Legacy Application Modernization and IFS ERP Integration: How a Global Supply Chain Company Rebuilt Its Recycling Order Processing System

Legacy application modernization becomes especially challenging when a business-critical system must evolve without replacing the database or disrupting daily operations.

For a Sweden-based global supply chain company trading recycled materials across Europe, Asia and the US, its recycling order processing system was central to commercial operations. The application relied on an aging Struts and JSP stack, while its accounting integration needed to move from Microsoft Dynamics GP to IFS ERP.

Tarento is modernizing the platform using Spring Boot, React, Kubernetes and Microsoft Azure while retaining the existing SQL Server database design and business logic. The engagement also introduces multi-currency transaction support, FX hedging, regional inventory enhancements and asynchronous integration with three IFS environments.

This case study explores how a phased modernization approach can replace aging application components and extend enterprise capabilities without requiring a complete database redesign.

At a glance

• Client: A Sweden-based global supply chain and sales solutions company
• Industry: Marketing and supply chain management, including recycled materials
• Scope: Modernization of the recycling order processing system, and accounting integration with IFS
• Regions: Europe, Asia and the US
• Engagement: Ongoing, covering application maintenance, the 2.0 rebuild and IFS integration
• What changed:
  • Struts and JSP replaced by Spring Boot and React
  • Containerized deployment on Kubernetes in Azure, with CI/CD through Azure Pipelines
  • Three IFS environments integrated through Azure Service Bus queues
  • Multi-currency and FX hedging support added
  • Inventory management extended for the US and Europe

About the project: modernizing a core supply chain application for global trade

The client is an international trading partner that connects suppliers and buyers across several continents, and recycled materials are a core part of its business. Every recycled-material deal across Europe, Asia and the US flows through its order processing system.

That makes the system the operational backbone of the business. It also raised the stakes on modernizing it. The application had to change without interrupting the trade that depends on it.

The challenge: an outdated Struts and JSP application and an accounting system that had to be replaced

The legacy system still worked. The problem was everything the business wanted to do next. Four constraints shaped the project:

• An aging technology stack. The original application was built on Struts and JSP. That made it hard to adapt and extend, especially for requirements like multi-currency transactions and FX hedging.
• A Great Plains to IFS migration. The accounting integration ran on Great Plains, which needed to be replaced. The new IFS integration had to work accurately across three regions.
• Inventory gaps in the US and Europe. The existing inventory management didn't meet the specific tracking and control needs of operations in those regions.
• A database that had to stay. The company required the existing Microsoft SQL Server database design, including its database logic, to remain. The application had to be modernized around it.

Struts and Great Plains are both technologies the market is moving away from:

• Struts 1. The Apache Struts project ended support for Struts 1 in 2013. Its end-of-life notice says that "security and bug fixes will no longer be provided."
• Great Plains. Microsoft Dynamics GP, the product formerly called Great Plains, stopped new perpetual license sales on April 1, 2025. Mainstream support ends on December 31, 2029, and security updates end on April 30, 2031.

Why it costs more to wait. In a McKinsey survey of 50 CIOs, respondents estimated that technical debt equals 20 to 40% of the value of their entire technology estate. They also said 10 to 20% of the technology budget for new products goes to resolving tech debt issues.

Why Tarento: application modernization with ERP integration built in

The trading company needed one team that could handle a Java application rewrite, a new frontend, cloud and DevOps, and a finance-grade ERP integration at the same time. Tarento brought all four, plus a willingness to work within the constraint most rewrites ignore: leaving the database alone.

"Modernize everything around the data, and leave the data layer the business already trusts exactly where it is."

What Tarento built: Order Processing 2.0

• A Spring Boot and React application that replaced Struts and JSP, with the existing SQL Server database design and logic adapted into the new architecture
• A containerized deployment on Kubernetes in Azure, with automated build and release through Azure Pipelines
• An IFS accounting integration connecting three separate IFS environments, using Azure Service Bus queues
• Multi-currency and FX hedging logic built on top of the existing business rules
• Regional inventory enhancements for the US and Europe
• One sign-in through Microsoft Entra ID, Microsoft's identity platform, formerly Azure Active Directory [4]

Approach and methodology: a phased modernization

Tarento delivered the work in six phases. Each one added capability without breaking what was already running.

Phase 1: Technology stack upgrade

The team moved the application from Struts and JSP to Spring Boot and React. The existing Microsoft SQL Server database, including its logic, was kept and adapted to the new architecture rather than redesigned. That kept data risk low and protected the business rules built up in the database over the years.

Phase 2: Cloud deployment and DevOps

The application was containerized and deployed on Kubernetes in Azure. Build and deployment now run through CI/CD pipelines in Azure Pipelines. That gives the business a scalable, resilient infrastructure and a repeatable way to release changes.

Phase 3: Multi-currency and FX logic

The legacy system had no support for multi-currency transactions or FX hedging. The team adapted the existing business logic and extended it with both. For a company trading recycled materials across three continents, that means deals can be recorded in the currencies they actually happen in, with currency exposure managed in the system instead of outside it.

Phase 4: IFS accounting integration

This was the heart of the Great Plains to IFS migration. The new platform posts to three separate IFS environments. Azure Service Bus queues handle the traffic in two ways:

• Parallel processing. IFS calls are processed in parallel instead of one at a time.
• Asynchronous callbacks. Posting responses come back asynchronously, so the order system doesn't wait on the accounting system.

This decoupled design is what makes the integration efficient and reliable across regions.

Phase 5: UI modernization and UX

The user interface was rebuilt in React. The result is a more intuitive and responsive experience for the trading and operations teams who use the system every day.

Phase 6: User authentication

Microsoft Entra ID now handles user authentication and management. That gives the organization one place to manage access, stronger security and simpler access control.

Technology stack: Spring Boot, React, Azure, Kubernetes and IFS

Layer	Technology
Backend	Spring Boot, Java and Kotlin
Frontend	React
Database	Microsoft SQL Server (existing design retained)
Cloud and containers	Azure, Docker, Kubernetes
CI/CD	Azure Pipelines
Integration and messaging	Azure Service Bus queues
ERP and accounting	IFS (three environments)
Identity	Microsoft Entra ID

Results and impact

The project is still running, and the outcomes so far are about capability and risk rather than headline numbers.

• Lower operational risk. Moving off outdated frameworks improved the system's stability and maintainability and reduced the risk of running unsupported software.
• More efficient accounting. The IFS integration and Azure Service Bus queues streamlined accounting processes, with faster transaction processing and better data flow between departments.
• New trading capabilities. Multi-currency and FX hedging support met critical business requirements and broadened the company's global trading capability.
• Inventory control that fits each region. Inventory management now meets the specific needs of US and European operations.
• A platform built to scale. Kubernetes and Azure Pipelines give the system an architecture that can handle higher transaction volumes and support global operations.
• A better daily experience. The React interface is more intuitive and responsive, which improves user satisfaction and cuts training time.

Before vs. after

	Legacy system (1.0)	Modernized platform (2.0)
Application stack	Struts and JSP	Spring Boot and React
Deployment	Traditional deployment	Containerized on Kubernetes in Azure, with CI/CD
Accounting integration	Great Plains	Three IFS environments via Azure Service Bus
Currency handling	No multi-currency or FX hedging	Multi-currency transactions and FX hedging
Inventory management	Didn't meet US and European needs	Enhanced for each region
Authentication	Application-level access	Microsoft Entra ID
Database	Microsoft SQL Server	Same SQL Server design, kept and adapted

Why this case study matters

Many legacy modernization projects stall because they try to change everything at once. This one shows another way. You can replace the application, the frontend, the deployment model and the ERP integration while keeping the database the business already trusts.

That makes it a useful pattern for any company running a Struts or JSP application, or planning a move off Dynamics GP, that can't afford to stop trading while it modernizes.

Running a core business application on an aging stack?

If your order processing or ERP integration still depends on Struts, JSP or Great Plains, Tarento can help you plan a phased modernization that keeps your data layer and your operations running.

Talk to Tarento about modernizing your legacy applications