ERP Automation
Fix the manual work around your ERP instead of replacing the ERP.
What is ERP automation?
ERP automation removes the manual steps that have grown up around an existing ERP system, including data entry, approval chasing and the spreadsheets people maintain alongside it, without replacing the ERP itself.
Companies buy an ERP to hold everything in one place, then discover it is awkward for three specific tasks. So people work around it, and a spreadsheet appears beside it.
Within two years the ERP holds the official numbers and the spreadsheets hold the working ones. The system did not fail; the gaps around it were filled by hand.
The instinct at that point is to replace the ERP. That is a large, expensive project with a poor success record, and it is usually the wrong answer. Automating the specific gaps is smaller, cheaper and fixes the actual complaint.
What we do not sell
Duara automates around ERP systems from Nairobi, including SAP, Oracle, Sage, Odoo and Microsoft Dynamics, plus the older systems still running plenty of Kenyan businesses.
We do not sell ERP replacements. Where the real problem is three awkward tasks and a spreadsheet habit, replacing the system solves none of it at very high cost, and we will say so even though the smaller project is worth less to us.
Who this is for
- Spreadsheets have grown up beside your ERP
- Data is rekeyed into it from elsewhere
- Approvals are chased by email
- Somebody has suggested replacing the whole system
Industries we serve
- Manufacturing
- Distribution and wholesale
- Construction
- Agribusiness
- Healthcare groups
- Large retail
Problems this solves
These are the gaps that appear around an ERP rather than faults inside it.
- Spreadsheets beside the system. People maintain their own records because the ERP is awkward for a specific task, and the two versions drift apart.
- Data rekeyed into the ERP. Orders and invoices arrive by email and get typed in, which is slow and introduces errors into the system of record.
- Approvals chased by email. A purchase or credit approval sits in somebody inbox with no visibility of where it is stuck.
- Reports rebuilt by hand. The report management wants is assembled in Excel every month because the ERP does not produce it in that shape.
What we deliver
Automation of the specific manual steps around your existing ERP, including intake, approval routing, stock and order updates, and the reports people currently rebuild by hand.
Automated intake of orders and invoices
Approval routing with visible status
Stock and order updates without rekeying
The monthly reports people rebuild in Excel
Spreadsheet workarounds replaced or connected
Documentation of what was automated and why
Features
- Built around your ERP, not against it. The ERP stays the system of record and automation feeds it rather than competing with it.
- No replacement pitch. Where three awkward tasks are the real problem, we automate those instead of proposing a migration.
- Approval visibility. Where a request is sitting becomes visible, which is usually the complaint rather than the approval itself.
- Spreadsheets addressed directly. The ones people rely on are either connected or replaced, since ignoring them leaves the drift in place.
- Works with older systems. Where an ERP has no modern interface, we integrate at database or file level and are explicit about the trade offs.
Benefits
- The system of record becomes true. When the ERP is fed automatically, the spreadsheets beside it stop being more current than it is.
- A migration is avoided. Fixing the gaps costs a fraction of replacement and carries far less risk.
- Approvals stop disappearing. Visible status removes the chasing that consumes most of the delay.
- Month end shortens. Reports that were rebuilt by hand arrive assembled.
Technologies we use
- ERP integration. Connecting through APIs where they exist, and at database or file level where they do not.
- Document intake. Reading orders and invoices arriving by email into structured ERP entries.
- Approval workflow. Routing requests by value and type with status visible to the requester.
- Report generation. Producing the shapes management actually asks for, from ERP data.
- Spreadsheet replacement. Turning critical spreadsheets into connected processes rather than leaving them beside the system.
Older ERPs frequently have no usable API, and that is normal here. Database level and file based integration are legitimate answers provided the risks are stated rather than glossed over.
How the process works, step by step
ERP automation usually runs six to ten weeks, and it starts by finding out why the spreadsheets exist.
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Step 1
Free ERP review
We look at which tasks people work around, and which spreadsheets are genuinely load bearing.
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Step 2
The replacement question
We give an honest view on whether your ERP is the problem. Usually it is not, and we say so.
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Step 3
Highest cost gap first
The workaround consuming the most time is automated first rather than the easiest one.
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Step 4
Feeding the ERP
Intake and updates are automated so the system of record stops depending on rekeying.
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Step 5
Reports and handover
The manual reports are automated and the work is documented for your own team.
Quality assurance and how we work
The commitments attached to working around a system you have already invested in.
- We will not propose a replacement you do not need. Where the problem is three awkward tasks, migration solves none of it at very high cost, and the smaller project is worth less to us.
- The ERP stays the system of record. Automation feeds it rather than creating a parallel source of truth, since that is the failure we are fixing.
- We are explicit about integration risk. Where an old ERP forces database level access, we state the risks rather than presenting it as equivalent to an API.
- We ask why the spreadsheet exists. A workaround usually encodes a real requirement, and removing it without understanding that breaks something.
- Nothing is written to the ERP untested. Write access is proved in a test environment first, because a bad write into a system of record is expensive to unwind.
Frequently asked questions about ERP automation
Should we just replace our ERP?
Usually not. Where the real problem is three awkward tasks and a spreadsheet habit, replacement solves none of it at very high cost.
Do you sell ERP migrations?
No, and we will say when your ERP is not the problem even though the smaller project is worth less to us.
Which ERPs do you work with?
SAP, Oracle, Sage, Odoo and Microsoft Dynamics, plus older systems still running plenty of Kenyan businesses.
What if our ERP has no API?
We integrate at database or file level, and we state the risks of that rather than presenting it as equivalent to a proper interface.
Why do you ask about our spreadsheets?
Because a workaround usually encodes a real requirement. Removing one without understanding why it exists breaks something.
Will it write into the ERP?
Where needed, yes, and always proved in a test environment first. A bad write into a system of record is expensive to unwind.
Can it handle approvals?
Yes, with status visible to the requester, which is usually the actual complaint rather than the approval itself.
Can it produce our monthly reports?
Yes, in the shape management actually asks for, which is normally why they were being rebuilt in Excel.
How long before the workarounds are gone?
Six to ten weeks, starting with the workaround that costs the most time rather than the one easiest to build.
Will it break our ERP support agreement?
Integration through supported interfaces normally does not. We check your agreement before touching anything unusual.
Can we keep using our spreadsheets?
Some, and we connect them rather than banning them. Ignoring them entirely leaves the drift you are trying to fix.
Does this require ERP consultants?
Not usually. This is integration and automation work rather than reconfiguration of the ERP itself.
What about master data problems?
Automation exposes them quickly. Where customer or product records are inconsistent, we report it rather than automating on top.
Will it cover all our plants and depots?
Yes, and multi site operations often have the most workarounds because each site invented its own.
Will this survive an ERP upgrade?
Where we use supported interfaces, largely. We document what was built so an upgrade is a check rather than a rediscovery.
Is any of this AI based?
Mostly not. Reading unstructured invoices uses it, and the rest is rules, which is what you want touching a system of record.
Who owns this afterwards?
You do. It is documented so your own IT team can maintain and extend it.
Can it cut our month end time?
Usually, since reports rebuilt by hand and rekeyed data are the two things that most often delay a close.
Is our ERP data confidential?
Yes. It stays inside your systems, is not copied out, and no public AI model is trained on it.
What does ERP automation cost?
The number of gaps and the state of your ERP interfaces determine it, quoted after the review.
Glossary of terms
ERP terms in plain language.
- ERP
- The single system intended to hold finance, stock, orders and operations together.
- System of record
- The authoritative source for a piece of data, which spreadsheets quietly undermine.
- Workaround
- A manual process people invented because the system was awkward for a specific task.
- Master data
- The core records such as customers, products and suppliers that everything else references.
- Module
- A functional part of an ERP, such as finance, stock or purchasing.
- Shadow system
- A spreadsheet or tool running alongside the ERP and holding the numbers people actually use.
Related services in Automation
Talk to us about ERP automation
Ask your team which spreadsheets they would refuse to give up. Those are the gaps worth automating.
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