You don't bake your own bricks for your new house, do you?
Frank Terburg
Managing Partner
Basics
You have a million-dollar company and are facing a crucial decision: implement a standard ERP package or create everything completely with custom systems? If you are asking this question, you are already thinking in the wrong direction.
It's like asking: "Should I build my entire house prefab or design and produce all the bricks myself?" While in reality, you just want a solid foundation, standard parts where possible, and a few unique elements that distinguish your house from your neighbors. And that's how it works with your IT landscape.
Why the all-or-nothing approach will cost you dearly
An all-or-nothing choice between standard ERP and fully custom solutions is a pure waste of money. I will explain this using two scenarios that I frequently encounter in practice:
Scenario 1: "We build everything ourselves"
A distributor had Oracle Finance, which worked perfectly. But they wanted to replace their inventory module because they had "specific requirements". Their reasoning: "If we build it ourselves, we get exactly what we want."
And you can already guess: eight months of work to recreate logic that had been working perfectly in Oracle for years. Their "simple" request turned out to be a web of dependencies. Costs went thousands of euros over budget and they had a six-month delay on their schedule.
Scenario 2: "We do everything with our ERP package"
On the other hand, I often see organizations trying to fit their unique processes into standard ERP modules. And one thing is certain: they must adapt their processes to the limitations of their software and lose a piece of competitive advantage.
Both choices lead to frustration and waste of money.
Use every system for its intended purpose
The most successful organizations I encounter do not think in terms of "this or that." They ask themselves: what does each system do best?
For example, we once helped a flower wholesaler who wanted to stay ahead of their competition. They continued to use Oracle for their finances. Because why reinvent how a general ledger works? They chose an existing SaaS solution for their inventory planning. It already existed in their specialized market and fit their needs perfectly.
But their B2B webshop? We built it together, fully customizable. Their specific customer process did not fit into a standard webshop. Their customers do not order "10 roses." They say: "Give me all the red roses that come in fresh on Thursday from supplier X, delivered by Friday at 6 o'clock." They also want direct contact with their account manager for last-minute changes. And real-time insight into what will actually be delivered tomorrow. No standard webshop could handle this.
Their customized webshop contains their competitive advantage. And because they listened very well to their customers, they are extremely positive about the new shop.
What a smart IT landscape looks like
If you look closely at successful organizations, you will see that they think in three layers:
Layer 1 is your foundation
Financial administration, HR, basic logistics. Here, Oracle, SAP, and AFAS have decades of experience. They have encountered all issues at least once and have optimally processed all laws and regulations. Why reinvent the wheel?
Layer 2 is specialized, but not unique
Transport management, document control, CAD software. There are packages that focus entirely on one thing and do it very well. Use them specifically for these purposes.
Layer 3 is where you are unique
The processes that set you apart from competitors. How you serve customers, how you respond to market changes, how you are faster than others. This is where your competitive advantage lies. And this is where you will implement custom software. We build that for our clients in OutSystems.
Make your different layers one whole
Once you have developed all three layers, the next step arrives. The step where you combine everything into one powerful whole...
OutSystems is the perfect tool for that. With it, you seamlessly integrate your custom software with your standard ERP. You can exchange real-time data, automatically trigger processes, and ensure that everything aligns perfectly.
You truly benefit from it: you maintain the stability of systems you have been working with for years and gain the freedom to innovate your business processes where necessary.
Curious how this looks for your organization?
Let’s take a look at where your unique opportunities lie and how you can make a smart combination between standard systems and custom solutions.
We would love to talk to you!
