Can you really implement 1C:ERP on your own?

When companies decide to automate their business processes with 1C:ERP, many of them run into a budget problem: this is a fairly complex project that requires a wide range of expertise. As a result, a comprehensive project can take years and cost tens, sometimes hundreds, of millions of rubles.

According to statistics, in 2025 many projects never started or were put on hold precisely because of the economic situation in the country. Even approved projects saw their budgets cut or redirected altogether. But marking time while waiting for a budget and losing ground to competitors is not an option.

Forward-thinking companies with their own IT departments are trying to implement ERP in-house. This approach has its pros and cons.

Benefits of in-house implementation:

• Savings: no spending on an external project team (30–50% of the total project budget).
• Control: full control over timelines, priorities, and quality of work.
• Knowledge stays in the company: your employees will learn the system in depth, which is critical for its further support and development.
• Flexibility: you can adjust the process quickly without coordinating with an outside company.

Risks and challenges:

• Lack of experience: the team may not know best practices and “hidden pitfalls,” which can lead to architectural mistakes.
• Extended timelines: the core team combines the project with their day-to-day duties, so the project may move more slowly.
• Heavy workload: risk of burnout among key employees.
• Subjectivity: it is hard to look at your processes from the outside. There is a risk of automating the “as is” instead of the “to be.”
• The cost of an “in-house team.” Even with an IT department, assembling a team of specialists is hard. Nobody can be an expert in everything, so you have to hire the experts the project needs. The average market salary of such an expert is about RUB 350,000–400,000 (≈ $3,500–4,000) per month.

Critical success factors for in-house implementation

Here are the basic recommendations for launching ERP on your own:

Management support. Without a mandate from the top, the project is doomed. The CEO should regularly check on progress and “sell” the idea to employees.

A single source of truth. Don’t let departments keep records in Excel “on the side.” All data must be in the ERP system.

A compromise between “as is” and “to be.” The system’s flexibility is a trap. Don’t copy old, inefficient processes. Use ERP as an opportunity to optimize.

Investment in training. Don’t skimp on 1C courses for your team. The knowledge will pay for itself many times over.

And even this does not always save a project.

When is in-house not the best idea?

• You have no IT specialists at all.
• Your business processes are highly complex and multi-stage.
• You need a large number of unique customizations.

So what can you do? How can you save on implementation without failing the project?

Tsifrovizatsiya Proizvodstva (CIFP) offers an anti-crisis ERP implementation

“You can keep waiting for a budget for a full implementation while losing time and money on inefficient processes. Or you can start moving toward your goal right now, using our brains and your hands,” says Anton Kulish, CEO of CIFP.

We offer a consulting-led implementation model: your employees do the technical work in-house, and our certified experts act as your external IT support.

Your team does all the routine configuration, data entry, and documentation work under our guidance. You get the expertise of an entire 1C:ERP launch project team, and your employees grow and learn through this collaboration.

You don’t pay for a full turnkey project, only for the hours of targeted expert support, saving up to 60–70% of the cost of a traditional implementation.

What can you buy for RUB 300,000 (≈ $3,000)? One month of a junior implementer’s work with questionable results, OR 100 hours of expert consulting from a team of pros who have already solved dozens of similar problems.

Get access to the collective expertise of a team of experts for the price of one senior specialist

Instead of hiring one generalist implementer who cannot be a deep expert in every module (Production, Logistics, CRM, Maintenance), you get targeted access to our company’s specialized experts:

• Production planning expert
• Maintenance management expert
• Costing expert
• Warehouse logistics expert, and others as your needs require

You pay only for the specific expert who solves your current problem. As a result, you are already taking concrete steps toward integrated ERP automation.

While you wait for a budget, your competitors are already taking action and cutting costs.

Service description

1. Free diagnostics: we run a preliminary analysis of your processes and together identify a targeted first step that delivers maximum impact at minimum cost (for example, setting up inventory management or basic planning).
2. Building a roadmap: we draw up a phased implementation plan (roadmap) at a pace that suits you, broken down into small blocks of 20–50 hours.
3. Buying a package of hours: you purchase a starter package of consulting hours per month (for example, 100 or 200 hours).
4. Working by priority: at any time, you can “spend” hours from the package on a specific task:

• Consultation on solution architecture.
• An online workshop for your team.
• Audit and review of the settings you have already made.
• Help getting through a difficult stage.
• Answers to specific questions in a “call and solve” format.

5. You get the expertise of an entire ERP launch project team, and your team grows and learns through this collaboration.

Packages

Standard service packages are under development.
A service package can be priced individually.
The minimum package starts at 100 hours.

Not sure your project will succeed? View our case studies

OUR PROJECTS

Ready to move toward modern automation? Contact us in any way that suits you!

Contacts:
+7 (499) 755-54-96

+7 (916) 007-81-01

✉️ sales@cifp.ru
🌐 https://cifp.ru