Chadwicks Group, Ireland’s leading builders’ merchant with over 50 locations nationwide, relied on a legacy ERP system—Accustar—that had been developed and refined over 40 years. While the system contained decades of proven business logic and operational knowledge, it was built on a terminal-based “green screen” interface that could no longer meet modern expectations for usability, scalability, cloud readiness, or device independence.
Chadwicks faced a critical challenge: updating a mission-critical ERP platform without losing the substantial intellectual capital embedded in the legacy system. They had one important thing in their favor: Accustar leveraged InterSystems IRIS data platform technology, which gave Chadwicks the ability to scale, grow, and modernize Accustar without it being re-worked from scratch- saving all the legacy data. The InterSystems IRIS data platform had served them well for 40 years, and with this upgrade, it would stand poised to serve them another 40 years into the future.
After a highly selective search for a partner to help with this transformation, Chadwicks chose J2 Interactive to lead the phased ERP modernization initiative, turning Accustar into AccuPRO—a cloud-hosted, web-enabled ERP platform designed to enable Chadwicks to remain a leader in their industry.
The first phase of the project focused heavily on discovering what was possible. The user experience and user interface were the most significant parts of the modernization project, with a heavy emphasis on intuitive usability. While Accustar was well-loved by its users, it did require extensive onboarding and training, and one of the goals of modernization was an easier, more streamlined onboarding process, with minimal training. The approach began with a highly successful pilot focused on finance and credit control screens, validating the modernization strategy and establishing a repeatable model for expanding across additional modules.
Through their collaborations, Chadwicks and J2 developed a modern, responsive, and device-independent user interface while preserving the core Accustar business logic that Chadwicks had relied on for decades. Remaining on the InterSystems IRIS data platform, AccuPRO exposes legacy functionality through RESTful APIs and a responsive Angular-based interface, enabling secure access across desktops, tablets, and mobile devices. J2 provided end-to-end technical leadership throughout the engagement, modernizing critical business areas including credit control, financials, inventory, purchasing, logistics, and quotations.
While the project is only about halfway to completion, it is reaching key milestones in 2026. Through its progression, Chadwicks is successfully transforming a 40-year-old ERP system into a future-ready, cloud-based platform—without losing the intellectual capital embedded in its legacy technology or disrupting day-to-day operations. AccuPRO delivers a dramatically improved user experience for back-office and branch teams, supported by secure, scalable, and highly available cloud infrastructure. The modern architecture enables faster innovation through APIs and DevOps practices while providing a flexible foundation for business expansion and evolving operational needs. Following the success of the initial pilot, Chadwicks expanded the engagement, continuing to modernize additional workflows and infrastructure components. Today, AccuPRO stands as a resilient, modern ERP platform that supports Chadwicks’ scale, complexity, and growth ambitions, with J2 Interactive continuing as a trusted long-term modernization partner.
