I'm currently working with a vendor ERP system in a mid-sized German company (with around 500-1000 employees) and I've run into some limitations with its frontend flexibility. The frontend is quite tightly coupled with the backend, which poses challenges for adapting it to our specific needs without risking issues with future updates of the standard system.
The existing frontend relies on ASPX pages, which are mainly 1:1 mappings of database tables and really lack support for process-oriented pages. This rigidity makes it tough to implement customized workflows and user interactions. Moreover, any significant changes to the frontend might end up making the system incompatible with future updates.
I'm thinking about creating a custom React frontend to decouple our user interface from the vendor's system. This would help us build a more flexible and user-friendly interface, allowing us to implement dynamic features and enhance user experience while keeping firm control over workflows and processes without interfering with the core ERP functionality.
I do want to continue using the vendor's system because its backend is solid and already well-integrated into our operations. Improving the frontend could really enhance usability without the hassle of switching to a completely different system.
Has anyone else tackled a similar challenge or tried this approach? I'd love to hear your thoughts or suggestions!
4 Answers
We faced a similar situation with one of our clients. Since vendors don’t allow much alteration and charge heavily for it, we built an in-house solution that runs parallel to the vendor's system. It was a lot of effort but worth it in the end because it catered to specific needs better.
If your company has over 1000 employees, it might be worth considering a migration to something like Microsoft Dynamics 365 instead of sticking with a vendor-locked system. It might seem a bit extreme, but staying dependent on a rigid ERP is pretty limiting.
Creating a custom frontend is definitely doable, but it’s going to be a significant undertaking! You’ll want to plan for both building a backend API and developing the React app as two separate projects. Having a streamlined approach will help keep everything on track.
You’re definitely on the right track with the custom frontend idea! Since the current setup is server-side rendered (SSR), migrating to React will involve substantial work. You might need to refactor the existing system to create a solid backend API first, which could be quite a project. Watch out for the potential complexities of getting data to display interactively in React.
That sounds daunting! Just remember, if you can get the API set up, React will make your UI building process much smoother. Once you have the data flow sorted, most of the heavy lifting will be done!
I’m a bit worried about the backend API part myself. Maybe I’m also underestimating how tricky the frontend will be with React!