project deep dive

Custom ERP Implementation
at Enterprise Scale

End-to-end coordination of a full platform migration — from a legacy system with no support since 2004 to a modern, custom-built ERP in React, JavaScript and PostgreSQL covering 6 critical modules across the entire company.

Apr 2016 – Dec 2018 Project Coordinator – ERP 100+ users 10-month rollout Panamericana Formas e Impresos Bogotá, Colombia
context
the problem

Panamericana was running on a system built in a language with no technical support since 2004. Obsolete, brittle, impossible to update — a critical operational risk for a company that couldn't afford downtime.

why I was hired

Brought in as the bridge between the company and the dev team — specifically because of my 15+ years of deep process knowledge in the printing and manufacturing industry at Quadgraphics, the direct sector competitor.

the solution

A fully custom ERP built from scratch in modern technologies (React, JavaScript, PostgreSQL), designed specifically around the company's real operational workflows — not a generic off-the-shelf system.

scope

6 integrated modules covering the full operation: CRM, supply chain, dispatch, billing, engineering, and project management. Over 100 users onboarded across all departments in 10 months.

before & after
before
  • System with no support since 2004 — critical failure risk
  • No integration between departments (data silos)
  • Manual, error-prone processes across all areas
  • Zero real-time visibility for management
  • Nobody could maintain or evolve the platform
→
after
  • Modern, scalable system with active development support
  • All modules integrated in a single platform
  • Standardized, automated operational workflows
  • Management with live operational visibility
  • Technology no longer a bottleneck for growth
implementation phases
01 / months 1–2
Discovery & Requirements Gathering
Process mapping across every department. Interviews with key users to capture real workflows, edge cases, and pain points. Functional requirements documentation delivered to the dev team.
process mapping user interviews functional specs stakeholder alignment
02 / months 2–5
CRM — First Module Live
First go-live with the CRM module: client management, quoting, commercial follow-up and sales pipeline. UAT rounds, feedback loops with the dev team, and rollout to commercial users.
CRM quoting engine sales pipeline UAT
03 / months 5–8
Operations — Supply Chain, Dispatch & Engineering
Rollout of the core operational modules. Cross-module integration validation — ensuring data flowed correctly between supply chain, dispatch, and engineering without reconciliation gaps.
supply chain dispatch engineering cross-module integration
04 / months 8–10
Billing, Data Migration & Full Go-Live
Billing module implementation. Legacy data migration with staged validation. Mass training for 100+ users. Contingency plan execution and final decommission of the old system.
billing data migration mass training go-live legacy cutover
modules shipped
01

CRM

Client management, quoting, opportunity tracking and commercial pipeline.

02

Supply Chain

Procurement, vendor management, inventory control and MRP planning.

03

Dispatch

Shipment control, delivery traceability and logistics coordination.

04

Billing

Invoice generation and management, fully integrated with CRM and dispatch.

05

Engineering

Technical specs, product formulas and production standards management.

06

Project Mgmt

Client project tracking: materials, timelines and deliverable management.

my role
01 / requirements

Requirements Gathering

Mapped every process department by department. Translated business needs into functional specs the dev team could build against — including edge cases they wouldn't have found on their own.

02 / coordination

Business–Tech Bridge

Central point between Panamericana's business users and the development team. Used my industry process knowledge to resolve communication gaps before they became rework cycles.

03 / planning

Schedule & Milestone Management

Planned all 4 phases, defined milestones, tracked cross-team dependencies and kept the 10-month timeline on course across a multi-module, multi-stakeholder rollout.

04 / adoption

Training & Change Management

Designed the training program for 100+ users, ran department-level sessions, and provided post go-live support to ensure real adoption — not just installation.

key challenges

Resistance to Change

Users had operated with the legacy system for years. The fear of the unknown created friction in adoption — especially in operational areas where disruption had direct production impact.

How I handled it: Involved key users from the discovery phase — giving them ownership over the new system's design. Ran department-specific training (not generic sessions) and stayed on-site in the critical first weeks post go-live.

Data Migration from an Unsupported Legacy System

Extracting clean data from a system with no documentation and no support since 2004 was the highest-risk phase. Incomplete records, obsolete formats, and no technical reference for the source schema.

How I handled it: Staged migration with cross-validation at each step. Defined data mapping rules between old and new models manually, with a prioritized review of business-critical records before final cutover.
results
6

Modules Integrated

One platform covering the entire company operation.

100+

Users Onboarded

All departments live in 10 months.

0

Legacy Dependency

Obsolete system fully replaced with no operational loss.

Faster processes:  Operations that required manual steps across disconnected systems moved to unified, automated workflows.
Error elimination:  Cross-module integration removed data duplication and manual transcription errors in billing and dispatch.
Real-time visibility:  Management got a live, unified view of sales, operations, dispatch and billing for the first time.
tech stack
React JavaScript PostgreSQL HTML / CSS CRM Module Supply Chain Module Billing Module Dispatch Module Engineering Module Project Management Module
key takeaway

This project wasn't pure tech coordination or pure project management — it was the intersection of both, enabled by 15+ years of industry process knowledge. Knowing exactly what each area needed, anticipating integration problems before they surfaced, and keeping 100+ users, management, and a dev team aligned over a 10-month transformation is what made the difference between a successful go-live and a failed migration.