Global Shop Solutions ERP software provides applications that help manufacturers to deliver quality parts on time, with applications that include Shop Management, Planning & Scheduling, Inventory, Accounting, Quality Control, and CRM.
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Infor VISUAL
Score 7.5 out of 10
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Infor VISUAL is an ERP software focused on manufacturing companies with business intelligence, planning and scheduling, and pricing, quoting, and estimating capabilities, among others.
We have already met with three companies in our region and hosted them for several hours to see how we utilize Global Shop Solutions ERP in our daily work. This speaks to our satisfaction with the software, as well as our ongoing commitment to the notion that if you want to learn something well, learn to teach it. We have a great group of users here who participate in the weekly Friday Features and who try to utilize all of the modules to their full effect to benefit not only individual workflows, but to help the entire company output. It is well suited in our experience for manufacturing. That is the only scenario where we have experience or where we feel we can make a judgement call.
I struggle to identify a scenario where VISUAL is an appropriate solution. We used VISUAL because it was a legacy system and the cost/complexity of changeover seemed daunting. The user interface is poor as is the interconnectedness of the various screens and menus. This might be an acceptable piece of software for a continuous manufacturing environment with little variation of basic design, but we have had to write multiple add-on macros in order to get VISUAL to work effectively for us.
The CRM has really advanced and allows us to track the efforts of our sales staff, as well as identify trends. We are heavily using this system to track our sales team's progress and utilize the events, opportunities and to-do tasks as well as identifying the customer history all in one spot.
Supply and Demand section is used by pretty much everyone. This allows us to identify what is on-hand and the history of the parts' use. It is easy to follow and make changes.
Order Entry allows us to track all orders in an easy fashion. This is very straightforward and simple to use.
Infor Visual has a standard way of addressing business operations: sales orders, invoicing, reporting. It is easy to train operators used to using a manual or other ERP system.
Material control is easy for production runs, R&D material lists and repairs. The process of receiving, issuing and returning material to inventory is facilitated by standard interfaces that are easily learned by material control operators.
Engineering changes to bills of material are facilitated by the "engineering Master" flexible editing capability. The version control for the BOM's can be as detailed or vague as the process designed dictates. One item of a BOM or the entire BOM can be changed quickly and approved for production that day.
VTA has been extremely unreliable. I would not recommend it. It is not customizable at all. There is no logical way to handle shift differentials which is a huge issue with a company that runs 24/7.
If you do not have a schedule set up, they cannot clock in. This poses a problem for anyone that gets called in on a shift they don't normally work on.
Good Technical and Customer Support during and after implementation tasks. Good Project Plan and Management support for implementation and post implementation. Financial functionality could be more comprehensive particularly with Budgeting and Cash Management. Inventory Management capability was adequate but could be more comprehensive as well. "Out of the Box" functionality was adequate but requested add-ons and enhancements seemed to be a bit pricey.
I would rate Global Shop Solutions ERP’s overall usability an 8 out of 10. The system is very capable and flexible once properly configured, but it does have a learning curve and some parts of the interface and navigation can feel a bit dated or complex for new users. Overall, after initial training and setup, it supports daily work efficiently and reliably, which is why it deserves a high score
Could have used more hands-on approach. There are multiple webinars and information sessions but until you actually use the system, these are not very helpful.
We unfortunately did not evaluate any other ERP software. VISUAL was a legacy system and we determined that changing systems would be too difficult, and not cost effective. We reached out to our local VISUAL rep who knew how the software functioned, but not how to apply it more appropriately to our business model, so we continued on with what we had rather than looking elsewhere.
See instantly all information for part number, sales history, customer info, makes phone calls easy instead of having to say, let me look into that and get back to you
Save money on purchasing goods, see history, now inventory levels, helps make sure we don't run out of items
