Visual South Insights

Artificial intelligence has moved quickly from something manufacturers were watching to something they are actively evaluating. Tools such as ChatGPT and other general-purpose AI assistants have shown just how useful generative AI can be for writing, summarizing, researching, and analyzing information.

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 are constantly looking for ways to do more with the resources they already have. Whether it's reducing manual data entry, speeding up approvals, improving visibility into operations, or helping employees focus on higher-value work, the challenge is often the same: How do you improve efficiency without taking on a massive software project?

This article is part of our CloudSuite Industrial Feature Focus series.

Most manufacturers already have defined processes inside their ERP system. The problem is that day-to-day operations don’t always follow them. In systems like Infor CloudSuite Industrial (CSI), workflows are carefully designed, but what’s documented isn’t always what happens in practice.

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.

Artificial intelligence (AI) isn’t something manufacturers need to wait for. It’s already embedded within modern ERP platforms like Infor CloudSuite Industrial (CSI). AI is already working behind the scenes in CSI, helping manufacturers make smarter decisions, automate processes, and improve efficiency across the business.

In manufacturing and distribution environments, few things impact profitability as much as how materials are planned, tracked, and managed. Yet for many organizations, material management is still reactive, plagued by stockouts, excess inventory, and disconnected systems.