Munters, a global leader in energy-efficient climate control solutions, designs and manufactures systems for industries where precise climate control is mission-critical – such as food, pharmaceuticals, and data centers.

With operations in over 30 countries, 25 manufacturing sites, and 5,400 employees, the company posted revenues of approximately €1.29 billion last year. Their business is organized into three main areas: AirTech, Data Center Technologies, and FoodTech, providing everything from dehumidifiers to cooling systems for data centers and climate systems for food production.

When Munters decided to upgrade from IFS Applications 10 to IFS Cloud, the stakes were high, and the timeline was tight. Driven by a global transformation initiative called TTOE (Transformation Towards Operational Excellence), the company needed a modern, harmonized ERP landscape to support its rapid expansion and complex M&A activity. The goal was ambitious: complete the upgrade within five months – during a period that included summer vacations – and limit disruption to their ongoing global rollout. They succeeded.

Munters DSS Pro machine after IFS Cloud Upgrade

Setting the Stage

The project kicked off during a time of crisis – an IT security breach in early 2024 that paused ongoing activities. Rather than lose momentum, Munters seized the opportunity to accelerate their shift to the cloud. A pre-study completed by April laid the foundation for a full-scale project kickoff in May, with a successful go-live in October – all in just five months, including holiday downtime.

Key Success Factors

Munters attributes its rapid success to four strategic principles:

  1. Fixed Scope Through Pre-Study: The team established a well-defined scope to avoid feature creep. A “one-to-one” upgrade strategy preserved existing functionality while creating a foundation for future enhancements.
  2. Tight Time Plan: A condensed timeline helped maintain focus and eliminate distractions. This clarity allowed teams to prioritize delivery over perfection, an approach essential to meeting the tight deadline.
  3. Strong Project Organization: By pairing internal experts with three strategic partners – Addovation, Cegeka, and Triathlon – Munters created hybrid solution teams combining deep IFS knowledge and efficient project execution.
  4. Lean Testing Strategy: Testing was split into three levels – isolated CRIM and process validation, end-to-end verification between processes, and local adoption testing – ensuring both thoroughness and speed.

Efficient and Scalable Execution

Munters tackled the upgrade of 100+ CRIMs (configurations, reports, integrations, and modifications), 356 isolated processes, and 22 lobby pages, all while staying close to standard IFS configurations. They emphasized collaboration, decision-making speed, and a “no waste” testing approach.

A notable highlight was the use of IFS Cloud’s new workflow tool (Business Process Automation or BPA) to replace legacy custom events. This switch simplified data handling across multiple screens, reduced redundant code by 80%, and improved system maintainability.

Lessons Learned

Two recommendations stand out from Munters’ journey:

  • Start Early on Access Management: Migrating to IFS Cloud’s new projection-based permission structures is a major shift. Munters advises rebuilding access control frameworks from the ground up rather than migrating legacy structures.
  • Leverage Workflows for Complex Logic: BPA proved invaluable for replacing hard-coded, maintenance-heavy custom events with elegant, maintainable workflows.

Munters’ upgrade story isn’t just about speed, it’s about smart decisions, tight collaboration, and strategic simplicity. By focusing on clarity, lean execution, and scalable structures, they’ve positioned themselves to continue their global rollout without delay.

Thinking about your own cloud journey? Explore how IFS Cloud can support transformation at scale.