How one manufacturer blazed a smooth path to ERP cloud migration
In this podcast, David Paquet of Tilton Group explains how using APIs to integrate a custom MES with on-premises Epicor Kinetic ERP eased the move to the multi-tenant SaaS ERP.
ERP cloud migration can be a fraught process, especially when the target system is multi-tenant SaaS ERP. This purest form of cloud ERP has many advantages, including accessibility, ease of use, minimal maintenance and advanced technologies like AI. But it tends to force generic business processes on organizations that aren't always ready for them, and it is also not hospitable to the customizations some have grown to depend on in their on-premises ERP.
As a result, many companies seek halfway measures, such as running a hybrid of on-premises and SaaS ERP modules or moving their on-premises ERP to a cloud hosting provider to gain some of the flexibility and cost savings of cloud computing.
Tilton Group, a manufacturer in Quebec City, Canada, that makes food and pharmaceutical packaging from recycled materials, executed the full cloud ERP move successfully in May 2025. It migrated from the on-premises version of Epicor Kinetic, its very first ERP system, to the multi-tenant SaaS version. In the process, the company laid the foundation for AI applications, including Epicor's AI-driven tool for inventory planning and optimization (IP&O).
In this episode of Enterprise Apps Unpacked, David Paquet, director of technological innovation and procurement, explains how he spearheaded Tilton Group's search for an ERP system, how the initial implementation in 2022 changed the way the company conducted business, and what it was like to shift to the SaaS version of Kinetic three years later.
He also shares details on how the transitions were managed, including using APIs to integrate the SaaS ERP with the company's homegrown, on-premises manufacturing execution system (MES).
"It's our own MES, and it will never be in the cloud for latency reasons," he said.
David Paquet
Sticking with the classics
Paquet said the cloud migration's impact on employees was softened by temporarily employing a hybrid approach for the Kinetic UI. After the SaaS move, frequently used screens for critical processes, such as shipping and shop-floor data collection, were kept on the classic Kinetic UI. That gave the company almost six months to migrate screens to the new UI gradually. "We tried to minimize disruption by doing it step by step, one screen at a time, and not like a big bang with all the screens at the same time," he said.
An earlier architectural decision positioned the company nicely for its current hybrid of SaaS ERP and on-premises MES. Concerti, a Kinetic system integrator in Montreal that helped with the on-premises ERP deployment, recommended that SQL queries and other operations be run through APIs connecting the two systems.
"When we switched to the cloud, the only thing we had to change was the URL," Paquet said. "All the APIs called were the same. It was a really smooth transition to the cloud."
Other topics discussed in the podcast include the following:
- Why Tilton Group went with Epicor's IP&O application after considering having data scientists build a custom tool.
- Data synchronization and sharing between the ERP and MES.
- Pitfalls and keys to success that organizations considering cloud ERP migration should know.
David Essex is an industry editor who creates in-depth content on enterprise applications, emerging technology and market trends for several Informa TechTarget websites.
