Web Development for Food Industry – ERP under NDA
A large food processing company needed to enhance operations, which required expanding the capabilities of a legacy ERP system. To meet the client’s tech needs, our web developers worked on transitioning the system to modern technology, adding missing functionality, and streamlining user’ workflows.
- Team 9 members
- Type ERP software modernization
- Industry Food
- Platforms Web
About the project
IT Craft has helped a large manufacturer of food service and consumer products modernize and enhance its custom-built internal ERP system.
The client uses the ERP system to cover the entire food processing cycle. This system ensures the company’s high performance, enabling employees to manage efficiently all details of an extensive product line.
The client’s original system was brought into operation over 30 years ago. Its COBOL-based core remained intact, gradually creating long-term challenges for further maintenance and expansion.
The system could no longer support the client’s growing needs. Modernization was required to enable upgrades to existing features and implementing new functionality.
Client’s expectations
- Add new functionality for emerging business needs
- Adjust existing features to improve productivity
- Ensure uninterrupted business processes
- Abide by high security standards
- Decrease costs of software upgrades and maintenance
Technologies:
Angular
ASP.NET MVC-
ASP.NET Core
.NET
PostgreSQL
Redis
Cooperation started when the client requested new functionality for ingredients management. IT engineers delivered it as a stand-alone solution that exchanged data with the rest of the system.
However, our engineers needed to recreate the system core on a new technological stack to incorporate further system upgrades. To support the client’s business needs, our engineering team:
- Studied and decomposed the legacy, COBOL-based ERP system
- Assessed challenges of stepwise transfer and ways to minimize downtime during upgrades
- Selected .NET platform and Angular framework to provide needed user functionality via lightweight, robust single-page applications
- Developed new features based on stakeholders’ recommendations, helping with requirements management and adjustments to existing workflows
- Continued running new and old functionality in parallel to eliminate possible downtime
- Synchronized data processing between old and new systems in the same database using data locks to avoid conflicts
- Gradually switched off old functionality after ensuring the new one was running as envisaged, eliminating process interruptions
- Managed technical debt accumulated over years of updates and changes
- Ensured high security level on the project
Results of the collaboration
IT Craft’s expert-level web development services enabled the client to enhance system performance, get rid of old errors, automate processes covering new activities e.g., billing, warehouse, etc.
The key project outcomes include:
- Careful decomposition of available source code and business requirements met end-users’ needs and excluded transfer of tech debt to the new system.
- Streamlined workflows, automated processes, and improved operational efficiency save time and resources.
- Selection of .NET ensures compatibility, meeting long-term growth and adaptability needs.
- The use of a modern stack ensures a 26% increase in development productivity, boosting project delivery and business output.
- A 50% reduction in IT costs is the result of the implemented system optimization and infrastructure updates.
- Continuous system health monitoring allows to log user activities and quickly investigate emerging issues; an alert system ensures no emergencies remain unnoticed.