Your IFS system is running. Core processes are stable, there are no major disruptions, and your users can get their work done. But when did you last adopt a new feature that genuinely improved a process? Or made a manual report obsolete?

If the answer is more than a year ago, you’re not alone. Most companies treat their ERP system as a workhorse that just needs to keep running, not as a source of continuous improvement. And behind that mindset sits a question that rarely gets asked out loud: am I actually working as efficiently as I think I am? Because that missed opportunity is quietly costing you tens of thousands of euros every month.

The 60% you’re not using

In our experience, 60 to 70 percent of the functionality in the average IFS system goes unused. Most companies are only working with 30 to 40 percent of what’s available. The licenses have been purchased, the system has been implemented, and the costs are being paid. But the platform isn’t being used to make operations smarter.

“60 to 70 percent of the available functionality is never used. That is not the exception, that is the average. And I am not talking about exotic modules. Just the things they already have, already pay for, and never switched on.”, Patrick says.

“They did not realise how much time they were losing. Only when we mapped it out did they see it.”

The cost isn’t in the licenses themselves, those are a sunk cost either way. The real cost is what your people do because the system isn’t working for them. In many cases, it’s actually working against them. The spreadsheets maintained alongside the ERP. The manual planning done in Excel, because the advanced planning module was never configured. The hours finance spends merging data that should come from a single source.

“We saw a client where shop floor employees were making five or six extra scans per order. Neatly configured during the implementation, for a reason that made sense at the time. But that reason had been gone for years. Nobody had questioned it, because the system kept asking for it.” Patrick shakes his head. “Your company changes. Your processes change with it. But your system does not know that unless you tell it.”

That mismatch has real costs. At a manufacturer of large waste processing machines, eqeep automated the incoming invoice flow. Result: the finance team saves at least eight hours a week on repetitive work. Patrick: “They did not realise how much time they were losing. Only when we mapped it out did they see it. Eight hours, every week, doing work the system could handle.”

At a German machine builder, they automated the inbound order process via EDI. Every order now saves five minutes of admin. The existing team focuses on quality control and customer satisfaction instead of data entry

The treadmill of two releases per year

The challenge is growing. IFS releases two major updates per year, on top of monthly service updates. Every release is packed with improvements, new features, and even AI-driven functionality that your competitors may already be using. The opportunities to improve your processes grow every six months.

But keeping up with those releases takes effort. You need an impact analysis, testing, user training, and activation of new functionality. For an internal IT team, this feels like an extra project on top of daily operations. The result is predictable: the update gets installed on the technical side, but the new functionality never gets used. The system is up to date. The way people work is not.

At Eqeep, we get early access to the latest releases. We analyze them for you, translate them into concrete opportunities for your processes, and flag what to watch out for. No stack of release notes to work through yourself, just a clear picture of what’s in it for you.

Is one administrator enough?

Many organizations have one or maybe two functional administrators. They’re the heroes who handle daily questions, put out small fires, and keep the system running. They’re indispensable. But do they also have time to study every new release in depth? To proactively talk with departments about process improvement and investigate which unused module could add the most value?

In practice, the answer is almost always no. Administration has become reactive. Handling incidents consumes all available time, leaving no room for innovation or optimization. You’re paying for a system full of potential, but using it like a calculator.

Rethinking your current approach

Imagine having someone with deep IFS expertise and direct lines to IFS continuously looking over your shoulder. A partner who analyzes every release and translates it into opportunities specific to your business. Who proactively suggests automating a manual process using a standard feature you already own. Who helps you maximize the value of your investment.

This isn’t about hiring another consultant for a one-off project. It’s about sustained, structured attention to improvement. For a fixed monthly fee, you get access to a complete team of IFS specialists. That’s how you make the shift from reactive management to proactive optimization.

The gains go beyond lower costs for workarounds. User adoption improves. Processes become more efficient. You get more out of the data you already have. Your organization becomes more agile and smarter.

Not every company needs this. If you have a large, experienced IFS team with time to focus on continuous improvement, you’ll manage just fine on your own. But be honest about your internal capacity. If your administrator is mainly busy resetting passwords and closing tickets, who is working on the future?