Some background before we begin

I want to give a little background before we jump into the meat and potatoes here. I have been selling Infor ERP products since 2002 and spent 5 years as an SAP consultant prior to that. I’ve helped implement SAP from beginning to end in many companies, ranging from service providers and distributors, all the way to manufacturing companies. I’ve worked in small, midsize, and Fortune 100 companies in my different roles as a consultant, trainer, and project manager. I think my perspective can be helpful to someone currently running SAP who is faced with the forced transition to HANA by 2025.

Infor vs. SAP: What is the difference and why compare?

I have nothing bad to say about SAP; I believe it is a fantastic product and if properly implemented, it can meet just about any need a manufacturing company may have. Sometimes the application can be difficult to consume for small to midsize companies because of the effort (consulting cost) it takes to get up and running. Additionally, there is a fair amount of “care and feeding” maintenance that SAP requires that can be a burden to small to midsize companies. I saw this firsthand—in my experience, we would spend a lot of time configuring SAP to meet the requirements of whatever type of company was implementing the product. This is one of the major differences in the comparison between SAP and Infor ERP. Infor ERP is built for one type of company: an order-driven manufacturer. If you don’t manage work orders, Infor ERP probably isn’t a fit for you. (I do have a small disclaimer here—we do have functionality for work order-less manufacturing, but this doesn’t apply to the vast majority of our customers.) The fact that Infor ERP is built for order-driven manufacturers means less consulting time to implement, a better overall initial fit, and a lower cost of ownership.

Related: Why Visual South Chose Infor ERP

Related: Should You Look for an Alternative to SAP Before Moving to S/4HANA?

Why compare Infor ERP to SAP? I talk to companies all the time that are either running SAP or another ERP that is forcing a transition, and it drives them to evaluate all of their options. Many companies made the decision to run SAP in the late ‘90s and frankly there were not a lot, if any, comparable products at that time for an order-driven manufacturing company looking for ERP. If you are going to be doing an implementation before 2025 anyway, you might as well see everything the current marketplace has to offer.

Need help choosing ERP?

Making a decision

Don’t miss an opportunity to inform your decision makers about the best ERP for your company. The right decision may be to transition to HANA, or it might not. By looking at all of your options, you will feel better about your decision no matter what you choose.

Most companies don’t evaluate ERP on a regular basis. If you are looking for ERP and not sure where to start, how about talking to an expert who is not a sales person? Click here to learn more about Jack Shannon, President of Visual South, and sign up for a free phone consultation to discuss your situation.