Your ERP isn't your USP

An ERP system is effective as long as it fulfills its purpose. Problems arise when it’s expected to do everything. Many companies try to cram more and more specialized processes into the central system. At first, this seems logical: one system, one database, full control. But this is where the fallacy lies.

Having everything in one system isn’t automatically efficient. What seems practical in the short term can become costly in the long run. Business logic gets buried in the wrong system, changes become time-consuming, processes are unnecessarily complicated, and updates become riskier.

The ERP isn’t the enemy. It only becomes a risk when it has to take on tasks it was never built for. Every piece of custom logic that makes its way into the ERP is a modification that must be retested, maintained, and paid for with every update. Step by step, the desired flexibility turns into an expensive dependency.

When a company wants to stand out from the competition, it often needs more than just the standard. TESTEX AG, founded in 1846, is an independent Swiss organization for the testing and certification of textiles and leather. TESTEX determines which materials are tested and under what parameters according to its own rules.
These rules form the so-called test matrix, which serves as the basis for every OEKO-TEX® certification.

For years, this matrix was created manually in the ERP system, based on two sets of rules totaling over 70 pages. This was time-consuming and challenging, and required constant adjustments. As more branches were added worldwide, it became increasingly difficult to apply the matrix everywhere using exactly the same logic. Cultural and human interpretation led to differing results in the matrices, despite consistent requirements.

We built the ERP system that housed this matrix ourselves for TESTEX. We’ve been developing custom software for over 25 years and understand the strengths of ERP systems. We know when a custom solution is the better approach.

Standard where possible. Custom where necessary.

That’s why soxes separated the test matrix from the ERP and transferred it to a standalone application, the TMA. The testing logic that makes TESTEX unique now has a modern interface where orders, materials, and matrix calculations all come together. The TMA is connected to surrounding systems via interfaces, ensuring that data flows freely rather than having to be entered multiple times.

TESTEX now manages a large portion of the configurations itself. If the requirements for the test matrices change, the company adjusts the rules internally instead of waiting for a release of the standard system. The TMA is built from individual microservices. Where appropriate, Soxes leverages proven third-party components—such as Azure Logic Apps—to seamlessly integrate complex workflows. This allows the business logic to be further developed step by step while operations continue uninterrupted. Click here for the full case study!

The people who work with it every day notice the biggest difference. Customer service no longer has to wade through complex sets of rules and regulations, freeing up time to address customer concerns. The intuitive design makes it noticeably easier to train new employees. This doesn’t replace the existing ERP system, but rather supplements it with the very processes that define TESTEX. In short: ERP for standard tasks. Custom software for your USP.