Industry Insight: Why ERP Data Stays Siloed, and What to Do About It

Most manufacturers don't have a data problem. They have a connection problem.

Production data lives in one system. Sales and customer data lives in another. Finance runs somewhere else entirely. Each system does its job well on its own, but without a way to connect them, the organization never gets the full picture, and neither do the people trying to run the business.

Why This Happens
ERP systems are often the core of a manufacturer's operations, but they rarely operate alone. Over time, businesses add third-party software for CRM, e-commerce, warehouse management, EDI, and more. Each addition solves an immediate need, but without integration, it also creates another silo.

The result is familiar across manufacturing: teams end up manually re-entering data between systems, waiting on reports that should be immediate, and making decisions without visibility into what's happening elsewhere in the business.

Integration vs. Enhancement
There are two ways to close this gap, and they solve different problems:

1. ERP Integration connects your ERP to the third-party software you use every day, creating a single source of data instead of several disconnected ones. Whether it's a one-way, two-way, or complex systems integration, the goal is the same: eliminate errors, reduce manual entry, and give everyone access to the same real-time information.
2. ERP Enhancement goes a step further, creating new functionality or modifying existing functionality within the ERP itself, so the system matches how your business actually operates rather than forcing your business to adapt to the system's limitations. Done right, enhancements use parameter-co

inPOWER 2026: Join Us in September!

📅 Event Dates: September 14-17 📍 Location: Ingleside Hotel, Pewaukee, WI

Join us at the highly anticipated inPOWER 2026 conference, where LX and BPCS customers connect to solve real problems and shape what's next for their ERP environment.

Stop by the Crossroads RMC booth

Crossroads RMC is proud to return this year as a Platinum Sponsor of inPOWER. As the trusted Infor partner with the largest Infor LX and BPCS practice in the United States, we've spent 40+ years helping manufacturers like you get the most from your ERP investment.

Whether you're planning a move to the cloud or looking to extend what you already have, our proven add-on solutions, deep consulting expertise, and growing network of partner integrations are designed to reduce costs, improve quality, and drive growth across your entire operation.

• LX/BPCS/IBM i Support Services – Scale your business with expert ERP assistance.
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• Infor OS Consulting – Unlock the full potential of your Infor OS environment.
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See you at inPOWER!

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Getting It Right the First Time: How Digital Work Instructions Are Changing the Shop Floor

For manufacturers running lean crews and tight schedules, small process breakdowns rarely stay small. A misread step, an outdated instruction sheet, or a new hire without enough guidance can lead to rework, scrap, or a missed deadline. The question isn't whether these issues will happen. It's how much they cost when they do.

Visual Job Execution (VJES) was built to close that gap.

What VJES Does

VJES delivers real-time work instructions, images, and videos directly to the shop floor, giving operators exactly what they need at each step of a job. Rather than relying on printed instructions that can go out of date or get left at the wrong workstation, operators always see the current, approved version of the job in front of them.

VJES works as a stand-alone system, but integrating it with your Infor ERP takes it further, turning it into a full data capture and traceability tool. Every step, every completion, and every performance metric ties directly back to your ERP, giving you visibility into shop floor operations you didn't have with paper.

Why It Matters

Getting a job right the first time isn't just about avoiding mistakes. It's about consistency across shifts, faster ramp-up for new employees, and confidence that the work being done matches the standard it's supposed to.

That shows up in the numbers. Manufacturers using VJES have seen:

• Training time reduced from 1 week to 3 days
• Quality scores improved from 68 to 93
• 100% first-pass yield maintained for 8 consecutive months

These aren't small gains. A new hire who's productive in days instead of weeks changes how a plant handles turnover. A quality score jump like that reflects fewer defects, less rework, and fewer surprises downstream.

Built for Infor Environments

For manufacturers running Infor LN, Baan, LX, or BPCS...

For years, paper work instructions have been a standard part of manufacturing. They were easy to distribute, simple to update, and familiar to operators.

But manufacturing has changed. Products are more complex, customer expectations keep rising, and as experienced employees retire, new hires often need to become productive faster than ever before. As a result, many manufacturers are rethinking how information is delivered on the shop floor.

The Challenge with Paper

Paper work instructions create several common challenges:

• Multiple versions of the same document
• Outdated instructions remaining at workstations
• Time spent searching for the correct information
• Longer training periods for new employees
• Inconsistent processes between operators

On their own, none of these seem like a major problem, but together they add up to real quality and productivity issues.

A Shift Toward Digital Work Instructions

One trend we're seeing across the manufacturers we work with is a move toward digital work instructions. Rather than relying on printed documents, operators receive the latest approved instructions directly at their workstation, along with supporting images, videos, and other visual aids. This helps ensure every operator is working from the same information, every time.

Manufacturers making this shift are also gaining new capabilities they didn't have with paper: capturing production data directly from the shop floor, improving traceability, and supporting standardized work across shifts and facilities.

What Manufacturers Are Reporting

Cloud migration can feel overwhelming, especially for organizations that have invested years in building and refining their ERP environment.

Infor's Leap program was designed to help organizations evaluate modernization opportunities through cloud readiness planning, industry-specific best practices, and a structured implementation approach.

The most successful cloud journeys begin with a clear understanding of your business objectives, integrations, reporting requirements, and long-term growth plans.

Whether you're actively evaluating cloud options or simply planning for the future, Crossroads RMC can help you assess your current environment and understand the available paths forward.

→ Learn more about Infor Leap

→ Contact Crossroads RMC to discuss your modernization strategy

For many manufacturers, ERP has been the foundation of their business for years. It manages orders, inventory, production, purchasing, and financials. But as technology and business demands continue to evolve, many organizations are beginning to ask a different question:

Is our ERP environment ready for what's next?

For some, that conversation includes cloud migration. For others, it's about integration, visibility, analytics, or supporting future growth.

The good news is that modernization doesn't have to start with a major migration project.

Start with the Business, Not the Technology

One of the biggest misconceptions about modernization is that it begins with selecting a new platform.

In reality, the most successful projects begin by understanding the business challenges you're trying to solve.

Questions worth asking include:

Disconnected systems don’t just create inefficiencies, they limit visibility, increase risk, and slow growth.

Across Infor LN/Baan and LX/BPCS environments, we help manufacturers connect their ERP with key business platforms so data flows accurately and in real time.

Quick Insight

Integration challenges are rarely about tools, they’re about how systems are connected and how data flows between them. When integration is built around your ERP, it creates a reliable foundation for efficiency, visibility, and scalability.

Real-World Example

A leading U.S. based pharmaceutical manufacturer needed to connect their Infor ERP with external platforms to eliminate manual processes and support growing volume.

Crossroads RMC implemented an ION-based integration that automated data exchange and created a secure, bi-directional flow of information.

The result:

• Eliminated high-volume manual entry
• Reduced errors and improved accuracy
• Increased visibility into key processes
• Enabled scalable growth without adding resources

→ Read the full case study

If you’re looking to connect systems more effectively or support growth without added complexity, we’d be happy to share what’s working.

Talk with our team 1.800.762.2077

Why this matters

Many integration challenges come from systems that don’t communicate effectively. Data is often duplicated, delayed, or manually transferred between applications, creating inefficiencies and limiting visibility.

What this solves

Infor ION provides a structured way to connect applications and enable consistent data flow across your environment, helping reduce manual processes and improve how information is shared.

How it works

Infor ION acts as a central integration layer, allowing systems to communicate using standardized messages.

In Infor LN, ION is natively integrated, enabling streamlined data exchange across applications.
In Infor LX environments, ION can be used as part of an integration strategy to connect ERP with external systems and platforms.

This enables: