The Hidden Tech Crisis? Why Companies Are Scrambling for These Rare Manufacturing Skills

Across industries, digital transformation is in full swing—but behind the shiny promise of automation and analytics lies a stubborn crisis: a severe shortage of skilled professionals who understand the backbone of manufacturing tech – Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. As companies rush to modernize legacy operations and stay competitive in the age of Industry 4.0, they're hitting a wall few saw coming. The scarcity of specialized ERP talent, particularly for systems such as Infor LN and Microsoft Dynamics, is hindering progress, disrupting growth plans, and revealing a deeper issue in workforce development.

Ravikumar Palanichamy, a seasoned ERP strategist with more than two decades of hands-on experience, has been at the forefront of this challenge. With 24 years of working on Infor applications and over 15 years leading ERP recruitment and training efforts, he brings clarity to a conversation that’s often buried under jargon. “There’s a steep learning curve with systems like Infor LN,” he says. “That alone turns many away. What we’re seeing now is a talent gap that’s only getting wider.”

The ERP application space, dominated by SAP, Oracle, Microsoft, and Infor, plays a critical role in manufacturing. But while SAP and Oracle attract most of the training ecosystem’s attention, platforms like Infor LN remain underserved. These systems power discrete manufacturing facilities across the globe, yet there’s a lack of formal, accessible learning channels for them. According to Ravikumar, this disconnect is at the heart of the crisis. “Most of these systems were implemented over 15 years ago,” he explains. “Modernizing them carries major financial risk, so companies delay upgrades. But that only increases their dependency on rare skill sets.”

At his current organization, he has helped turn that challenge into a strategic advantage. Over 12 years, he has led efforts to build sustainable ERP technical and business enhancement teams, providing ongoing support to plants and logistics hubs across the United States. “We’ve developed a tight feedback loop,” he says. “The business team identifies improvement opportunities, the IT team evaluates them, and we train both sides to implement changes that drive value.”

That value isn’t just theoretical. The numbers tell a powerful story. Each manufacturing plant under his oversight achieves $2 to $3 million in annual cost reductions, with savings directly attributed to smarter, more efficient ERP usage. Add in $3 to $5 million in soft savings, like efficiency gains and streamlined workflows, and the total enterprise-wide benefit climbs to $10–15 million each year. “It’s not just about fixing what’s broken,” Ravikumar insists. “It’s about continuously improving what works, and training people to think that way.”

Mentorship is a central part of his playbook. With a strong recruitment background, he has personally trained dozens of internal candidates, many with no prior ERP experience, to become system experts. He believes this inside-out approach is the only sustainable model. “The market isn’t producing enough talent externally. We have to grow our own. But that takes a serious commitment to training and structured development.”

The urgency to act is especially clear in the context of Industry 4.0, where cloud-based ERP systems like Infor LN are designed to integrate seamlessly with IoT, AI, and predictive analytics. The promise is clear: smarter manufacturing, real-time insights, and greater agility. But without the talent to deploy and manage these systems, companies fall short. “We’ve supported greenfield plant setups and major system enhancements coast to coast,” he says. “But none of that would’ve been possible without investing in our people first.”

Still, the journey hasn’t been without challenges. Budget constraints, especially for business improvement teams classified as direct expenses, mean that every training dollar and enhancement request must deliver a clear ROI. His methodical approach, evaluating both hard and soft savings, plant by plant, has helped justify the continued investment. “You can’t just say it’s worth it,” he explains. “You have to prove it. Every year. Every plant.”

Despite the complexity, Ravikumar remains optimistic. He envisions a future where ERP training is democratized and accessible, where organizations don’t have to choose between modernization and operational stability. But to get there, collaboration is key. “We need partnerships between tech providers, educators, and employers,” he says. “That’s how we create a pipeline of ERP talent. That’s how we future-proof our operations.”

His message is unambiguous: ERP knowledge must be seen not as an auxiliary support role, but as a core strategic resource. He calls on organizations to fund formal mentorship, develop strong training programs, and tackle system upgrades with the same focus on workforce preparation as on technical innovation. "The technology is in place," he asserts. "Now it's about ensuring our people are properly equipped to leverage its power."

As manufacturing heads into a pivotal decade, executives such as Ravikumar Palanichamy are leading the discussion with hard-earned perspective, not hype. His body of work embodies the type of profound, practical knowledge the industry so desperately requires—founded on years of grassroots experience, an uncanny grasp of business effect, and a dedication to growing talent from within. Instead of following trends, he gets on with what really fosters improvement: people, process, and purpose. With proper skill and strategy investment, he feels manufacturing can not only fill the ERP talent gap but also come out stronger, smarter, and more resilient.