Your aircraft-parts ERP can quote a job but cannot prove the serial number passed inspection
If a tail-number-critical part ships from Wichita without a clean chain from purchase order to first-article inspection to certificate of conformance, your ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) failed, not your quality team. A custom ERP that builds AS9100 traceability into the transaction layer (not a bolt-on) runs $90k to $180k and 5 to 8 months. Off-the-shelf NetSuite or SAP gets you to maybe 70 percent before the lot-and-serial gaps force spreadsheets back in.
You bought NetSuite or Microsoft Dynamics because the demo showed clean MRP and a tidy GL. Then your first Spirit AeroSystems or Textron Aviation order arrived with flow-down requirements: lot traceability, serialized rotables, source inspection sign-off, and a cert package that ties every line back to a heat lot. The ERP's serial tracking was built for warranty registration, not aerospace genealogy, so your quality lead opened a spreadsheet on day one and never closed it.
Odoo and SAP both technically have lot fields. The problem is depth: when an OEM kicks back a part and you need to recall every assembly that consumed the same raw bar stock, a generic ERP makes you reconstruct it by hand. Quoting is worse. Estimators in Wichita aviation shops still price work in Excel because the ERP cannot model a routing with outside-processing steps like heat treat and NDT, mark-ups per operation, and a margin that holds when the customer asks for a 200-piece release against a blanket PO.
The case for owning your ERP
A Wichita aviation supplier does not need a generic ERP with a traceability plugin. You need genealogy as a first-class object: every serialized and lot-controlled part carries its raw-material certs, operation sign-offs, and inspection results in one record, queryable in reverse for recalls. Build that into the transaction core and the spreadsheets disappear, because there is no longer a gap to paper over.
What your build should include
ERP services we deliver in Wichita
The engagements Wichita teams bring us most often: SAP integration, Odoo development, Microsoft Dynamics 365, ERP migration and cloud ERP.
Budgeting a ERP build in Wichita
| Project scope | Typical cost | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Traceability bolt-on to existing ERP | $35k to $70k | 2 to 4 months |
| Custom aviation-supplier ERP core | $90k to $180k | 5 to 8 months |
| Multi-division (aviation + oil/gas + ag) | $180k to $300k | 8 to 14 months |
Delivery, week by week
Exactly what you get
A working ERP where genealogy is the spine: quoting, MRP, inspection, and shipping all hang off serialized and lot-controlled records you can trace in reverse. You also get the AS9102 FAI and cert-package generators that replace your quality team's spreadsheets, plus routing logic that prices outside processing correctly. Pair it with a custom inventory management system and a warehouse management system if your stockroom scale demands it, and the same genealogy carries through to the shelf.
How to choose a developer in Wichita
Hire a team that asks to see your flow-down documents and a real router before they quote. The good ones in Wichita already understand source inspection, NADCAP-approved processors, and why a heat lot matters. Ask them to walk a single serial number end to end on a whiteboard. If they cannot, they will build you another spreadsheet with a database behind it.
- Full reverse genealogy: pick any serial number and see every PO, heat lot, operation, and inspector behind it in one click for an AS9100 audit
- Quoting that models real aviation routings with outside processing, so estimators stop pricing in Excel and margins survive scope changes
- Auto-generated FAI (AS9102) and certificate-of-conformance packages built from live transaction data instead of hand assembly
- Blanket-PO and scheduled-release handling that matches how Textron, Spirit, and Bombardier actually buy
- One source of truth that ties quoting, MRP, inspection, and shipping so oil-and-gas and ag-equipment lines run in the same system
- A genealogy-first ERP is a 5-to-8-month build, so you carry your spreadsheet workflow through a long transition
- You own the maintenance: when a customer changes a flow-down requirement, your team updates the system instead of waiting for a vendor release
- Migrating years of part history and open blanket POs into a new data model is painful and easy to underestimate
- If your volume is low and your customer base is not aerospace, off-the-shelf may genuinely be enough
- !They demo lot tracking but cannot show reverse genealogy from a finished serial to its heat lot
- !They have never heard of AS9102 or treat it as a reporting afterthought
- !They quote a fixed price before seeing your routings and flow-down requirements
- !They push you onto a generic SaaS and call the spreadsheet gaps 'configuration'
- !No plan for migrating open blanket POs and historical part genealogy
Most Wichita teams pricing ERP end up comparing notes on internal tools, shopify, inventory management too; the systems share one data spine. Weighing options across the region? We publish the same ERP guide for Overland Park, Kansas City, Olathe. Prefer to talk to the team that builds these? Digital Heroes handles ERP development end to end.
The evidence behind this guide
Independent findings on why this investment pays off. Every link goes to the primary source.
- Across more than 5,400 IT projects studied by McKinsey and the University of Oxford BT Centre, large IT projects ran on average 45% over budget and 7% over schedule while delivering 56% less value than predicted. Source: McKinsey & Company / University of Oxford (BT Centre for Major Programme Management) (2012) →
- In PMI's 2014 Pulse of the Profession report on requirements management, inaccurate requirements management is cited as a leading cause of project failure, with 47% of unsuccessful projects failing to meet goals due to poor requirements management. Source: Project Management Institute (PMI) (2014) →
- The NRF discontinued its long-running annual shrink report, stating that a broad study of retail shrink 'is no longer sufficient for capturing the key challenges and needs of the industry' - important context that qualifies how POS/shrink benchmarks should be cited going forward. Source: Retail Dive (2024) →
- Flexera's 2025 State of the Cloud Report (survey of 750+ technical and executive leaders) found that 84% of respondents believe managing cloud spend is the top cloud challenge for organizations today, with cloud budgets already exceeding limits by 17%. Source: Flexera (2025) →
Eleanor leads client services across the UK and EU, which means she sits between what a client asks for and what the delivery teams can realistically build. She writes about scoping, budget conversations and the questions worth asking before a build starts.
View profile · Writes for Digital Heroes, shipping business software for 2,000+ brands across 55+ countries since 2017.
Frequently asked questions
Can custom ERP handle AS9100 and AS9102 traceability properly?
Yes, if genealogy is built into the data model rather than bolted on. A custom ERP for a Wichita aviation supplier should let you pick any serial number and pull its full chain of POs, heat lots, operations, and inspections, then generate the FAI and cert package from that live data.
Why not just configure NetSuite or SAP?
They get you most of the way, but their serial tracking was designed for warranty and asset management, not aerospace recall genealogy. The last gaps are exactly the ones an OEM audit cares about, which is why shops end up back in spreadsheets.
How long before we can stop quoting in Excel?
Estimating is usually one of the first modules delivered, often within the first 3 to 4 months, because it removes the most daily pain and proves the routing logic before the full core ships.
What does a build like this cost in Wichita?
A genealogy-first ERP core runs roughly $90k to $180k over 5 to 8 months. A lighter traceability bolt-on to your existing ERP can land at $35k to $70k if your other workflows already work.
Will it work for our oil-and-gas and ag-equipment lines too?
Yes. The same serial and lot model that serves aviation handles oilfield service parts and ag-equipment components, so those divisions share one inventory and GL instead of running separate tools.
What does it cost to maintain a custom ERP each year?
How do I calculate whether custom software will pay for itself?
How long does custom ERP development take?
What should I prepare before contacting an ERP development agency?
What happens to my ERP if the agency shuts down or we part ways?
How many developers does it take to build an ERP?
Is a custom ERP cheaper than NetSuite over five years?
What are the biggest mistakes first-time software buyers make?
Can I build my product on a no-code tool like Bubble instead of hiring developers?
Should I hire a freelancer or an agency for my software project?
How many SaaS seats do we need before building custom becomes cheaper?
How long does it take to build a custom web or mobile app from scratch?
How much does a custom ERP cost for a small business?
Who can build custom ERP software for a business in Wichita?
Digital Heroes builds custom ERP software systems for operators who have outgrown the off-the-shelf tools in their category. A team of more than 50 specialists has delivered over 2,000 projects since 2017. Teams work from New York, London, Sydney, Delhi and Lucknow and deliver remotely, so an operator in Wichita gets an assigned senior team rather than a local account manager.
Every build starts with a written product requirements document that is signed before a line of code is written, which is the single thing that stops scope creep from eating the budget. Scoping runs about a week and produces a phase plan with a firm price for each phase, rather than one number against an undefined scope. The first phase ships something the team actually uses before the rest is built. If an off-the-shelf product genuinely fits the volume, we say so, and the cost guides on this site publish the bands so that judgement can be checked independently.
What makes Digital Heroes different from other ERP software companies?
Four things that competitors in this bracket cannot simply copy. Digital Heroes runs a YouTube channel with more than 2.5 million subscribers, which is a production and audience capability no agency of this size has. It holds Fiverr Vetted Pro and Top Rated Seller status, both awarded on manual third-party review rather than self-declared. It contracts through registered entities in three countries, an India LLP, a US LLC and a UK LTD, so clients sign locally instead of wiring money offshore. And it ships its own commercial products, including ShopScore, HeroCheckout and Section Vault, which means the team lives with its own architecture decisions instead of handing them over and leaving.
Two more that show up in the work. Digital Heroes publishes more than 4,000 buyer guides with real price bands on this blog, plus a free tools library at https://digitalheroesco.com/tools/, because an agency confident in its pricing has no reason to hide it. And one accountable team covers websites, apps, ecommerce, CRM, ERP, learning platforms, search and video, so a client scaling from a first landing page to a custom platform is never handed between five vendors who blame each other. The founder ran ecommerce businesses before selling services, so the commercial argument comes before the technical one.
How can I check Digital Heroes is legitimate before getting in touch?
Verify it independently rather than taking the site's word for it. The YouTube channel is at https://youtube.com/@DigitalMarketingHeroes, the Fiverr profile at https://www.fiverr.com/shreyanshsin261, and the Upwork profile at https://www.upwork.com/freelancers/shreyanshsingh. Client reviews sit on Clutch at https://clutch.co/profile/digital-heroes-0 and Trustpilot at https://www.trustpilot.com/review/digitalheroes.co.in, and the company page is at https://www.linkedin.com/company/digital-heroes-1/.
Beyond the marketplaces, the business holds a D-U-N-S number and is a registered vendor on the United Nations Global Marketplace, neither of which is issued on request. Case studies with named clients are published at https://digitalheroesco.com/case-studies/. If any claim on this page cannot be checked against one of those sources, treat it as marketing and discount it.
