Why IFS Outperforms SAP and Oracle for Manufacturing, Power, and Aerospace

Manufacturing, power, and aerospace companies all hit the same wall with traditional ERPs: the system is great at accounting, but struggles with the real-world complexity of projects, assets, and uptime-critical operations. SAP and Oracle can be made to work, but often only after heavy customization, bolt-ons and spreadsheets, while IFS starts much closer to how these industries actually run day to day.

In this article, we’ll explore deeper into the core problems faced by asset heavy industries like Manufacturing, Power and Utilities and Aerospace. From outside these industries are very different from each other. However, the problem statements and operational complexities of these industries overlap each other.

We’ll see why ERPs like SAP and Oracle might not be the best fit and on the other hand how IFS is best suited to handle operational complexities of asset heavy industries.

The Core Problem by Industry

Manufacturing Industry

In modern manufacturing, the real headache is handling complex, changing work – not just pushing high volumes of the same product. Each order is different and will need customizations. With customizations in place the overall process also differs and hence a robust ERP like IFS Cloud comes handy.

Engineer-to-order and configure-to-order is where IFS shines – but it's important to note that IFS is specifically designed for complex, custom manufacturing.

If your factory produces standard products with minimal variation – like nuts, bolts, or standardized components where most orders are identical – then SAP might actually be the better fit. SAP is built for high-volume, low-variation manufacturing at global scale.

IFS, on the other hand, excels when each order is different, requires engineering changes, or involves multiple versions of the same product.

Imagine a company building large excavators and bulldozers. Each machine is custom-built based on what the customer needs – different bucket sizes, hydraulic systems, attachments, and configurations.

The engineering team designs each variant, production needs to track parts across different specs, and after the machine is sold, the company provides maintenance and repairs. With SAP or Oracle, this engineering data, production work, and service information would live in three separate systems that don't talk to each other well.

Mixed-mode and multi-site operations sit well with IFS Cloud. For example: a company doing discrete assembly in one plant, repair/overhaul in another and contract manufacturing elsewhere needs real-time capacity and material visibility across all sites.

Traditional finance-first ERPs can handle this, but only after heavy customization, middleware and complex master data rules.

IFS Cloud supports Lifecycle view, not just "make and ship". Most manufacturers make money on long-term service contracts, spare parts and maintenance. A standard ERP that stops at "goods issued to customer" forces them onto separate systems for warranty, service and MRO (Maintenance, Repair & Operations), which kills visibility of margin over the full lifecycle.

Power & Utilities Industry

Just like the Manufacturing sector, the Power sector is equally asset-intensive, maintenance-driven. Real-time data determines the asset valuations and ensures low downtimes enabling them to maximize profits. Hence, power plants care about three things: plant uptime, regulatory compliance and asset lifecycle cost.

For a power plant, preventing equipment breakdowns is far more important than saving a few seconds on approving a purchase order. If a turbine shuts down unexpectedly, the plant stops generating electricity and loses thousands of dollars per hour.

But with traditional ERPs like SAP or Oracle, the information about equipment (its condition, maintenance history, when it needs servicing) and the day-to-day purchasing and financial data are locked in separate systems that don't communicate well.

A maintenance engineer checking if a turbine is due for an inspection has to jump between systems, and the finance team seeing the maintenance costs has a completely different view of the same equipment.

IFS keeps all of this linked in one place – so equipment data, work orders, and financial information all flow together seamlessly. This means preventive maintenance gets done on time, unexpected shutdowns are avoided, and costs are transparent across the organization.

For Long asset lifecycles and capex projects that’s typical for power companies, IFS Cloud is the best fit. Building a new substation or plant is a multi-year project with endless changes, contractors, work packages and commissioning steps.

Many ERPs treat projects as a finance object, not an operational backbone, so project managers end up running the real work in Primavera/MS Project plus spreadsheets, then reconciling back into ERP after the fact.

Compliance, safety and work management plays an important role in the overall efficiency of a power company. Work permits, isolations, inspections and regulatory reporting have to be tightly linked to assets and work orders. When ERP does not "think" in terms of assets and work, companies fill the gap with point solutions and custom forms, which breaks end-to-end traceability.

Aerospace & Defense

Aerospace and Defense is where generic ERPs face their biggest challenge. A&D companies deal with unique complexities that most other industries don't face. Programs span decades, requiring the system to manage enormous product variation (thousands of configurations for a single aircraft).

Regulatory requirements are exceptionally strict. Every design change and every part must be recorded and tracked. Manufacturing is tightly tied to long-term service and support contracts, so the ERP must track not just what was built, but how to maintain and repair it for the next 30 years.

Finally, the supply chain is heavily regulated (export controls, security clearances), adding another layer of complexity. These factors combined make A&D the ultimate test of an ERP's capabilities.

Program and project-centric manufacturing: An aircraft program runs for 20-30 years, with thousands of configurations, engineering changes and strict contract structures. If the ERP is sales-order centric instead of project-centric, you end up with heroic Excel work just to understand cost and margin per program.

Heavy MRO and service operations: Airlines, MRO shops and defense depots need tight integration of fleet data, maintenance planning, hangar capacity, parts availability, regulatory records and billing. Many ERPs can do the finance and inventory part, but rely on third-party MRO suites or custom development for the operational side, which fragments data and slows turnaround.

Compliance, configuration and traceability: Things like airworthiness, ITAR, export control and configuration control are non-negotiable. If the ERP's core data model doesn't understand serialized parts, effectiveness, and full traceability, you end up with a maze of add-ons and manual checks.

Where SAP and Oracle Typically Fall Short

SAP and Oracle absolutely can support these industries, but they are "horizontal first, vertical later". That philosophy bleeds into projects, cost and risk on the ground.

Here's a simple view of how these gaps show up:

A Real-World Example

A power company on SAP wants to roll out condition-based maintenance for critical assets. They often need SAP ERP + SAP EAM + integration with third-party condition-monitoring tools, plus analytics on top. Each layer is strong, but stitching it together takes time and consulting money.

An aerospace OEM on Oracle wants a single view from engineering BOM to serviceable configuration in the field. Oracle will cover the pieces (ERP, PLM, SCM), but cross-product integration and A&D-specific logic usually demands heavy partner work and custom interfaces.

Why IFS Is Better Suited for Manufacturing, Power and Aerospace

IFS starts from a different mental model: "asset- and project-centric industries first, horizontal second".

1. Built for Asset- and Project-Intensive Operations

Single platform for ERP + EAM + Service. In IFS Cloud, work orders, assets, projects, inventory, contracts and financials live in one data model. That means: when a turbine trips or an aircraft comes in for a C-check, planners see technical data, parts availability, resource capacity and commercial impact in one place, not across three systems.

A power EPC builds the plant using project management in IFS, hands it over into operations on the same platform, and then runs preventive and predictive maintenance with full cost and performance history tied to each asset. No need to "hand over" from the project system to an external EAM – it is literally the same record continuing its life.

2. Strong Fit for Complex Manufacturing and A&D

IFS is especially strong in engineer-to-order, configure-to-order, complex project manufacturing and mixed-mode environments out of the box.Example: An A&D manufacturer building structures for multiple aircraft programs can manage each program as a project, link shop orders back to projects, and track cost, schedule and configuration per program in real time.

3. Embedded MRO and fleet/fixed-asset management

Airlines and defense organizations can manage fleet status, maintenance planning, execution, materials and compliance in the same solution they use for finance and supply chain.

Example: A fleet operator can see which aircraft will be grounded next month, the hangar slots available, the parts on hand, and the revenue impact of taking a jet out of service – all in IFS, without reconciling multiple tools.

4. Better Alignment with How These Businesses Make Money

IFS Cloud is Lifecycle and service-centric. It is designed around the idea that value is created over the entire asset and product lifecycle, not just at the point of sale.For a turbine OEM, that might be long-term service contracts; for a defense prime, it is availability-based contracts; for a manufacturer, it is aftermarket parts and service. IFS keeps all of that – contracts, SLAs, work, parts, costs – in one chain.

Faster time to value in these verticals

Because a lot of industry logic is embedded (asset structures, MRO flows, project patterns, regulatory hooks), customers in manufacturing, energy and A&D generally need less custom work to get something that actually reflects how they operate.

In Plain Language: When to Choose What

If you are a diversified conglomerate with dozens of unrelated business lines and want one uber-platform for absolutely everything, SAP or Oracle will likely stay on your shortlist.

If you are:

• A manufacturer whose real complexity is projects, change and service (ETO/CTO, long-cycle, heavy equipment, industrial manufacturing), or

• A power/utility player where assets, maintenance and uptime define success, or

• An aerospace and defense company with long programs, strict compliance and heavy MRO, then IFS usually gets you closer to "fits how we work out of the box" with less bending of your processes and fewer bolt-on systems.

The difference, in practice, is this: SAP and Oracle are great at being everything to everyone. IFS is great at being exactly what you need if you run a complex, asset-heavy, project-driven business. And for manufacturing, power and aerospace, that distinction matters a lot.