As the industrial landscape continues to evolve at an accelerated pace, manufacturers face increasing pressure to remain competitive, cut costs, and respond to shifting customer demands. A key enabler of success is leveraging the right technology—tools that not only streamline operations but also unlock new opportunities for growth and innovation. Infor OS, a transformative platform that is reshaping the future of industrial manufacturing.

Infor OS is a comprehensive cloud-based platform designed to integrate various business processes and provide manufacturers with the tools they need to enhance efficiency, innovation, and flexibility. By combining cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, the Internet of Things, and data analytics, Infor OS empowers manufacturers to stay ahead of the curve and drive their businesses into the future.

What is Infor OS?

Infor OS is an enterprise-grade platform built specifically for the modern, digital-first world. It acts as the backbone of Infor’s cloud-based enterprise resource planning solutions, connecting disparate systems, applications, and data sources within a unified ecosystem. Infor OS integrates seamlessly with other Infor software, enabling manufacturers to streamline operations, reduce silos, and improve real-time decision-making.

The platform provides a range of features that help manufacturers optimize their operations:

Data Integration & Connectivity: Infor OS connects all facets of the manufacturing business, enabling seamless communication and data flow across systems. This means better collaboration, smoother workflows, and reduced time spent on manual data entry.

Cloud-Native Architecture: Being cloud-based, Infor OS offers unparalleled flexibility, scalability, and security. Manufacturers can access the platform from anywhere, on any device, ensuring that teams are always connected and in control.

Advanced Analytics & AI: Infor OS leverages powerful AI and machine learning capabilities to analyze massive amounts of data, providing manufacturers with actionable insights. This enables predictive maintenance, demand forecasting, and other data-driven decision-making processes that can dramatically improve operational efficiency.

A New Era of Efficiency

The hallmark of Infor OS lies in its ability to optimize processes and reduce inefficiencies at every stage of production. By centralizing data and automating repetitive tasks, manufacturers can focus on value-added activities rather than getting bogged down by manual work.

1. Streamlined Operations

Infor OS enables end-to-end visibility into operations, giving manufacturers real-time access to critical data, production schedules, and inventory levels. This transparency allows companies to monitor their processes continuously, identify bottlenecks, and take corrective actions promptly.

2. Improved Collaboration

In traditional manufacturing environments, departments often work in silos, leading to communication breakdowns and delayed decision-making. Infor OS breaks down these barriers by connecting various functions within the business, ensuring that every department—from sales to procurement to production—has access to the same real-time data.

3. Reduced Downtime and Maintenance Costs

Infor OS uses AI-powered predictive maintenance tools to monitor machinery in real time. By analyzing sensor data from IoT-enabled equipment, the platform can predict when a machine is likely to fail and recommend timely interventions. This helps manufacturers reduce unplanned downtime, extend the lifespan of their equipment, and lower maintenance costs.

Fostering Innovation in Manufacturing

Beyond just optimizing existing processes, Infor OS paves the way for true innovation in the manufacturing sector. By providing manufacturers with advanced analytics, automation capabilities, and new digital tools, Infor OS helps businesses unlock their creative potential and transform their operations.

1. Smarter Product Development

Infor OS enhances the ability to design and manufacture products that meet customer demands more effectively. With better data insights, manufacturers can identify trends, gauge customer preferences, and develop smarter products that are aligned with market needs. This accelerates the product lifecycle and allows for quicker go-to-market times.

2. Agility and Flexibility

One of the key benefits of cloud-native platforms like Infor OS is the level of flexibility they offer. Manufacturers can quickly adapt to changing market conditions, whether it's scaling operations up or down, responding to supply chain disruptions, or experimenting with new production methods. This level of agility is crucial for staying competitive in the fast-paced industrial world.

3. Sustainability Initiatives

In a world where sustainability is becoming increasingly important, Infor OS enables manufacturers to track their environmental impact and optimize resource usage. By leveraging data analytics and AI, manufacturers can better understand energy consumption patterns, minimize waste, and make environmentally conscious decisions that contribute to a greener future.

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Wholesalers face constant pressure to streamline operations, reduce costs, and deliver exceptional service to customers. Whether dealing with high order volumes, inventory complexities, or fluctuating demand, achieving operational efficiency is paramount for survival and growth. This is where Infor ERP, equipped with its advanced Warehouse Management System (WMS), steps in to transform the way cabinetry wholesalers manage their processes.

While sound supply chain management principles can apply to practically every organization, each supply chain is as unique as the businesses it supports. Every supply chain must include its unique blend of elements, such as product mix, go-to-market objectives, and supplier management strategy that best fits its markets.

Industry analysts sometimes squabble over the pros and cons of single-tenant versus multi-tenant deployment. While single-tenant deployment may have been a viable solution for some organizations recently, multi-tenant deployment offers numerous benefits for organizations looking to modernize their operations. As a true cloud-based platform, multi-tenant deployment can provide vast storage, speedy implementation, and advanced security capabilities.Multi-tenant vs single-tenant cloud deployment

Whilst ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) is the business management tool used across the organisation, a manufacturing execution system (MES) software is exclusively designed to be used in the factory environment to orchestrate, trace, record, and monitor the entire manufacturing process, from raw materials to semi-finished and finished goods. 

Positioned as an intermediary layer between Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and process control systems, an MES empowers decision-makers with crucial data, enabling them to enhance plant floor efficiency and optimize production.  
 

As the manufacturing world continues to evolve to meet new challenges, there’s a step-change in innovation for the products and services that are delivered and supported. Many industry insiders are expressing the need for a focus on driving sustainable (and profitable) business growth. Deloitte suggests digital investment and supply chain resilience as the key pillars. Partnerships are also increasingly important to achieving sustainable business growth, whether that’s upstream or downstream within your supply chain or enabling partners such as application and technology providers.

In all of those partnering scenarios, it’s important to have a common understanding of your desired outcomes, so you can ensure you’re all speaking the same language, which helps shorten the time to value. Manufacturing is shifting towards industry-specific applications and these applications are now nearly always delivered in the cloud to maximize adoption, flexibility, availability, and security, as well as reducing through-life cost of ownership. In fact, Gartner forecasts end-user public cloud spending to grow by 18% through 2021.

Managing global freight and ocean container movement now requires more dedicated insight as companies have expanded internationally. And no event outside of COVID-19 has exposed just how extensive, yet fragile, logistics networks and capacity flows have become over the last several decades.

To adapt, some manufacturers have adopted progressive supply chain approaches that move from "lean models to more flexible ones like "sense and respond." But not all businesses have successfully met the challenges.

Globalization forces supply chains to consider all events, from regional holidays and ocean weather patterns to geo-political turmoil and currency fluctuations. Moreover, 2020 introduced yet another element: navigating a global pandemic.