Visual South Insights

The sign industry runs on a wide range of technology. Some companies use commercial off-the-shelf software. Others have built systems over the years; spreadsheets alongside custom applications written a decade or two ago, often maintained by a single person and quietly approaching end of life. Newer generations taking over family businesses are looking at these setups and asking a reasonable question: is there a better way?

In January 2026, Epicor made it official: all new features for Kinetic, Prophet 21, and BisTrack will be developed exclusively for the cloud going forward. Final on-premises releases are scheduled for 2028, with active support tapering off through 2029. After that, on-prem customers receive only security patches and limited phone support, with no new features or new modules.

If your company does business with the Department of Defense, CMMC compliance is still a requirement. A recent 60-day pause was issued to provide clarity on implementation timelines. The underlying standards remain in place, and the day when companies will need to pass a third-party audit is still coming. The question is whether you are preparing for it.

Manufacturers have made the move to cloud-based ERP systems

It seems like just yesterday that the concept of cloud-based ERP for the manufacturing industry was far-fetched. But today’s reality is manufacturers are choosing cloud deployment over on-premise deployment virtually every time. That is a paradigm shift for those of us who have been working with enterprise applications in the manufacturing sector.

Why ERP projects fail

The vast majority of ERP projects are successful. There are obstacles and challenges associated with any large project, but good teams always succeed. That means you understood the specific steps in the ERP project, built a strong ERP implementation team, and ensured that business objectives drove the primary deliverables for the expected new and improved functionality.

Sign manufacturers have specific business system needs

What sign manufacturers have in common with other types of manufacturers is that they have to plan for material requirements, schedule jobs, and execute the production of those jobs. That being said, sign manufacturers have numerous requirements and needs that are unique to their industry. In this article, we’ll review how those unique requirements can be addressed with ERP for sign manufacturers, or sign shop ERP.

If you have spent any time inside Infor VISUAL ERP, you already know the system has a lot of capability. What you may also know, or suspect, is that getting the most out of VISUAL depends heavily on something that does not get nearly enough attention: your data.

As someone who has spent decades helping manufacturers evaluate and implement ERP systems, I know how difficult it is for companies to sort through competing vendor claims. Every ERP vendor has a polished website, compelling demos, and a long list of features. What most manufacturers really want to know is simple:

If you are in the market for a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, don’t just focus on the software’s functionality. Limiting your search criteria to just the ERP is like shopping for a new house and not factoring in the location. Not paying attention to or discounting the importance of other critical factors can narrow your choices, but increase your chance of being unhappy with what you ultimately choose – whether that’s a nice house in a bad location or new ERP that isn’t working for your company. The good news is this can be avoided. In the case of ERP, it comes down to closely evaluating the ERP implementation consultants you’ll be working with just as much as evaluating the ERP itself.

The future is bright for the continued growth of cloud ERP

More and more manufacturing companies are moving away from on-premise applications. Cloud-based ERP applications are the future for the industry due to the myriad of benefits: alleviated need for hardware, database, and operating system software; fewer internal or outsourced teams for maintenance; and never having to worry about being on the latest version of your ERP.