change management
Change management

Implies profound changes that can potentially redefine business processes, calling for a change management strategy.

Changes are mostly surface-level and can be introduced with minimal employee onboarding.

YesOpt for out-of-the-box ERPYesChoose ERP configurationYesAre out-of-the-box ERP featuresenough for your business needs?NoAre default settings enough for yourbusiness needs?NoDo you have the budget forERP customization?NoCan you bring your business processesin line with configured ERP workflows?NoReevaluate your ERP requirementsYesChoose ERP customization

ERP customization paths

Here are some examples of ERP customizations we perform that require specific development skills and impact different aspects of your software.

UX/UI customization

We modify the default ERP’s look and feel to improve user experience.

Skills required

  • UX/UI design
  • Frontend development
  • Usability testing

Forms & workflows customization

We change the default format of dashboards and forms or restructure off-the-shelf workflows in line with the established business processes.

Skills required

    • Process modeling
    • UX/UI design
    • Frontend development
    • Process testing
    • Backend development

    Functionality extensions

    We introduce new ERP pluggable modules without altering the source code to bridge the gaps between platform functionality and business requirements.

    Skills required

      • Frontend development
      • UX/UI design
      • Backend development
      • Quality assurance
      • Mobile development

      Feature customizations

      We change your ERP's pre-existing features through more invasive modifications to meet specific business needs.

      Skills required

        • Frontend development
        • Backend development
        • Quality assurance
        • Mobile development

        We integrate an ERP platform with third-party tools, cloud services, or smart devices through custom-built APIs and other connectors.

        Skills required

          • Backend development
          • Cloud integration
          • API development
          • Integration testing
          We implement smart RPA robots into your existing ERP solution to perform a variety of time-consuming tasks faster and with superior accuracy.

          Skills required

            • Business process management
            • Automation engineering
            • Data analytics
            • AI and machine learning
            • RPA platforms

            Common ERP integrations we help set up

            ERP
            CRM
            HRM
            Ecommerce
            BI
            Hardware
            Banking and financial services
            Accounting software
            • This combination can prove extremely useful to:
            • Synchronize supply and demand data
            • Ensure a 360-degree customer view
            • Enable personalized customer journeys 
            • Track sales conversion rate
            • Share customer data across departments
            • A single view into workforce and resource data helps:
            • Streamline expense management
            • Allocate human resources efficiently
            • Monitor employee performance
            • Facilitate payroll and compensation management
            • Ensure better employee training
            • Integration with their digital storefronts allows companies to: 
            • Harmonize their ecommerce ecosystem
            • Enhance their omnichannel strategies
            • Keep track of inventory levels in real time
            • Gather data on customers, orders, and leads
            • Enable dynamic pricing and customized promotions
            • Business intelligence complements ERP’s analytical features to:
            • Extract business insights from operational data
            • Empower your staff with timely reports
            • Identify new business opportunities
            • Monitor and forecast major market trends
            • Optimize your service and product offer

            ERP + hardware

            • Hardware integration helps businesses to:
            • Enhance supply chain management with smart sensors
            • Automate operational process for better shop floor performance 
            • Improve the accuracy of forecasting and planning
            • Identify defects and increase product quality 
            • Predict failures and improve asset maintenance

            ERP + banking & financial services

            • This combination enables:
            • Automated payment acceptance, processing, and storing
            • Streamlined cash management 
            • Improved access to banking services for business users
            • Transactions management from a single environment
            • Real-time information provision from banks for corporate clients

            ERP + accounting software

            • Accounting software complements ERP capabilities to:
            • Automate invoicing 
            • Exchange data on orders, partners, products, payments, and invoices to streamline accounting workflows 
            • Quickly identify errors when reconciling accounts
            • Automatically create accurate budgets and financial plans

            Our ERP customization framework

            1

            Discovery

            We frame your business goals and requirements, create technical documentation detailing the architecture and functionality of your future ERP, and set up a suitable project roadmap.

            2

            Design

            Based on your requirements and specifications, we design your ERP system's information architecture, prepare blueprints and wireframes, and prototype the user interface.

            3

            Coding

            We proceed with front-end and back-end development, delivering incremental code changes via script rollout and iterative releases to automate and streamline software building and testing.

            4

            Testing

            Relying on our QA engineers' expertise and powerful automation tools, we perform continuous end-to-end testing to identify any bugs or performance issues and ensure your requirements are met.

            5

            Delivery

            We release the final product, along with proper documentation describing its attributes, design principles, and operation, and prepare software agreements for transferring ownership.

            ERP customization best practices we follow

            Using KPIs to assess results

            We measure the success of an ERP customization project with a variety of key performance indicators, for example, savings of time and resources to perform the same processes and their enhanced accuracy, along with end users’ level of satisfaction.

            Aiming for long-term value

            Any ERP customization is worth the investment if it delivers benefits in the long run. We achieve this through a solution that addresses key business needs, adapts to your workflow without involving major changes, and easily scales to suit ever-evolving scenarios.

            Avoiding unnecessary customizations

            Besides requiring proper investments, multiple changes to the structural design of your existing ERP can amplify the risk of running into compatibility issues and critical bugs. Therefore, we cherry-pick the most impactful modifications that may ensure a competitive edge.

            ERP customization benefits

            Efficiency
            With an ERP fully aligned with your business processes, you can capitalize on increased speed, automation, and visibility.
            Flexibility
            A customized ERP solution becomes easier to scale up or change on-demand to meet emerging business goals.
            Innovation
            Customization allows you to exceed off-the-shelf ERP software capacity and tap into powerful features and tools.
            Plug & play
            A bespoke ERP is tailored to your workflow and infrastructure, so you won’t need to adjust your operations after its adoption.
            Usability
            An ERP designed to work in synergy with your pre-existing software ecosystem ensures a smoother user experience.

            How we avoid ERP customization issues

            When botched, ERP customizations can cause problems and undermine the business benefits they bring. Here is how we work to prevent these issues:

            Issue

            Solution

            Over-customization
            Over-customization

            When heavy customizations render your ERP unrecognizable and hinder its normal performance.

            We establish clear improvement objectives and identify the right amount of new features that won’t conflict with the core ERP functionality.

            Introduced bugs
            Introduced bugs

            When developers unknowingly create defects in the ERP source code, UI, or logic.

            We make sure to test customizations throughout and after the development, implementing automated tests to streamline the task if needed.

            Upgrade conflicts
            Upgrade conflicts

            When customizations turn out to be incompatible with newer versions of the same ERP platform.

            When dealing with platform-based ERPs, we develop customizations in line with the ERP vendors’ requirements so that they are backward- and forward-compatible.

            Budget overruns
            Budget overruns

            When your organization incurs unexpected ERP customization costs.

            We help you define accurate project requirements and constantly monitor the customization progress to avoid wasting time and resources on unnecessary modifications.

            Elimination of best practices
            Elimination of best practices

            When an ERP undergoes substantial modifications affecting its compliance.

            We frame your industry's best practices and document any code changes, ensuring that the modified product still fully complies with standards and regulations.

            Obsolete customizations
            Obsolete customizations

            When a customized feature is no longer necessary but still burdens your ERP's architecture.

            We can get rid of dispensable customizations by removing them completely or by disabling them if their removal risks affecting several components of the system.

            Looking for a reliable tech vendor for your ERP customization project?

            Contact us

            More ERP services by Itransition

            ERP consulting

            ERP consulting

            We provide holistic consulting services to streamline ERP development and adoption, from gap analysis and tech stack identification to ROI projection and project planning.

            ERP development

            We create custom ERP systems with a tailored set of features, modules, and integrations for companies of all sizes and industries to meet their most deliberate ERP needs.

            ERP implementation

            We roll out platform-based and custom ERP software solutions by taking on the whole implementation process, from business needs to user support and onboarding.

            ERP integration

            We connect the ERP platform with other enterprise software systems and third-party applications by choosing and applying an optimal ERP integration approach.

            ERP customization FAQs

            Which ERP deployment model is more customization-friendly?

            Cloud-based ERPs hosted remotely and managed by the vendor can only be modified or expanded by third-party developers within strict, predefined settings. On-premise ERPs deployed on your own servers, on the other hand, ensure full control over the product and therefore extensive customization options.

            Is it better to configure or customize my ERP?

            As a rule of thumb, the first option to consider is configuration, since it's generally easier, faster, cheaper, and less prone to creating compatibility and updating issues. However, organizations requiring an ERP adjusted to their established processes and long-term goals should invest in customization.

            Should I customize my ERP before or after its implementation?

            Nothing prevents your business from customizing an ERP before actually deploying it. Still, allowing your staff to familiarize themselves with the new system for a couple of months will help you assess how it integrates with your workflows, identify its limitations, and set up a better customization plan.

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