Modernised a 14-year-old custom ERP via middleware: in six months, with zero rip-and-replace
Instead of a ₹40 crore ERP migration, we put a clean middleware layer around the existing ERP and unlocked real-time shop-floor visibility, AI readiness and clean APIs in 24 weeks.
Outcomes
₹37 Cr
saved
Vs proposed rip-and-replace
6
months
vs 24-month alternative
< 5 min
latency
Shop-floor to ERP
0
disruption
To live operations
The challenge
- Custom ERP built 14 years ago, deeply customised, indispensable.
- A proposed enterprise ERP migration had been quoted at ₹40 Cr and 24 months.
- Shop-floor execution and ERP were disconnected — 4–6 hour confirmation lag.
- AI / agentic plans were blocked because data was locked inside the legacy ERP.
What we built
- Lightweight middleware layer exposing clean REST APIs over the legacy ERP.
- New execution layer for operators on industrial tablets, talking only to middleware.
- Event-driven sync between shop floor and ERP — < 5 minute confirmation latency.
- Foundation for AI agents to read clean data and propose actions.
- Existing ERP touched only minimally — zero risk to ongoing operations.
The rip-and-replace trap
A global SI had pitched a ₹40 crore, 24-month enterprise ERP migration. The CFO had two concerns: the absolute cost, and the operational disruption of cutting over a system that had been customised for 14 years to fit exactly how this plant ran.
The middleware alternative
We proposed leaving the legacy ERP untouched. A new middleware layer exposed clean REST APIs in front of it. A modern execution app for operators talked only to the middleware. The ERP continued to do what it did well — finance, master data, transactional posting — and the middleware turned it into a source of clean, real-time signals for everything downstream.
What this unlocked
AI agents now read clean data via the middleware APIs. The shop-floor team got tablets with the screens they actually needed, not vendor-default ERP forms. And the customer kept the customised ERP that had been worth fighting for in the first place.
Tech stack
- • Python / FastAPI middleware
- • PostgreSQL + Redis
- • React tablets app
- • Existing custom ERP (preserved)
Timeline
24 weeks pilot to full plant rollout.
Related field guides
MES & Smart Manufacturing
MES vs ERP: The Honest Decision Framework for Indian Plant Heads
A practical decision framework for plant heads and CIOs trying to decide whether they need MES, more ERP, or a middleware layer between them.
MES & Smart Manufacturing
Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) in India: The 2026 Practitioner’s Guide
A field guide to choosing, implementing and operating a Manufacturing Execution System in Indian plants — written from 50+ deployments across process and discrete industries.
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