Marine Propulsion Leader HamiltonJet Achieves Digital Transformation with Strategic CloudSuite Migration

By 2019, HamiltonJet was operating on an 18-year-old implementation of Movex that had reached a critical point. The business faced concerns about end-of-life support, outdated technology, and an accumulation of 160 customisations that had become difficult to maintain and costly to upgrade. The team set their sights on adopting the cloud version of Infor M3 but knew their data quality and heavily customised environment meant they weren’t ready for a direct cloud migration. 

Their technical challenges extended beyond ageing infrastructure. Every custom script and development required double investment—once for the current environment and again for future cloud compatibility. HamiltonJet required a strategic partner to guide them through this complex, multi-phase transformation. 

Atturra, with a decade-long relationship and deep expertise in Infor M3 manufacturing implementations, was engaged to design and execute a transformation roadmap that would modernise their technology foundation while positioning them for long-term digital innovation. 

The transformation was delivered across three phases. 

Phase one focused on a comprehensive re-implementation rather than a simple lift-and-shift migration. Working collaboratively with HamiltonJet’s team, Atturra executed the move from legacy Movex to on-premise Infor M3. This involved rewriting the chart of accounts and making the strategic decision to eliminate all 160 customisations in favour of a vanilla implementation. 

Rather than trying to accommodate poorly designed customisations, Atturra guided HamiltonJet through business process changes that aligned with best practices. This approach required pushing back on short-term fixes to ensure the right long-term decisions were made. The team’s willingness to challenge assumptions ensured the system would be used as it was designed to be, rather than forcing workarounds. 

The on-premise implementation proved essential for the second phase, which began in 2023. This is when Atturra conducted the technical upgrade to Infor CloudSuite. Because HamiltonJet had adopted a vanilla approach and refined its data quality, the cloud migration was executed as a low-cost, low-resource technical transition rather than another expensive re-implementation. 

The third and ongoing phase focuses on continuous innovation and digital transformation. With a stable CloudSuite foundation in place, HamiltonJet now leverages modern Infor capabilities, including Experience Designer for enhanced user interfaces, a data lake for accessing historical data, and Infor Document Management with robust version control.  

Recent implementations include Mobile Action, which generates significant productivity gains, and Enterprise Performance Management, designed to streamline financial reporting. Planned initiatives include Service and Maintenance, Project Order Management, Infor MES, and Velocity Suites.