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Infor M3 vs SAP ERP comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 8, 2024
 

Categories and Ranking

Infor M3
Ranking in ERP
12th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
Activity Based Costing Software (8th)
SAP ERP
Ranking in ERP
1st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
104
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2024, in the ERP category, the mindshare of Infor M3 is 4.6%, up from 3.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP ERP is 21.5%, down from 22.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
ERP
 

Featured Reviews

Pravinkumar Bhandare - PeerSpot reviewer
The solution is a reliable, stable, and cost-saving ERP
Different countries have different finance practices, but I believe they need to fine-tune their practices to match industry standards. Practices vary from country to country, for example, in India, it is different than in the US. Sometimes, clients require alternate processes that are not standard, but they claim that these are the standard practices in their industry. At those times, we feel that the option required is not available with the solution. This is not the case only for Infor M3. Other ERPs also have the same problem. We can't mold the ERP to fit the customer's requirements. There are some standards in place because many screens and programs are integrated into the finance process. We can't make modifications to fit the client's requirements. The customer needs specific screens for different users, so if that program is in place, we have one planning tool in Infor M3. Planners need to know all things related to manufacturing, purchase, and sales in order to make decisions about planning. In one of my clients, I came across the requirement that they were asking for user authority in the planning tool. This is not the case though, because all planners need to know all things. However, on the manufacturing side, we can say that the person who is working with machine operations only needs to know machine-related information and doesn't need knowledge of products or sales. That standard industry is available, so we can give access to the user as per their needs. If the maintenance people are there, we can give them limited access, but if the planner is there, we need to give them all access according to industry standards. However, this requirement from the client side is not possible with the standard Infor software, but Infor can consider implementing it if the need is larger for many customers.
Srinivasan Kuppuswamy - PeerSpot reviewer
The amazing, robust framework with unlimited scalability earns its #1 status
The solution is not ready for the current e-commerce environment. Its was built for large enterprises who need to predictably optimize their human, material, and financial resources. ERP has evolved and businesses are changing. There are not many large corporations. Most are small enterprises with the capabilities of large enterprises through networking and platform integration. Some companies promote products but get things done with other enterprises as a network. Companies do not want to create new capacity but want to leverage existing capacity with innovative products. They do not want to spend resources on duplicating capacity or facilities. I do not think any ERP product is ready to support this environment so ERPs as a whole might end up being used for back-office functions only. It is not easy to evolve an ERP product because its intent is to integrate functions and processes within an organization. Whereas, in the new business model, processes are not limited to one's own enterprise but cut across different enterprises. There is no enterprise solution as this point in time for the current e-commerce environment so companies must integrate with many solutions.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The most valuable feature of Infor M3 is the level of detail it has about the different manufacturing processes compared to other ERP solutions. Other ERP solutions provide the same level of integration as Infor M3, but Infor M3 specializes in several functions, such as planning and manufacturing."
"The product's initial setup phase is easy."
"provides all modules, supply chain, HR - it's good for management."
"It's simple to use. You don't need any complex training to use it."
"It's very stable, and it handles all types of industrial and manufacturing businesses in very good ways. I've found it to be easy."
"Infor M3 has tailor-made packages for each and every industry."
"The user interface and user experience were good."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is highly customizable."
"The most valuable feature is the robust workflows that SAP provides to us in our organization. Overall, I find it the best ERP solution compared to other similar solutions."
"It is a utility-focused solution, and the deployment is very much aligned with utility service providers. If you look at the supply chain and the overall business model of a utility service provider, SAP is something that fits very well. That's because the company has invested tremendously in creating appropriate workflows pertaining to this segment or domain."
"ERP is stable. The outcome is clear to us as far as the design goes."
"The power of ABAP Development Tools is the main valuable feature in the SAP ECC system. Every couple of years SAP upgrades ABAP technology significantly, which facilitates developers' work."
"The most valuable features are the claim management."
"Continuing to use it enabled continuity of business."
"SAP ERP's interface is pretty easy nowadays, as it has evolved over time and has been made as user-friendly as a person would like it."
"MDG provides a central location for governance of the creation/updating processes of master data. It allows you to change several fields in the same object. For example, we can change a field on the purchasing view and change another field on an accounting view to the same material at the same time."
 

Cons

"It would be great if Infor added some new workflows in the finance module. I'd also like to see better integration with third-party applications."
"The solution is stable but not agile."
"Sometimes, M3 alone cannot handle all the planning functionalities required by a customer. It has to be used along with industry-specific planning tools because M3 doesn't have all the features. However, no product can handle all the requirements of all the industries. There will be some shortcomings in all the products. Though this is an area for improvement, it is not a very serious shortfall or limitation. It can be covered by using third-party planning applications that integrate with Infor M3."
"The product's technical support has certain shortcomings. Sometimes, my company doesn't get a proper response from their end."
"We can't make modifications to fit the client's requirements."
"The solution must provide more learning documents."
"Infor should create one product to handle the whole business. At present, they make ERP systems for each type of business, and then sell additional features. I would like to have one system handing all organizations or all the business in deep ways and not have to buy additional features."
"It should be improved in terms of procurement of the supply chain and business intelligence analysis. We have the Infor BI tool, but it's more complex to use than, for example, Power Pivot or QlikView in the market."
"The initial setup of SAP ERP is complex and it took a lot of time."
"It would also help if it were more open, more flexible, with more standard products."
"Reporting is why most companies need to acquire business intelligence add-on solutions, and when it comes to SAP ERP, they could improve the reporting graphical representation of the data."
"The UI could use improvement."
"They need to improve a few processes, including transformation, intelligence, governance, modeling, etc."
"The solution's graphical user interface (GUI) is outdated and could be improved."
"It's difficult to code; structured language is difficult."
"Presently, the solution's interface is not intuitive."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The tool’s licensing is yearly."
"The cost is between $50 and $100 per user annually."
"I'm not part of the team that manages Infor M3 pricing, but it depends on the client, integration, ship-out, and training levels. You get the price from the solution provider, but it would be best to discuss it because nothing is set in stone regarding pricing."
"There is a yearly licensing cost. The price is based on the modules you need. There are several modules, such as HR module, accounting module, sales module, scheduling module, etc., and the price will vary depending on the number of modules you choose. The customers always say that it's very expensive. It can cost a lot of money if your organization is huge. It's not implemented in a lot of organizations in my country because it's too expensive."
"If you compare Infor M3 to SAP, Infor M3 is less expensive than SAP, but if you compare Infor M3 to Dynamics 365, Infor M3 is more expensive. It also depends on the model that you buy. It depends on whether you have the complete package or whether you have separate models."
"Infor M3 is a tier-two product and is cheaper than tier-one products such as SAP and Oracle. However, it is more expensive than some other tier-two products. The licensing cost is dependent on the number of users. Also, if you purchase other tools from Infor as a package, then there may be other discounts offered."
"When we talk about pricing it is expensive. On a scale of one to ten, it would rank a two. There are no additional fees but the user licenses are high."
"Some components are available at an additional cost, depending on the type of contract that you have."
"It could always be cheaper. They don't have a very easy model of licensing, but large entities would get the upper hand in negotiating the license."
"SAP ERP is an expensive tool."
"The solution has moved from a licensing model to a rights-based, subscription model in the cloud."
"It is less expensive than its competitors."
"Licensing can vary, but for educational institutions, there are often favorable conditions."
"I rate the product's price a nine on a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap or affordable, and ten is really expensive. The solution is expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Wholesaler/Distributor
8%
Retailer
7%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Computer Software Company
12%
Retailer
6%
University
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Infor M3?
The product's initial setup phase is easy.
What needs improvement with Infor M3?
I haven't received any complaints from the customers' end related to the product. The product's technical support has certain shortcomings. Sometimes, my company doesn't get a proper response from ...
What is your primary use case for Infor M3?
In my company, I use the tool for back-end data or to control the entries in the back-end database. My company also extracts data, after which it gets pushed to the data lake and data fabric, and t...
Is Anaplan better than SAP ERP?
There are different aspects of both Anaplan and SAP ERP that I like and dislike. Anaplan improves forecast accuracy and drives up the quality of analytics. Rather than spending all of their time co...
What do you like most about SAP ERP?
The solution has made the most significant impact on our human resources function, specifically in HR operations and HR analytics. One feature of SAP ERP that I found most valuable is its use of co...
What needs improvement with SAP ERP?
There is a need for improvement in the business analytics aspect in financial reporting and also in sales and marketing analytics.
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

Infor Lawson M3, Lawson M3
No data available
 

Learn More

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Grosfillex, High Five Sportswear, L_derach, OTK Group, PHS Group, Propper International, Red Wing Shoe Company, Reynolds Catering Supplies, Saudi Diesel, Sheetz, Zeppelin, Zodiac Aerospace
B&G Manufacturing, Unilever, Life is good Inc., Joy Global Inc., City of Cape Town, Bhopal Municipal, Corporation (BMC), adidas Group, Butcher & Packer Supply Company, Franklin Valve L.P., Evoshield, Prime Meats, a Norsan Group company, EMC Corporation, Varian Medical Systems Inc., FC Bayern Mªnchen AG, AkzoNobel Chemicals B.V., T¾V Rheinland, Pacific Drilling S.A., Fire & Rescue New South Wales, University of Amsterdam, Pa_alon S.A.
Find out what your peers are saying about Infor M3 vs. SAP ERP and other solutions. Updated: December 2024.
824,053 professionals have used our research since 2012.