illycaffè A strategic upgrade for a faster, safer, and disruption-free ERP system
The company
- Industry
- Food & Beverage
- Solution
- Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems
- Integrations, Data Strategy & Infrastructure
- Managed Services
- Project
- JD Edwards Upgrade and Cloud Migration
- With us since
- 2004
The challenge
Founded in Trieste in 1933, illycaffè is a family-owned company renowned worldwide for the quality of its coffee and the excellence of its supply chain.
Operating in over 140 countries with 13 operating sites, the company manages its business processes through JD Edwards, the Oracle ERP system implemented by Alfa Sistemi back in 2004.
In 2023, illycaffè launched a digital transformation initiative to strengthen efficiency, scalability, and security across its IT infrastructure. A key milestone in this strategy was the “Journey to Cloud” project, which involved the migration of corporate systems to a cloud environment.
JD Edwards was at the heart of this infrastructure, but the version used was no longer supported by Oracle. This presented illycaffè with a strategic choice:
- Keeping the existing JD Edwards version and migrating only the infrastructure to the cloud, thus risking a more complex and potentially problematic upgrade later.
- Combining the migration with the ERP upgrade, modernizing the system, restoring full vendor support, and improving overall performance.
After in-depth consultation with Alfa Sistemi, illycaffè chose the second option: the combined implementation of both projects would reduce long-term risks and deliver a faster, more secure ERP system.
However, this decision involved several challenges:
- Maintaining business continuity during the upgrade without impacting operations.
- Managing a complex integration ecosystem, with more than 40 integration connections to JD Edwards.
- Completing the migration within 48 hours.
A project of this scale required a partner with deep technical expertise and thorough understanding of illycaffè’s business, capable of delivering a seamless and secure transition.
What our client says →
The solution
To ensure a smooth transition with no business disruption, Alfa Sistemi adopted a structured, collaborative approach, planning every detail and working closely with illycaffè’s IT team.
The project was conducted in multiple phases, with rigorous testing in a dedicated environment before the final switchover. This allowed the teams to validate more than 40 integrations and resolve any potential issues in advance.
The most critical phase—the actual migration—had to be completed over a single weekend to avoid downtime for the company’s 1,000+ JD Edwards users. Alfa Sistemi developed a precisely coordinated transition strategy that included:
- creating a test environment to safely simulate the upgrade
- validating all business processes to ensure workflows would run flawlessly in the new release
- developing a detailed migration plan with on-site specialists ready to respond instantly if needed
- completing the cutover in just 48 hours, starting Friday evening and finishing by Sunday night
- providing post-go-live monitoring, with Alfa Sistemi’s staff on site at illycaffè’s headquarters to support users and address any need.
As a result of this strategy, users noticed no change in their daily operations except for significantly improved performance.
By Monday morning, the entire system was fully operational, its interface was familiar, and its performance faster and more effective.
As a result, illycaffè now has a more stable, secure, and high-performance ERP environment. Furthermore, the company completed the transition without interrupting business operations and strengthened its partnership with Alfa Sistemi even further.
Benefits and results
Thanks to Alfa Sistemi’s structured approach, illycaffè successfully completed its JD Edwards upgrade and cloud migration and achieved measurable results both operationally and strategically.
No operational disruption
The entire migration was completed within 48 hours, with no impact on production or operations. Users noticed only one change: a faster, more responsive system.
Improved performance
The upgrade significantly increased process speed:
- Daily operations in JD Edwards are smoother and more efficient
- Report generation for top management is faster and more reliable
- The year-end account batch process was reduced from 27 hours to just 12—a reduction of more than 50%
Greater stability and security
With the new release fully supported by Oracle, illycaffè now benefits from enhanced security, reduced vulnerabilities, and long-term reliability.
A stronger partnership
The partnership between illycaffè and Alfa Sistemi has grown even stronger—built on trust, in-depth business knowledge, and a client-focused business consulting approach.
