ERP Integration in Detroit

Yes. EDI integration for automotive OEM relationships is one of our core competencies in Detroit. We map EDI transaction sets, including 850 purchase orders, 856 advance ship notices, 810 invoices, 997 functional acknowledgments, and other required transaction types, to your ERP's data model and build the translation and routing logic required by each customer's specific implementation. Ford, GM, Stellantis, and other major OEMs implement standard EDI transaction sets with variations specific to their supplier portals and trading partner requirements. We account for those customer-specific variations in the integration design and support the testing and certification process that OEM customers require before approving production EDI exchange.

We integrate with SAP (S/4HANA, Business One, and older R/3 environments still common in established Detroit automotive suppliers), Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics 365, NetSuite, Epicor, Infor LN, Plex Systems, and other manufacturing-focused ERP platforms. Plex and Infor LN have significant installed bases in Michigan's manufacturing sector, and we have specific experience with their integration patterns and data models. We also work with custom and legacy ERP systems that are common in long-established Detroit-area manufacturers.

Shop floor integration typically involves connecting MES or SCADA data with ERP for production order confirmation, quality inspection results, material consumption, labor hours, and machine utilization. The challenge is usually the variety of shop floor systems and the real-time requirements. We build integrations that capture production events as they occur on the floor and post them to ERP without requiring manual data entry by operators or end-of-shift data entry backlogs. Production managers get real-time job status visibility in ERP. Finance gets real-time cost data. Customers see accurate delivery status.

Timeline depends on complexity and integration type. An EDI integration connecting a Detroit supplier to a single OEM customer typically takes 6 to 10 weeks including the trading partner testing and certification process. Multi-system integration projects for larger manufacturers with multiple system pairs and custom transformations take 12 to 24 weeks. We structure projects to deliver the highest-priority integrations first so you see operational benefit before the full scope is complete.

Older ERP systems without modern REST APIs require different integration approaches: flat file exchange in structured formats, database-level integration through secure connections, or custom API development against proprietary interfaces where possible. We have experience with all of these patterns and with the older SAP R/3, Oracle EBS, and Infor versions common in established Detroit manufacturers. Legacy system integration is more complex and carries more risk than modern API-based integration, but it is often preferable to forcing a premature ERP upgrade just to enable integration with other systems. We assess the trade-offs honestly during discovery and recommend the most practical approach.

ERP integrations require maintenance because both connected systems evolve over time through software updates, API changes, business process changes, and trading partner specification updates. We design all integrations to be maintainable, document them thoroughly, and provide training on first-level monitoring and troubleshooting. For ongoing maintenance, we offer support retainers that cover monitoring, error resolution, and updates triggered by system changes. Detroit manufacturers and suppliers who treat integration as permanent operational infrastructure rather than a one-time project get significantly more value from their systems over a 3-to-5-year horizon. Detroit businesses ready to connect their ERP to their full technology stack should contact Running Start Digital. We will start with a system audit and integration mapping exercise to identify the integrations that will have the most immediate operational and commercial impact.