ERP expert Ravi Jaiswal saved a truck manufacturer millions by optimizing their “ancient” QAD ERP system, ensuring zero major outages and improving efficiency.
Published: November 4, 2025 7:05 PM IST
The majority of the factories run at a loss every minute the systems are down. According to Forbes, manufacturing companies may lose a whopping 50 billion per annum due to unplanned downtime. As a result of computer crash, assembly lines cease. Workers wait around. Customers get angry. Money disappears.
This issue gets compounded rapidly in the truck manufacturing industry. Powerful trucks require sophisticated components, limited timeframes, and no errors. A single failure of the system can close a plant in several hours. Aberdeen Research has it that manufacturing is costing down time at up to 260,000 per hour. But at one of the American truck manufacturers, it was another tale. Other companies had spent millions of dollars to upgrade their computers but one expert took a smarter way out. He had preserved an ancient system superior to those of the new system.
Ravi Jaiswal started at the truck company in February 2016. His job was simple on paper but messy in practice. He had to keep the QAD ERP system working. This system ran everything inventory, purchasing, manufacturing, finance, sales. When it broke, the whole company stopped.
The ERP team was small. Just three people are handling all the technical problems for a major truck manufacturer. When something went wrong, phones started ringing. Production managers needed answers. Finance teams needed data. Supply chain folks needed inventory numbers. Everyone needed everything to work right now.
He became the guy who fixed things. He would sit in meeting rooms listening to frustrated managers explain their problems. Then he would dig into the system, find what broke, and figure out how to fix it without breaking something else.
“The key was understanding that our QAD Standard Edition 2013 wasn’t broken it just needed the right expertise to unlock its potential,” Ravi Jaiswal says.
Making old systems work like new
The company used QAD Standard Edition 2013. In tech years, that was ancient. Most consultants would have pushed for an expensive upgrade. New features. Better interfaces. Modern capabilities. The sales pitch writes itself.
But he saw something else. The old system worked. It simply required someone who knew how all of the pieces fit together. Instead of taking everything out and beginning again, he began improving the existing system.
He built automation tools. Boring stuff that nobody notices until it saves hours of work every day. The finance team used to spend entire afternoons entering data by hand. Now computers do it automatically. Supply chain managers used to dig through spreadsheets looking for inventory levels. Now the information appeared on their screens when they needed it.
Each improvement solved real problems. Not flashy features that looked good in demos. Actual fixes for actual headaches that actual people faced every day.
The work required deep technical knowledge. ERP systems are complicated. They connect to databases, link with other software, and handle thousands of transactions simultaneously. One small change in the wrong place can break everything.
He learned every corner of the QAD system. He understood how the inventory module talked to manufacturing. How is purchasing connected to finance? How sales orders trigger production schedules. This knowledge let him make changes without creating new problems.
“Every automation we built was designed to solve real business problems, not just showcase technical capabilities,” Ravi Jaiswal explains.
By 2024, he was leading the entire ERP team. The same system that was supposedly outdated was running better than ever. Zero major outages. Faster processing. Fewer errors. Happy users.
The ripple effect
Everything else functions better when computer systems function better. The finance team could process invoices faster. They had more time for analysis instead of data entry. Supply chain managers could see inventory levels in real time. They made better decisions about what to order and when.
Manufacturing benefited the most. Production schedules that used to take hours to update now changed automatically when new orders came in. Machine operators could see exactly what to build next without waiting for paperwork. Quality control could track problems back to specific batches of materials.
These improvements created a chain reaction. Faster processing meant shorter lead times. Better inventory visibility meant fewer stockouts. More accurate data meant better planning. Better planning meant happier customers.
The truck industry faces unique challenges. Vehicles are complex. Supply chains stretch across multiple countries. Quality standards are strict. One defective part can create massive recalls. The ERP system has to handle all of this complexity without fail.
Most companies in this industry struggle with legacy systems. They patch problems instead of fixing root causes. They live with inefficiencies because upgrades are expensive and risky. They accept downtime as unavoidable.
He proved there was another way. Keep what works. Fix what doesn’t. Build what’s missing. Stay focused on business value instead of technology trends.
The bigger picture
Manufacturing companies are learning that newer isn’t always better. Software upgrades often create more problems than they solve. Implementation projects drag on for years. Costs spiral out of control. Users hate the new interfaces. Data gets lost in transition.
Smart manufacturers are taking a different approach. They invest in people who understand their existing systems. They focus on optimization instead of replacement. They prioritize stability over features.
This shift makes sense economically. Why spend millions on an upgrade when targeted improvements can deliver better results? Why risk months of disruption when the current system already works?
The trend extends beyond ERP systems. Companies are keeping older equipment running longer. Rather than introducing new procedures, they are teaching employees how to maximize current ones. Rather than pursuing the newest technologies, businesses are discovering value in what they currently have.
This approach requires different skills. Instead of project managers who can implement new systems, companies need technical experts who can optimize existing ones. Instead of change management consultants, they need problem solvers who can make things work better.
The future belongs to professionals who can find value in existing investments. As economic pressures increase and technology costs rise, the ability to maximize current systems becomes more valuable than the ability to implement new ones.
Companies that master this approach will have significant advantages. Lower costs. Higher reliability. Happier employees. Better customer service. All without the risks and expenses of major system changes.
Ravi Jaiswal’s work shows what’s possible when technical expertise meets business wisdom. Sometimes the smartest move is staying exactly where you are.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: india.com
