ERP Integration Holding Your Logistics Strategy Back? Connect to Win

Today, many companies are reluctant to rip and replace their outdated ERP systems, like IBM’s AS/400 ERP, due to the cost, time, business disruption, and potential risk exposure. At the same time, supply chains are experiencing significant growing pains as they try to integrate these legacy platforms with advanced logistics technology in transportation management, warehouse management, order management, replenishment, fulfillment, and more. 

Supply Chain leaders shouldn’t have to postpone technology investments and sacrifice years of innovation because of an ERP migration. There are mature solutions that are low risk and cost effective that build a bridge to integrate legacy ERP’s and modern supply chain technology. 

When enterprise resource planning systems (ERPs) were introduced in the late 1980s, they represented a game-changer for supply chain teams.  

Finally, there was a way to collect, manage, and share data across the entire organization—including key functions like finance, supply chain management, procurement, and human resources—on a single platform. ERPs delivered incredible value by creating a new, easy way to share data, enable analysis, standardize tasks, streamline workflows, manage resources, increase efficiency, and control costs. 

Leading the pack was the IBM AS/400 ERP, recognized for its stability, reliability, scalability, and security. With near-zero downtime, it proved the perfect fit for critical business tasks like inventory tracking and control, order processing, and financial reporting.  

Just how powerful is the IBM AS/400 ERP? Nearly 40 years later, it’s still widely used in industries like wholesale distribution, manufacturing, life sciences, and retail, where uptime and transactional integrity can’t be compromised. 

Shippers know that integrating with an AS/400 is a difficult ask. Just ask their IT teams.  In today’s competitive landscape, navigating these corporate challenges while trying to advance your supply chain technology is mission critical.  

Five Common ERP Integration Challenges for Shippers to Know 

Connecting a highly entrenched, custom-built system from a past era with today’s open ecosystem of SaaS and API-driven applications is like trying to connect an early steam-powered train to a modern high-speed rail system. The obstacles to a successful AS/400 ERP integration are real, and they include: 

1. An architectural mismatch. The IBM AS/400 ERP is secure and reliable because it’s built on a closed, rigid architecture with self-contained, proprietary protocols. But that makes it a poor fit with today’s flexible tech architectures, modular software solutions, and open connectivity.
2. Different data formats. AS/400 ERPs use binary character coding, which requires data to be converted from its original format. That introduces latency, errors, and complexity. The risk grows exponentially when you consider the high-volume, real-time data exchanges, and dozens of API connection points that characterize supply chains today. Integrating specific business logic or data from this legacy platform often requires significant custom coding or specialized tools.
3. Slow data processing. The AS/400 ERP is excellent for high-volume batch processing. But its architecture struggles with the real-time, event-driven data-processing demands of modern, agile supply chains. Today’s software can get instant inventory updates from IoT devices, perform real-time freight tracking, and pivot tasks and orders in real time. But legacy ERPs aren’t built for real-time processing, causing bottlenecks, delays, and suboptimal software performance. 
4. A shortage of expertise. As might be expected after four decades, there's a shrinking pool of IT professionals who are proficient in legacy AS/400 programming languages. And the talent pool grows even smaller for professionals who also understand modern cloud architectures, APIs, and advanced logistics software. This talent shortage makes it difficult and costly for companies to build and maintain ERP integrations in-house. 

Faced with these shortcomings—especially the inability to capitalize on modern software capabilities like AI and automation—most companies need to at least consider an upgrade to a modern ERP platform if its not already on the roadmap. An outdated ERP can hinder future digital supply chain investments, but it doesn't have to and here’s the answer. 

Don’t Rip and Replace. Build a Bridge. 

At Redwood, we don’t think any company should put its supply chain at risk and incur enormous costs unnecessarily. And, as a Modern 4PL, we’ve developed a solution for ERP integration for shippers that’s been proven across hundreds of supply chains. 

The key to integrating a legacy AS/400 ERP with modern supply chain technology is building a robust, reliable, and secure bridge between old and new systems—without disrupting the core stability of the ERP. We’ve developed that bridge, and it’s called RedwoodConnect™.  

An exclusive integration platform as a service (iPaaS), RedwoodConnect™ acts as a translator between the legacy AS/400, other supply chain systems, and partners, as well as future-state ERP solutions which may be coming down the road. The only logistics-first, no-code integration platform, RedwoodConnect™ creates an open, dynamic tech ecosystem where your newest solutions perform at their full capability, linked directly to your legacy solutions.  

Implemented and customized, as needed, by Redwood experts—who uniquely combine AS/400 ERP knowledge and modern software mastery—RedwoodConnect™ seamlessly and quickly overcomes every tough ERP integration challenge. It manages data transformation, protocol conversion, routing, error handling, and the orchestration of complex workflows that are specific to your business and supply chain. IT teams just have to point the exact same data files towards a new end point and RedwoodConnect™ handles the rest. 

Redwood customers don’t have to wait for a costly ERP upgrade, compromise their real-time visibility, or miss out on advanced features like AI and automation. They’re taking control of their tech strategy by mitigating risks, improving data quality, and lowering IT costs without disrupting the core stability of their ERP. And they’re leading a digital-first logistics strategy that puts them ahead of the competition, even while using an AS/400 ERP.  

Connect for Success with Redwood 

A successful ERP integration involves expertise in supply chain, legacy tech, today’s advanced SaaS and API-enabled solutions, data management, process optimization, and workflow orchestration.  

With our fully realized Modern 4PL capabilities, no one is better equipped than Redwood to help master the tough challenge of integrating your AS/400 or other legacy ERP system. Why not connect with us today and start unleashing the full potential of your supply chain?