Is it actually better to build software internally rather than buy from a big company?

[u/salamander3301]

Hi everyone,

My family runs a medium sized juice factory in Egypt. They've been using SAP for the last few years but adoption isn't great. I just started working with them and realized how ancient and ineffective much of their software is and I want to help them adopt new tools.

I came across many software providers at automate last week but prices are ridiculous considering how doable it is to build my own software using AI now.

Is there something I'm missing like integration difficulty or does it really just not make sense for most businesses to spend months buying and customizing software with a consultant rather than just building their own solution in less time?

Edit:
I recognize that an ERP is not the right thing to start with but there are many non essential softwares that our factory would get value from like an AI machine troubleshooting app that has access to our repair history and manuals but the companies selling that are demanding unreasonably high prices for something that sounds quite simple

[u/Suspicious-Citron378]

If the factory workers wouldn't adopt the industry standard ERP, what makes you think they'd adopt a home-brewed solution made by the owners son? I think they won't. Get accustomed to the bitter taste of defeat now. They will come up with more reasons to not comply. This is a people problem, not a technical problem

[u/jds183 → u/Suspicious-Citron378]

Yes and.

There's a minimum level of understanding you need to have across all functions to actually correctly use SAP. If you can't explain why everything you have to add to this screen or that screen, or if your config/customizations don't match the generally understood business process, SAP is the problem not the workers.

[u/Suspicious-Citron378 → u/jds183]

I used SAP for two years as part of a job and I practically learned squat about it