How To Use Visual South for ERP Support

ERP support is often viewed as a break-fix service: something you use when an error appears or a process stops working. In practice, the most valuable support relationships are much broader than that.

Manufacturers regularly need help with reporting, cloud upgrades, process improvements, training, system administration, and ongoing ERP initiatives. The challenge is knowing where to turn when those needs arise.

If you are running Infor VISUAL or CloudSuite Industrial (SyteLine), Visual South provides support for both. This article explains what that support includes, how it differs from Infor support, and the different ways companies choose to structure it.

ERP support from people who know the software and the industry

The consultants who handle our support are the same people who lead our implementations. There is no tiered system where you start with a junior person and escalate from there. You are working with experienced consultants from the first contact.

These consultants know the software deeply and have real experience in manufacturing environments. ERP questions rarely live in a vacuum. Getting to the root of an issue usually means understanding how the shop floor operates, how orders move through the system, and how data flows from one area to the next. That context shapes how quickly and accurately we can help.

Over time, we also build familiarity with your specific environment: your customizations, your integrations, and the way your team uses the system. In some cases, we have worked with a customer’s system for a decade or more. That history means we can often diagnose and resolve issues faster than someone starting from scratch.

How to reach us for ERP support

Getting started with Visual South support is straightforward:

• Email support@visualsouth.com. Describe what you are dealing with: the issue, what you were trying to do, what outcome you were expecting. It can be one specific problem or a list of things that have been piling up.
• We assign it and get something scheduled. Everything goes through a ticket system. We assign each issue to the right consultant based on the skill set required and typically get something on the calendar within an hour.
• We work through it with you. Most support happens remotely via video calls or by phone. For some customers, on-site visits make more sense.

Types of ERP support

There is no single right way to structure ERP support. What we try to do is understand what a company actually needs and build something around that. Here is how our customers approach it:

Ad hoc support

Some companies just want to be able to send an email when something comes up and know it will get handled quickly. No retainer, no scheduled blocks. They have issues occasionally; they reach out, and we take care of it. For companies with relatively stable ERP usage and a knowledgeable internal team, this works well.

Scheduled blocks

Other companies want more structure. At the start of the year, they book a specific consultant for two days a month and put those dates on the calendar. Issues accumulate between sessions and get addressed in those working blocks. It gives them a predictable cadence and a dedicated resource, without the overhead of a full-time hire.

Standing availability

Some companies need more consistent access. We have had customers set up arrangements where a consultant is available on specific days and hours every week, for example Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 1 to 5. In those cases, we become an extension of their internal team. For companies that find it difficult to attract and retain ERP expertise in-house, this is often a more efficient solution than trying to hire for it.

Program and project management

Some customers have more going on than a support ticket here and there. Multiple sites, concurrent improvement initiatives, module implementations happening alongside day-to-day support needs. In those situations, we can provide a centralized point of contact to manage all of it: tracking progress across projects, running regular stakeholder updates, and making sure nothing falls through the cracks.

The person who usually ends up managing ERP initiatives internally already has a full-time job. When those responsibilities get stacked on top of everything else, things slow down. A dedicated resource focused on keeping projects moving makes a real difference.

Additional support services

Beyond resolving issues, these services come up regularly in our support engagements:

• Application Process Reviews (APR). Sometimes support tickets are symptoms of a deeper issue: the system is not set up optimally, or the team is not using it the way it was designed. An APR is a structured assessment of how your ERP is being used and where the gaps are. A good starting point for companies that feel they could be getting more out of the system.
• Reporting strategy and Power BI. Many companies have built reports over the years without a clear strategy. Nobody knows which ones are still valid, who is using what, or whether the underlying data is accurate. We help think through the reporting approach and, where it makes sense, build toward Power BI as a more flexible reporting layer. Accurate data is also foundational to any AI tool you might be evaluating.
• Cloud uplift management. For customers on the cloud, Infor pushes regular software updates. We help plan and manage those uplifts so customers can be confident that what was working before will still work after the update goes through.
• Month-end and year-end support. Closing periods are stressful without ERP complications on top of them. We can support teams through month-end, quarter-end, and year-end processes.
• Infor ticket management. When there is a bug in the software itself, we can manage the entire process with Infor on your behalf: submitting the ticket, tracking it, and reporting back on progress. Some customers prefer to have us handle that rather than navigating it themselves.

What about Infor support?

Infor provides technical support directly to its customers. It’s useful, but different than what Visual South provides. Here’s what you need to know.

If you are on VISUAL and current on your maintenance, you have access to technical support through Infor. If you are on a CSI subscription, support is bundled into the price. A lot of customers do not realize they have this, in part because of turnover and knowledge drain over time.

Infor support is well suited for narrow, specific questions: an error message you are getting, a question about how a particular function is designed. For that kind of issue, it works. You can reach Infor support through the Infor Customer Center.

Where it is more limited is in depth. Infor support is not going to help you think through a process design question, troubleshoot an issue that lives at the intersection of your configuration and your workflows, or help you understand whether you are using the system the right way for your business. Our consultants bring experience with both the software and manufacturing operations, and they can engage with the full context of your situation.

Ready to talk through your support needs?

Every company is in a different place with their ERP. Some need occasional help. Others need a more structured arrangement. We do not require you to have it all figured out before reaching out. Tell us what you are dealing with, and we will suggest something that fits.

Discuss your support needs with us here.