Executive Summary

  • Client: A retail chain with 500+ stores across North America.
  • Challenge: High maintenance costs and limited scalability of a monolithic ERP system.
  • Solution: Migration to a serverless architecture using Azure Functions & Logic Apps.
  • Results:
    • 35% reduction in operational costs.
    • 60% faster processing of inventory and sales data.
    • 99.99% uptime with automated scaling and reduced infrastructure complexity.

“American Chase helped us modernize our ERP without disrupting operations. Now, we process data faster and scale effortlessly.“

 – CIO

Client Background

Who They Are

The client is a leading retail chain with 500+ stores across North America, specializing in apparel and lifestyle products. Their ERP system manages inventory, sales, and supply chain logistics.

Pre-Challenge State

  • Relied on a legacy on-premise ERP built over a decade ago.
  • High maintenance costs due to aging infrastructure.
  • Slow data processing, impacting real-time decision-making.

“Our outdated ERP couldn’t handle modern retail demands. System slowdowns impacted everything from restocking to financial reporting.”

 – CIO

The Challenge

Pain Points

  1. High Maintenance Costs: $1.2M+ annual spend on infrastructure and ERP support.
  2. Scalability Issues: Couldn’t handle seasonal sales spikes, leading to slow order processing.
  3. Limited Automation: Manual data synchronization across stores caused frequent data inconsistencies.

Business Impact

  • Missed sales opportunities due to stock mismatches.
  • Increased IT workload, diverting resources from business innovation.
  • Compliance risks due to outdated security patches.

Client Goals

  • Reduce operational costs by moving to a cloud-native solution.
  • Automate workflows to improve efficiency.
  • Ensure seamless scalability for peak sales periods.

The Solution

Approach

  • Migrated core ERP functions to a serverless architecture using Azure Functions & Logic Apps.
  • Implemented event-driven workflows for real-time inventory and sales data synchronization.
  • Used Azure API Management to connect the new ERP with existing retail systems.

Technologies Used

  • Compute: Azure Functions (Serverless computing for ERP workloads)
  • Integration: Azure Logic Apps (Automated workflows for inventory, sales, and finance)
  • Database: Azure SQL Database (Cloud-based, scalable data storage)
  • APIs: Azure API Management (Unified access to ERP services across stores)
  • Monitoring: Azure Application Insights (Real-time tracking of performance and errors)

Key Features

  1. Event-Driven ERP Processing – Inventory updates, orders, and reports trigger serverless functions, reducing manual effort.
  2. Real-Time Data Sync – Azure Logic Apps automate the movement of sales data across stores, warehouses, and finance.
  3. Cost-Optimized Scaling – Serverless functions only execute when needed, eliminating idle resource costs.

Implementation Process

Timeline

  • Phase 1 (Assessment): 4 weeks evaluating legacy ERP dependencies.
  • Phase 2 (Migration): 6 months of phased migration to ensure zero downtime.
  • Phase 3 (Optimization): 2 months of performance tuning and automation.

Team Structure

  • Cloud Architects
  • ERP Integration Specialists
  • DevOps Engineers
  • Business Analysts

Overcoming Hurdles

  • Ensured zero downtime during migration by running parallel environments.
  • Trained in-house IT teams on managing Azure-based ERP workflows.

Results and Impact

Quantitative Metrics

35%

Cost Savings

Infrastructure and maintenance expenses reduced from $1.2M to $780K annually.

60%

Faster Processing

Inventory updates that took 10 minutes now complete in 4 minutes.

99.99%

Uptime

Cloud-native ERP enables high availability, even during peak traffic.

Qualitative Benefits

  • Automated workflows improved inventory accuracy, reducing stock mismatches.
  • Scalable infrastructure handled a 3x increase in transactions during holiday sales.
  • Reduced IT overhead, freeing resources for innovation.

“Thanks to American Chase, we no longer worry about ERP slowdowns. Our data flows seamlessly, and our IT team focuses on innovation instead of maintenance.”

 – CIO

Project Snapshot

  • Client: Retail Chain, North America
  • Project Duration: 8 months
  • Technologies: Azure Functions, Logic Apps, API Management, SQL Database
  • Key Metric:35% cost reduction

“American Chase didn’t just migrate our ERP—they transformed how we operate.“

 – CIO

Summary

Migrated a monolithic ERP system to Azure Functions & Logic Apps, reducing operational costs by 35%.