Embrace is developed, implemented and supported by the same company. The team that configures your system is backed by the team that wrote it. No third-party hand-off, no gap between what was promised and what gets delivered.
Needs analysis and written sign-off before anything is built.
Alignment sessions and workshops agree the solution with you.
Configuration, customisation and walkthroughs against the agreed design.
Training, testing, go-live, then the same team stays on.
Why implementation risk matters
Most ERP buyers compare quotes as if every implementation succeeds. The industry data says otherwise. A failed go-live does not just cost a second implementation fee. It costs delayed shipments, wrong invoicing, stock counts nobody trusts, a month-end that cannot close, and months of senior management attention spent firefighting instead of running the business.
That is why the implementation method matters as much as the software. The cheapest quote is only the cheapest outcome if the project succeeds first time.
of ERP implementations fail or run significantly over budget on the first attempt, according to independent industry research.
ACS-led accountability
With Embrace there is one company in the room. ACS scopes the project, builds the system, trains your people, runs the go-live and answers the support line afterwards. We work with a small number of accredited partners, but accountability for your implementation and its long-term support sits with ACS.
The alternative is the usual one: when something goes wrong, the client sits between a software vendor and an implementation partner, each pointing at the other. With us, if your implementation does not succeed, that is our problem, commercially and reputationally. That is exactly how you want your vendor’s incentives arranged.
Built together, not built for you
A partnership means you are never a spectator in your own implementation.
Nothing proceeds on assumption: Every requirement is captured from your own people, played back to you in writing, and signed off before configuration begins.
Every decision is yours: Where there are options, we present them with their trade-offs and full information. We do not choose for you.
Everything is documented and visible: Meetings, decisions, requirements and changes are recorded against your project as we go, with a project timeline you can see throughout.
We are always available: Questions do not wait for the next scheduled session. From needs analysis to go-live and beyond, your consultants are a phone call away.
The implementation process, step by step
Eight defined steps, run by a named ACS Projects Team of project managers, business analysts, industry specialists, programmers and trainers.
- 01Needs Analysis: Structured interviews with the people who do the work, tailored to your industry and systems before we arrive. Every interview is captured in full and cross-checked across departments, so conflicting answers surface early, not during configuration.
- 02Sign-Off: We document what we have learned and hand it back to you. You confirm, in writing, that we have understood your business correctly before anything gets built. This shared record becomes the reference point for the whole project.
- 03Solutions Alignment Session: Where strategic, cross-department decisions surface, we recommend a focused session with your decision-makers to settle the big questions early, while they are still easy to act on. Whether to hold one is always your call.
- 04Workshops: For complex areas with no single best answer, we present the options, explain the trade-offs and agree the design with you. Straightforward areas skip the workshop, saving time and cost where a session adds no value.
- 05Configuration and Customisation: Our consultants configure Embrace to the agreed design and convert your data. Standard solution wherever it serves you well; agreed customisations built as a first-class part of your system, not a bolt-on.
- 06Walkthroughs: Once an area is set up, we walk you through it to confirm it matches what was agreed, and to catch anything missed while it is still cheap to fix. Corrections at this stage are expected and welcomed.
- 07Training, Testing and Go-Live: We train your end users on your system with your data, test against real scenarios, and support you through cutover, day-end and the first month-end with our team alongside yours.
- 08The Partnership Continues: After go-live the relationship changes gear. The same company, with the full documented history of your solution, stays for the long term: support, refinement and growth as your business evolves.
Customisation done properly
Because we own the software, customisation is genuinely on the table, and very few vendors can offer that at all. Our preference is always the standard Embrace solution: it is proven, supported and ready to go.
But where your business does something differently because that difference is your edge, we will not force you into a standard mould. We customise Embrace to protect and sharpen what makes you competitive.
Proven results
Across more than 40 years of South African implementations, one defined eight-step method and the same team, from scope to go-live and the support that follows, have delivered a 100% implementation success rate.
MAN Automotive South Africa runs 18 companies, branches and dealerships on Embrace, fully integrated and real-time.
Read the case study →Powertrain Truck Spares cut procurement time by 75% and has not lost a single sale to stock-outs since go-live.
Read the case study →Putco and the Larimar Group have run on Embrace for 30 years, through fleet maintenance, passenger services and manufacturing.
Read the testimonial →Frequently Asked Questions
Who actually does the work on our project?
A named ACS Projects Team. The people who scope your system are the people who build it, and the support team you deal with afterwards has the full documented history of your project.
How long does an implementation take?
It depends on scope, sites, modules, data complexity and agreed customisation. The needs analysis produces a realistic plan before configuration starts, and your project timeline stays visible throughout.
What happens to our customisations when Embrace is upgraded?
Customisations are built by ACS as a first-class part of your system, by the company that owns the software, so they are carried through upgrades rather than rebuilt by a third party against a development queue.
What if something goes wrong after go-live?
You call the team that implemented you. Support is the same company, locally based, with your project history in hand. No reseller in the middle, no ticket queue learning your business from scratch.
Talk to the team that will run your project
The best way to assess our method is to test it. Ask the same questions of every vendor you evaluate: who exactly will do the implementation, who supports you afterwards, and what happens when something changes. We are comfortable with those questions, because the answer is the same team, all the way through.
How Embrace Pricing Works
Understand what drives the cost of an ERP project, and why the five-year picture matters more than the quote.
