Corporate News

Nordic Paper’s IFS Cloud Journey: at IFS User Group Day, Stockholm

November 24, 2023

Novacura, as an active member of the IFS Scandinavian User Group, lead a seminary during the latest IFS User Group Day on November 22, 2023, in Stockholm, Sweden.

Collaborating with our client, Nordic Paper, a leading producer of Greaseproof Paper and Kraft Paper, we had the opportunity to present a customer case centered around the transition process from IFS Applications v7.5 to IFS Cloud, a transition we jointly planned and executed.

In the seminar, our speakers — Patric Johansson (CIO at Nordic Paper), Johan Magnusson (ERP Lead at Nordic Paper), and Lars Steen (VP Services at Novacura) — discussed the expectations and insights derived from upgrading from IFS Applications v7.5 to IFS Cloud.

During the event Novacura, in partnership with Nordic Paper, provided insights into the migration journey from IFS Applications v7.5 to IFS Cloud. The session delved into an open discussion about project experience, highlighting both accomplishments and challenges.

Presenters explained that the migration process timeframe was between January 2022 and November 2022, and was organized into six phases, which included:

Initiation
Confirmation
Establishment
Implementation
Go live

Support

At the conclusion of the presentation, the Novacura experts emphasized that post-live, in an Evergreen state, the overall stability of IFS Cloud was very good.

The important part of the presentation was a comparison between the recent IFS Cloud Upgrade project and the classical IFS upgrade implementation known from earlier versions of IFS Applications. They underscored the following similarities and differences:

The slide from the event presentation.

At the presentation’s end, the speakers shared key lessons learned from the project, focusing on technical perspectives. They emphasized the following:

Integration with Rest OData can consume more time;
New opportunities with Lobbies & Projections may cause Performance issues;
Sizing of Middleware;
There is no (easy) possibility to roll-back to the previous release when software defects appear;
Environments can become desynchronized – proper environment management is necessary.

Novacura led a seminar at the recent IFS Scandinavian User Group Day on November 22, 2023, in Stockholm, Sweden. The event received widespread acclaim, generating positive feedback and attracting great interest and interaction from various participants.

Jointly with Nordic Paper, a key producer of Greaseproof Paper and Kraft Paper, Novacura presented a compelling customer case on transitioning from IFS Applications v7.5 to IFS Cloud. Our presenters shared valuable insights into the migration journey, spanning January to November 2022, with a focus on key phases and an open discussion about project experiences, accomplishments, and challenges. Speakers highlighted crucial observations, including a comparison with classical IFS upgrade implementations, showcasing both similarities and differences.

Nordic Paper operates as an independent manufacturer specializing in the production of top-quality paper and pulp. Situated in Scandinavia and Canada, Nordic Paper benefits from the natural surroundings, with expansive forests serving as the primary source of raw materials for both its greaseproof paper and iamKraft® kraft paper. The company boasts five paper mills strategically located in Bäckhammar, Åmotfors, and Säffle in Sweden, Greåker in Norway, and Québec in Canada. Each mill is dedicated to the production of paper, and the Bäckhammar facility also manufactures its own pulp. Nordic Paper has an employee count of 670 and an annual turnover of 4.4 Million SEK.

The IFS Scandinavian User Group, established in 2005, is an independent and active network run by IFS Customers in Scandinavia. With over 100 organized activities and 5,000 participants, it serves as Scandinavia’s largest business network for IFS and IFS Applications. The group addresses current business issues, including product-related updates like GDPR, through forums, seminars, study visits, and conferences. Members benefit from a valuable platform to learn, exchange ideas, and share experiences with other customers. Engaging in continuous dialogue with IFS R&D and global user groups, members can influence IFS’s product direction. Membership, priced at SEK 9,500 per year for the entire company, includes access to various activities and the biennial User Group Conference for 250-350 participants, featuring informative sessions and networking opportunities. The group’s growth, with over 100 member companies and 2,000 contacts, is sustained by an annual membership fee.