The evolution of Movex/M3 goes from a humble beginning in the 1970s to its current position as a world-leading ERP solution. Movex underwent many ownership changes and technological advancements, each shaping its trajectory in unique ways—including the name shift to M3 and renewed vitality under Infor's stewardship. Infor has boosted M3's competitiveness across the board so much that they won back Kabe as a customer. Infor with partners impresses with their persistent commitment to delivering success for customers and society.

From the Beginning to Infor’s Takeover

Movex's history dates to 1972. Seven years later, Peter Bjorkman became chief architect, and the development towards becoming a full-scale ERP system took off. In 1984, Movex had some 50 customers when Peter Bjorkman, who had programmed 50% of the entire system, started his own company, Amacs, and developed a new-generation ERP for IBM S/36 and S/38.

A small consulting firm, Intentia, was acquired by Movex in 1985. As Amacs came to market in 1986, it took over, attracting companies such as Volvo, Trelleborg, Flakt, and Kabe. In early 1991, Intentia (which now had new investors) bought Amacs and renamed the system to Movex, thus becoming the basis for the company's future with Peter Bjorkman as chief architect.

To establish Movex in the US, there was growing pressure to comply with APICS' MPS/DRP/MRP specification. This requirement was so essential that our customer Vitec, classified according to Oliver Wright class A, refused to implement Movex in its St. Louis factory until it was met. In May 1996, we fulfilled this mission, and their certification manager expressed satisfaction by saying: "Movex offers the strongest planning solution I have ever seen."

Around the same time, there was a trend towards object orientation (OO), in which each function would have its own data. This idea could have been wiser. Yet, Intentia's leadership believed OO could make them pioneers. All employees objected were classified as too conservative to fit in their brave new world; even Peter Bjorkman was fired. Eventually, after spending hundreds of millions of Euros, the OO project was closed without delivering anything of value.

An equally big reason the ownership of Movex changed to Symphony 2003 – two days before Intentia otherwise would reach severe financial trouble – was that its naïve leaders thought the Y2K-driven demand would go on forever, which it famously didn’t. The route for Movex to be independent of IBM AS/400 now meant 1:1, replacing the RPG programming language with Java.

When Lawson took over Movex in 2005, they renamed it M3 (Make Manufacture Maintain). Yet, that didn't improve the system's market position. Instead, the escape to other ERPs accelerated, and the ex-customers could soon be counted in the hundreds. M3's implementation method and user interface were a disaster, while the Smart Office launched early 2008 made no big difference.

The turning point for M3 came in April 2011 when Infor acquired Lawson. It was a slow start, but step by step, Infor revitalized the M3 through one technology injection after another, where the integration platform ION and the new user interface H5 made the most significant difference in making M3 great again.

Infor Cloud Suite M3 is a Leading ERP System

In spring 2023, Kabe, a caravan and RV manufacturer with 3 plants in 3 countries and 1000 employees, decided they needed to replace their Movex from 1998 with a new ERP and hired Peter Bjorkman to help them move forward. First, we listed the most essential requirements, of which simple, fast, and powerful DRP/MRP topped the list. Next, we settle on evaluating five systems: SAP 4/Hana, Microsoft 365 F&O, Infor M3, Rambase, and Monitor:

• After completing demos and LinkedIn courses, we settled SAP and Microsoft didn’t offer as many advantages as Infor M3.
• Rambase and Monitor offered the lowest price but were put aside as their respective systems didn’t support some very critical business requirements.

In addition to having the best MRP solution, Infor M3 has many other advantages imperative for Kabe, such as strong purchase planning and execution, as 60% of the added value is purchased.

M3 is the Best ERP Solution for Kabe

Early on, there was no lack of skepticism, as Alf Ekstrom, CEO of Kabe Group, said: "When starting this evaluation process, I didn't think we would end up with M3, but it pays to investigate; I'm all convinced we made the right decision." The growing sympathy came from experience that many functional capabilities were retained and refined, such as Master data, Warehouse management, multi-tenant, agility, and security.

Infor's modernization efforts have made M3 great again. Of course, new technology is a major contributor where Infor Operating Services is the foundation. A giant step in this transformation is for Infor to believe in industry-specific solutions and that they don’t think they can be all things to all companies, evidenced by the following realities:

• Infor recognizes the need for niche applications such as Tivitysoft’s fully integrated app suite for the aftermarket and CPQ with sales process support, specifically developed for automotive and heavy engineering manufacturers.
• Infor appreciates quality across all domains, so they partner with experienced experts implementing M3 and providing ongoing services. M3CS was chosen to be responsible for the M3 implementation at Kabe because it carries out projects without bureaucracy and uses senior, highly skilled consultants who always aim to deliver real customer value.

It’s Time to Believe Again

It's pleasing to see how Infor renews its customer relationships and helps them go from good to great by using modern ERP with built-in BI and AI capabilities. Smarter software is a resource for broader intellectual horizons and better business where the trivial and tedious are exchanged for more human and fulfilled places of work.

Studies emphasize that people's happiness and satisfaction are tied to performing meaningful work in the real world. In this view, Infor, M3CS, and Tivitysoft's efforts make great sense to further magnify our most valuable assets: the ability to think, work smarter, and communicate. Improving productivity allows for growing the cake and sharing the plentiful rather than fighting over scarcity; it provides free time for spiritual, aesthetic, and family matters.

24. April 2024
Peter Björkman
CEO of Tivitysoft and former Chief Architect of Movex/M3