A good software development provider for a manufacturing company is one that understands that the ERP stays at the centre and builds around it: customer and dealer portals, product data and compliance tools, configurators, quoting workflows and field service apps that exchange data with the ERP reliably instead of creating another island. The right partner will spend the first weeks on process and data mapping, not on screens, and will be able to explain exactly which system owns which piece of data. This article outlines where custom software typically pays off in manufacturing, how it should be integrated, and what to check before you sign.
Where manufacturers usually need custom software
Most manufacturers already run an ERP, often with an MES or planning tool for production, a CAD or PLM system in engineering, and a CRM in sales. The gaps are rarely in these core systems. They appear between them and at the boundary with customers.
Typical areas where custom development makes sense:
- Dealer and customer portals – ordering, order status, delivery documents, invoices, spare parts and technical documentation in one place for distributors and key accounts.
- Product configurators and quoting – products with many variants, dependent options and rule-based pricing that sales teams currently calculate in spreadsheets.
- Product data and compliance – technical attributes, certificates, safety data sheets, declarations of conformity and, increasingly, data for a digital product passport.
- Spare parts catalogues – linking serial numbers or installed base to the right parts and exploded drawings.
- Service and field reports – installation, maintenance and inspection records captured on site, including photos and signatures, flowing back to the ERP or CRM.
- Internal dashboards – combining ERP, MES and CRM data into views that answer specific operational questions.
A system of this kind is usually a B2B platform with an integration layer behind it. Our projects such as the JiraChem B2B commerce platform are examples of this type of work for industrial product companies.
Integration: the part that decides success
In manufacturing, the value of a new application depends almost entirely on how well it exchanges data with existing systems. A provider should be able to describe the integration architecture in plain terms before writing code.
A clear data ownership table
For every important data object, one system is the source of truth:
- ERP: item master, prices, customer accounts, credit limits, stock, sales orders, invoices.
- PLM or engineering: bills of materials, drawings, technical revisions.
- MES: production order progress, batch and serial data, quality results.
- New application: content and workflows the others do not handle well, such as marketing texts, configurator rules, portal users and service reports.
When two systems can edit the same field, conflicts are only a matter of time.
An integration layer instead of point-to-point links
Rather than having the portal call the ERP directly for every page view, a dedicated integration layer synchronises the data the portal needs, queues outgoing transactions such as orders, retries on failure and logs every exchange. If the ERP is down for maintenance, the portal keeps working and orders are transferred when it returns. Our overview of API integration services for ERP, CRM and e-commerce describes these patterns in more detail.
Respecting the IT/OT boundary
Business applications should read shop-floor information through the MES, a data historian or an agreed export, not by connecting directly to machines or PLCs. Writing into production control from a web application is a risk no manufacturer should accept. A provider who suggests otherwise without involving your automation team is a red flag.
Product data and upcoming regulation
Product data is becoming a compliance topic, not just a marketing one. The EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), in force since July 2024, establishes the digital product passport, with requirements set per product group through delegated acts. The EU Batteries Regulation introduces a battery passport for certain batteries from February 2027. The General Product Safety Regulation has applied since December 2024 and also affects the information provided in online sales.
For a manufacturer, the practical conclusion is to structure product data now: typed attributes, documents with versions and validity dates, clear approval steps and stable public URLs that can be printed as QR codes. Our article on the digital product passport platform for product data explains how this fits alongside ERP and PIM.
How to evaluate a provider
When comparing software development companies, ask questions that reveal how they work rather than what they promise.
- Show us an integration you built with an ERP. How were errors handled? What happened when the ERP was unavailable?
- How do you run discovery? Expect a defined output: process maps, a system inventory, a data ownership table and a first-stage scope.
- Who will actually work on the project? Meet the lead developer, not only the sales contact.
- How do you deploy and test? Look for automated tests on critical workflows, staging environments and repeatable deployments.
- What do we own at the end? Source code in your repository, documentation, infrastructure access and clear intellectual property terms.
- How is support organised after go-live? Response times, who is on call and how change requests are estimated.
It also helps to check that the provider knows the technology already present in your company. If your team or other vendors work with PHP and Laravel, Vue or React, a partner in the same ecosystem makes handover and joint maintenance easier.
Common mistakes in manufacturing software projects
- Starting with the full vision. A first stage that connects one process to the ERP and goes live is worth more than a detailed plan for everything.
- Underestimating master data quality. Portals and configurators expose inconsistencies in item data that were invisible inside the ERP. Plan time for cleanup.
- Ignoring the people who will use it. Dealers, service technicians and inside sales staff should test prototypes early.
- No owner on the business side. Someone must be able to decide on rules, priorities and data questions quickly.
- Treating integration as a detail. It is usually the largest and riskiest part of the project and should be estimated as such.
A sensible first stage
A first stage that works well in many manufacturing companies looks like this:
- Map one process end to end, for example dealer ordering or quote preparation.
- Build the integration layer for the data that process needs, read-only at first.
- Launch a portal or internal tool for a small group of users with live ERP data.
- Add write-back, such as orders to the ERP, once read-only data has proven accurate.
- Review usage and decide on the next process based on what users actually need.
Next step
Choose one process that currently depends on spreadsheets or email between your team and customers, and list the systems and people involved. That is enough to discuss scope and integration realistically. You can read more about our work on B2B and CRM platforms, and if you want to go through your process with an engineering team, contact us.
Frequently asked questions
Should a manufacturer build custom software or extend its ERP?
Keep transactions, stock, production orders and finance in the ERP. Custom software makes sense around it, for customer-facing portals, configurators, product data and workflows the ERP handles poorly, connected through a stable integration layer.
Can a web application read data from the shop floor?
Yes, but usually indirectly. The safer pattern is to read aggregated data from the MES or a data historian rather than connecting to machines or PLCs, and never to write back into production control systems from a business application.
What should a provider deliver before development starts?
A short discovery with a process map, a list of systems and their interfaces, a data ownership table and a first-stage scope that can go live on its own. Without these, estimates are guesswork.
Do we need a digital product passport now?
It depends on your product group. The EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation sets the framework, while obligations and dates are defined product group by product group in delegated acts, so check which ones apply to your range.
How to turn this topic into a project
JiraSoft looks at topics like this through the lens of a real system: data, backend, API integrations, B2B workflows, Google visibility and content prepared for AI answers. This article is a starting point for a practical workflow conversation.
