cimERP — Vertical ERP for Mid-Market Manufacturers

cimERP is an established German Mid-Market (mid-market) ERP originally developed by cimdata software GmbH, today part of the international ERP portfolio of US-based Aptean Inc. Since 1983 the cimERP brand has stood for "Made in Germany" software for mid-market manufacturers, combining deep discrete-manufacturing expertise with high configurability. The original headquarters in Westheim near Gunzenhausen in Middle Franconia remains a key development site, complemented by offices and partner structures in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Aptean's acquisition of cimdata in 2024 marked a strategic pivot that added investment capacity and international market reach without fundamentally changing the product's profile as a specialised vertical ERP. cimERP is regularly listed in Trovarit's "ERP in der Praxis" study and on selection portals such as IT-Matchmaker and Softselect, with consistent presence in comparison shortlists for the manufacturing industry.

Overview

cimERP is profiled on erp-software.org as a Tier 2 vertical-specific ERP with solid Mid-Market presence in the German discrete-manufacturing segment. The combination of 40 years of operational tenure with the Aptean acquisition is interesting: legacy depth combined with international scale-up. Aptean is a US-based ERP holding that has acquired numerous DACH vertical vendors over the past decade (including cimdata) and operates them as relatively autonomous brands with shared back-office investment. The cimERP product continues to be developed in Westheim with the original team largely intact. Customers gain access to Aptean's broader R&D investment but retain the close-knit DACH support culture that has historically been a strength of cimdata.

Functional sweet spot

cimERP covers the full ERP functional scope of a mid-market manufacturer and ships with several complementary specialist modules. The standard product includes production planning and control (PPS), procurement and material requirements planning, warehouse management, sales, master-data management, inventory, pre- and post-cost calculation, work-planning and subcontractor and packaging-material management. Optional modules add CRM, PIM, quality management, product configurator, shop-floor data capture (BDE), workflow, project management and CAD interfaces. Two flanking specialist products are particularly noteworthy: cimAPS as a visual production-scheduling board with algorithms for fine-planning and bottleneck optimisation, and cimAnalytics as an integrated data warehouse with OLAP-based reporting and dashboards for controlling, sales and production. This means cimERP can address advanced requirements for MES connectivity and business intelligence from one product family. Bill-of-materials and variant management are multi-level, which is particularly relevant for variant manufacturers and configurable products.

DACH positioning

cimERP is DACH-anchored with concentration in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and a strong customer base in vertical manufacturing segments. The localisation is comprehensive: native DATEV (the German accounting and payroll standard), GoBD compliance (the German principles for proper digital bookkeeping), ZUGFeRD and XRechnung e-invoicing and full German tax handling. The typical cimERP customer is a mid-market manufacturer with 20 to 300 employees, producing in make-to-order, variant or batch-manufacturing mode. Focus industries include plastics processing, metal manufacturing, machinery and apparatus construction, electrical and electronics assembly and similar discrete-manufacturing segments. Trade-media presence (Production Magazine, Maschinenmarkt, IT-Zoom) is regular, and the customer base is concentrated enough that cimERP is well known in the focus verticals while remaining unknown outside them.

Pricing and implementation

cimERP pricing is project-based and not publicly listed, in line with typical vertical-ERP commercial practice. Indicative ranges for a Mid-Market deployment: 60 to 120 euro per user per month for cloud subscription depending on activated modules, or one-off licence fees of 1,500 to 3,500 euro per user for on-premises with annual maintenance of 18 to 22 percent. Implementation is typically 6 to 18 months for a 30- to 200-user manufacturing deployment, with the longer timelines driven by variant-management complexity and the depth of the production-planning logic. Total cost of ownership over five years for a typical 50-user cimERP deployment sits in the 350,000 to 900,000 euro range. The cimAPS scheduling module and cimAnalytics BI add functional depth that would otherwise require third-party MES and BI investments.

Selection considerations

cimERP is a strong fit for DACH mid-market manufacturers in plastics, metalworking, machinery, electrical assembly or similar discrete-manufacturing verticals that value 40 years of operational tenure combined with Aptean's broader investment capacity. It is particularly compelling when integrated production scheduling (cimAPS) and BI (cimAnalytics) are required from one product family, when multi-level variant and BOM management are core, and when German-quality consulting and support are valued. It is less compelling for very small manufacturers under 20 users (where lighter vertical products often fit better), for upper-Mid-Market manufacturers above 300 users (where proAlpha, abas or Business Central with KUMAVISION provide more scale), or for process manufacturers in food, pharma or chemicals (where dedicated process vendors such as CSB-System, GUS-OS or Yaveon fit better).

Vendor homepage of cimERP

Current view of the website https://www.aptean.com/de-DE/

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Häufig gestellte Fragen

How long does implementing cimERP take?

An ERP implementation takes 3 to 18 months depending on complexity. Cloud solutions are often live in 4–12 weeks, while classic mid-market ERPs need 6–12 months for requirements analysis, customising, data migration and training. More under ERP implementation.

How secure is cimERP in terms of data protection?

For cloud ERPs, the server location (ideally EU/Germany), a data processing agreement (DPA) and BSI C5 or ISO 27001 certifications are key criteria. GDPR compliance should be explicitly documented by the vendor. The exact configuration depends on the industry, company size and customising depth of the specific ERP setup.

How is cimERP developed further?

Cloud ERPs typically receive monthly to quarterly releases automatically. On-premises ERPs have annual major releases with active patch maintenance. Release notes and the roadmap are available from the vendor.

What happens to my data if I cancel cimERP?

With cloud ERPs, a good vendor guarantees data export in an open format (CSV, JSON, SQL dump). The contract should explicitly regulate the data return obligation, deletion period and format. The exact configuration depends on the industry, company size and customising depth of the specific ERP setup.

Which support SLAs does cimERP offer?

Standard support usually covers weekdays from 8 am to 6 pm with a response time of around 4 hours. Premium/24x7 SLAs cost extra. With cloud vendors, availability SLAs (e.g. 99.9%) are important — check the contract!