By Monica Badra, Founder, Aero NextGen

The aviation MRO sector is facing a pivotal moment. As digital transformation sweeps the industry, MRO leaders are confronted with a choice that will shape their operational future: continue investing in legacy ERP systems or pivot to a best of breed approach. Drawing on years of hands-on experience and conversations with industry peers, I believe the traditional software selection process is overdue for disruption—and that the path forward demands a more nuanced, operationally-driven approach.

Setting the Stage: Legacy ERP vs. Best of Breed

At its core, the debate comes down to philosophy and practicality. Legacy ERP systems promise a “one-stop shop”—a single, unified platform for finance, maintenance, inventory, HR, and compliance. In theory, this means seamless data flow, unified reporting, and simpler management. But as any MRO executive knows, theory and reality often diverge. Aviation is a complex, highly regulated industry with unique workflows and pain points. Legacy ERPs, built to serve many industries, often force MROs into rigid processes that don’t fit their needs. Customisations become the norm, ballooning costs and timelines.

The best of breed approach, by contrast, is about specialisation. Here, organisations select the most effective tool for each function—maintenance tracking, inventory, procurement, document control—and integrate them to build a tailored ecosystem. This model offers agility, rapid innovation, and the ability to address niche requirements. The flip side? Integration headaches, fragmented data, and the challenge of managing multiple vendors and user interfaces.

What Does This Look Like in Practice?

Legacy ERPs can deliver end-to-end visibility and automation, but only with significant investment in customisation and change management. The implementation journey is often long and disruptive. When done right, however, the payoff is real: data silos disappear, regulatory compliance is streamlined, and organisations gain a single source of truth.

Best of breed lets aviation companies and MROs cherry-pick aviation-specific tools, often developed by vendors who live and breathe the industry’s unique challenges. The result is faster access to next-gen features, better fit for operational workflows, and the flexibility to swap out underperforming tools. But this comes at the cost of greater system complexity and the risk of data fragmentation if integrations aren’t carefully managed.

What are the long-term impacts of selecting the wrong operating system for an aviation or MRO business?

The long-term impacts of selecting the wrong system are often underestimated. Beyond the immediate frustration of inefficient workflows, the wrong software can create operational bottlenecks across departments, leading to increased turnaround times, compliance risks, and lost business. Over time, organisations find themselves pouring resources into costly workarounds, employee retraining, and never-ending customisation projects.

Worse, a poorly chosen system can lock you into outdated technology that’s difficult to upgrade, making it nearly impossible to adopt new tools and adapt to industry changes. This stifles innovation and can erode your competitive edge. The right system isn’t just an IT decision—it’s a strategic investment in your company’s future resilience and growth.

Pros and Cons: A Realistic View

Legacy ERP Pros:

• Unified Data & Visibility: One system, one source of truth. Everyone—from finance to maintenance—works off the same real-time data, which is crucial for compliance and operational oversight in aviation MRO.
• Streamlined Workflows: End-to-end automation reduces manual handoffs, paperwork, and duplicate data entry. This means fewer errors and less wasted time. Agentic layers and AI agents are becoming increasingly more popular and are starting to automate manual workflows in Finance, Procurement, Customer Service, and other indirect functions.
• Simplified Back-End Management: One contract, one support team, one set of updates. Less finger-pointing when something breaks.
• Regulatory Alignment: Leading ERPs are built with large enterprise’s strict regulatory needs in mind—making audits and reporting less painful.

Legacy ERP Cons:

• Cost & Complexity: Implementation is a major project—expensive, time-consuming, and often disruptive. Customisation to fit aviation workflows can balloon timelines and budgets.
• Rigidity: One-size-fits-all rarely fits aviation perfectly. You may have to compromise on niche needs or wait for the ERP provider’s roadmap to catch up (or miss the trend).
• Change Management: Getting buy-in across all departments is tough. If adoption falters, the benefits evaporate.

Best of Breed Pros:

• Specialisation: You get the best tool for each job—maintenance, inventory, procurement, analytics—often from vendors who live and breathe aviation or that specific business function and/or technology.
• Innovation: Faster access to next-gen features, agile updates, and niche capabilities that legacy ERPs may lack.
• Flexibility: Swap out underperforming tools as your needs evolve, without overhauling your entire tech stack.
• Often better alignment with aviation-specific workflows

Best of Breed Cons:

• Integration Headaches: Stitching multiple systems together is complex. Data silos, sync issues, and finger-pointing between systems and departments are real risks.
• Fragmented User Experience: Teams juggle multiple logins and interfaces, which can hurt productivity and adoption.
• System Management Overload: More contracts, more support tickets, more moving parts to manage.

How should aviation leaders approach cost-benefit analysis when evaluating software solutions?

The true cost of a system includes implementation, customisation, ongoing support, training, and the opportunity cost of inefficiency or downtime.

On the flip side, benefits should be quantified in terms of measurable outcomes—reduced turnaround times, improved compliance, increased asset utilisation, and enhanced customer satisfaction.

We always advise clients to model best- and worst-case scenarios, factoring in both hard numbers and softer impacts like employee engagement and customer trust. The goal is to select a system that delivers sustainable value, not just short-term savings.

Why Is Software Selection Still Broken in Aviation?

Despite the stakes, many MROs still select software based on brand recognition, legacy relationships, or inertia. Too often, the process is driven by “relationships” or IT preferences, not by operational realities. The result? Costly workarounds, frustrated users, and technology that lags behind business needs. In an industry where margins are thin and compliance is non-negotiable, these missteps are more than inconvenient—they’re existential risks.

Aviation’s “backwards” approach to software selection has persisted for decades. Procurement cycles are slow, requirements are inconsistent and poorly defined, and decisions are often made without a clear understanding of the operational pain points that actually drive value. It’s time for a new model—one that puts operational fit, flexibility, and ROI at the center of the process.

How does the traditional RFP process in aviation fall short when it comes to ERP and software selection?

Aviation’s traditional RFP process is outdated. Too often, RFPs are generic, recycled from previous projects, or focused on ticking boxes rather than solving core operational pain points. Vendors respond with templated answers, and the process becomes a beauty contest rather than a real exploration of fit.

The result? Decisions are made on price, relationships, or superficial features—not on how the system actually supports your unique workflows. This approach also discourages smaller, innovative solution providers from participating, narrowing the field to legacy players.

To get real value, RFPs should be driven by operational leaders, grounded in real-world use cases, and open to new entrants. At Aero NextGen, we encourage clients to flip the process—start with a clear understanding of pain points, map out must-have workflows, and invite providers to demonstrate exactly how they’ll deliver value in those areas.

How Is the Market Responding?

The last five years have seen a wave of innovation, much of it driven by startups founded by ex-MRO or legacy ERP executives who intimately understand the industry’s pain points. These new entrants are building targeted solutions for workflow inefficiencies, supply chain bottlenecks, and technician productivity. Predictive analytics, RFQ automation, and cloud-based platforms are becoming the norm, not the exception. Even established players are rethinking their approach, offering modular systems and APIs to enable more flexible integrations.

Cloud-based MRO solutions, in particular, are transforming the landscape. They offer seamless upgrades, cost efficiency, real-time accessibility, and easier integration with other systems. This is a game-changer for organisations looking to scale, collaborate globally, and reduce IT overhead.

What expert lessons have you learned from MROs that have successfully navigated digital transformation?

One of the biggest lessons is that digital transformation is as much about people and process as it is about technology. The most successful MROs invest heavily in change management, ensuring buy-in from every level of the organisation. They don’t chase technology for its own sake—instead, they anchor every decision to business outcomes and operational realities.

Another key learning: successful MROs treat software selection as an ongoing process, not a one-off event. They regularly review their tech stack, measure ROI, and aren’t afraid to pivot when something isn’t working. Lastly, they foster close partnerships with solution providers, co-creating features and ensuring the software evolves with their needs.

What role do emerging technologies like AI, IoT, and cloud play in shaping the future of Aviation software?

Emerging technologies are no longer “nice to have”—they’re becoming table stakes. AI and machine learning are revolutionising predictive maintenance, anomaly detection, and resource optimisation. IoT enables real-time asset tracking and condition monitoring, while cloud platforms provide the scalability and accessibility modern companies require.

However, these technologies only deliver value when they’re integrated into solutions that fit your workflow. That’s why it’s critical to choose platforms that are designed to evolve, with open APIs and a track record of continuous innovation. The future of Aviation will be defined by those who can harness these tools without sacrificing operational fit or flexibility.

Final Advice for Aviation Leaders

If you crave simplicity, compliance, and holistic oversight, an integrated ERP is hard to beat—but be ready for a heavy lift.

If you value agility and want best-in-class solutions for each workflow (and have the IT muscle to integrate them), best of breed can deliver rapid wins.

Don’t let technology dictate your strategy. Start with your operational realities—complexity, scale, digital maturity—and work backward to the right solution. Whether you’re all-in on ERP, building a best of breed stack, or somewhere in between, success starts with independent, data-driven guidance. The right system is the one that solves your pain points and supports your ambitions.

About the Author

Monica Badra is the Founder of Aero NextGen, a brokerage for solutions in Aviation and MRO dedicated to advancing the sector through smart, fit-for-purpose digital solutions. With a background spanning hands-on MRO operations, digital transformation, and executive leadership at major aviation firms, Monica brings a unique blend of industry insight and practical experience. Under her leadership, Aero NextGen has become a trusted advisor to MROs and aviation companies worldwide, leveraging deep sector expertise and proprietary tools like the Solution Finder to match organisations with the technology and service partners best suited to their operational needs.