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Infor M3 vs SAP ERP comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 12, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

Infor M3
Ranking in ERP
13th
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
2nd
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 February 2025, in the ERP category, the mindshare of Infor M3 is 4.8%, up from 3.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP ERP is 20.2%, down from 22.7% 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

"It's simple to use. You don't need any complex training to use it."
"Its ease of use is most valuable. Inquiries are transparent, and it shows good information on each screen. We don't have to go to 14 different screens to find out about one item, which is a big advantage."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the Infor GL tool that allows us to do our application support and development."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to cover different types of activities, and the requirement for maintenance and data is very low."
"M3 has several useful features for managing supply chains, production, and customer orders. It's an excellent system that helps me meet all my requirements for fixed costs."
"The product's initial setup phase is easy."
"Infor M3 has tailor-made packages for each and every industry."
"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."
"The solution has a lot of good integrated modules."
"The system can be integrated with other SAP functionalities - such as finance, production, sales, marketing, HR, et cetera, and can also be customized to become a model that's specifically designed for my business. That's the solution's most valuable aspect."
"It is a stable solution."
"I like the solution's ability to close plans and resource requirements in deals."
"The solution can easily be standardized across processes."
"Well-integrated multilingual technology."
"I like that SAP ERP is very robust and stable."
"The payroll solution and the localization for advances are valuable."
 

Cons

"The implementation could be simplified, it's complex."
"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 solution is stable but not agile."
"We can't make modifications to fit the client's requirements."
"I would like to have some kind of dashboard to show an overview of different data on the same dashboard or on the same screen instead of moving to BI."
"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."
"The solution's technical support is an area with shortcomings that need improvement, especially the support for the product named M3 rather than the support offered by Infor as an organization."
"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."
"It is on the expensive side."
"In the next release, I would like to see more technical integration for directly designed solutions on behalf of the selling process so that you can design solutions and not have to use ten or more other tools to get the solution for selling."
"SAP is not making a big effort to make it easy to integrate solutions from other vendors. It's not easy at all... Integration is what they can do better."
"The problem with SAP is that whenever there is a modification, or if a new field needs to be added, they charge tens of thousands, hundreds, or even two hundred thousand dollars. That is not anything in which I am really interested. For instance, consider a single-use case. I have to enter the root causes for a certain operation or failure. That option does not exist anywhere in SAP, not in manufacturing, not in logistics, not in anything. It is completely missing. The root cause analysis is very common across industries, yet SAP does not offer this option. A line field or a metaparticle, for example, was delayed. If you have the choice to input the warehouse operator or if the person who submitted the document has the opportunity to enter, this has been postponed for N, X, Y, or Z reasons."
"SAP ERP's initial setup phase needs to be simplified."
"I would like to see the customization of the reports become easier to work with instead of having technical support have to assist us."
"The integration with others application could be easier. There are many different features that this solution offers which could be easier to implement."
"I think that implementation could be simplified."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"The tool’s licensing is yearly."
"The cost is between $50 and $100 per user annually."
"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."
"I am not sure. However, extensions cost approximately $100,000 or$200,000."
"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."
"I rate the product's price a seven on a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive. SAP ERP is a costly tool."
"The product has high pricing."
"The price of SAP ERP is high, but it is worth the money. The maintenance and support can be expensive. There should be a different price model for businesses that are not as large to be able to afford it."
"We pay annually for the use of this solution."
"The solution is expensive and is best-suited for large enterprises."
"Some components are available at an additional cost, depending on the type of contract that you have."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Wholesaler/Distributor
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
 

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: January 2025.
837,501 professionals have used our research since 2012.