AdvancedInfor VISUAL (VISUAL Manufacturing)AI integration / SQL Server and VISUAL API Toolkit

Private AI Layer for Infor VISUAL On-Prem: Reference Architecture

Question
how to add AI to Infor VISUAL on-prem

Also searched as

  • Infor VISUAL AI integration
  • VISUAL Manufacturing chatbot SQL Server
  • VISUAL API Toolkit AI assistant
  • chat with VISUAL ERP data on-prem

Short answer

Infor VISUAL runs on SQL Server (or Oracle), so the quickest private AI path is a read-only reporting copy plus a local document index, a tool server with named read actions, and an open-weight model on your own GPUs. Use the VISUAL API Toolkit for writes only, with human approval, and mirror VISUAL user security in the tool server.

Applies to: Infor VISUAL (VISUAL Manufacturing) 8.x-era and later on-premises, SQL Server (Oracle in some estates)

How to build a private AI layer on Infor VISUAL

  1. 1List the questions to answer: open orders, work order status, inventory, purchasing, quality, plus documents such as drawings and certs.
  2. 2Create a read-only reporting copy of the VISUAL database (AlwaysOn secondary, log shipping or scheduled restore) and a SELECT-only service account.
  3. 3Map the tables and views you need and note site and entity filters, because VISUAL can run multiple sites or entities.
  4. 4Index drawings, work instructions and attachments with a local embedding model, with permission metadata.
  5. 5Expose named read actions through an MCP or tool server; each tool maps to one parameterised query.
  6. 6Serve an open-weight model on local GPUs and log every prompt, query and answer.
  7. 7Phase the rollout: read-only questions, drafts, then approved write actions through the VISUAL API Toolkit.

Data access paths in VISUAL

VISUAL stores data in a relational schema with readable table names: PART and PART_SITE for items, CUSTOMER_ORDER and CUST_ORDER_LINE for sales, PURCHASE_ORDER and PUR_ORDER_LINE for purchasing, WORK_ORDER for production, INVENTORY_TRANS for stock movements, CUSTOMER and VENDOR for partners. That readability makes SQL on a reporting copy the fastest first win; confirm column names in your own schema.

The supported programmatic layer for writes is the VISUAL API Toolkit, which applies business rules instead of raw table writes. Do not let AI write with UPDATE statements; transactions in VISUAL touch several tables.

Drawings, certs and notes live in a mix of VISUAL attachments, linked file paths and shares. Index the file paths and the files.

-- Reporting copy, read-only (verify column names in your schema)
SELECT TOP 50 co.ID, co.CUSTOMER_ID, co.ORDER_DATE
FROM CUSTOMER_ORDER co
WHERE co.STATUS = 'R'
ORDER BY co.ORDER_DATE DESC;

Reference architecture

Keep five components on your network: a reporting replica, a document index, a tool server, a model server and an audit store. The tool server holds the database credentials; the model never does.

For small plants, a single GPU server beside the database host can run the whole assistant, but keep the model on separate hardware from the production SQL Server. Air-gapped installs load weights and containers through a transfer station.

Use small, well-described tools such as open orders by customer, work order status by job, stock by part and warehouse, so the model rarely builds SQL itself.

Permissions and write-back

VISUAL has its own user and security setup that controls which functions and data a user can reach, and sites or entities can partition data. The assistant must honour those: map each person to their VISUAL user, scope queries by site or entity, and keep sensitive areas such as cost and pricing behind explicit grants in the tool server.

Write-back: only through the VISUAL API Toolkit or the VISUAL application, with a named user approving a drafted action such as a PO line change. Treat any direct SQL write as out of scope.

Sizing, limits and honest caveats

VISUAL estates often have 25 to 250 named users; one inference GPU normally handles the interactive load, with a document index in the single-digit to tens of GB. Use the calculator for your own numbers.

Limits: customised schemas and user-defined fields need mapping; older versions may differ in table or column details; costs and MRP results should be read from the system, not recalculated by the model. If the need is only standard reports, VISUAL's reporting tools may be enough before adding a model.

Try it here, free

Infor VISUAL Private AI Layer Blueprint Generator

Open full tool

Fill in your Infor VISUAL environment and get a ready-to-share architecture plan for a private, on-prem AI assistant.

Common pitfalls

  • !Pointing the assistant at the production SQL Server and slowing shop-floor transactions.
  • !Returning cost and pricing data to users who lack that security in VISUAL.
  • !Ignoring multi-site or entity filters so one plant sees another's orders.
  • !Writing with SQL UPDATE statements that bypass VISUAL business rules.
  • !Assuming column names without checking your version and customisations.

How an ERP-grounded AI assistant handles this

ERPray and DataRay can sit on a reporting copy of your VISUAL database, show the SQL behind each answer, respect user security, and run on your own GPUs. Write actions are drafts until a named user approves them.

See ERPray

Frequently asked questions

Can VISUAL use AI without the cloud?

Yes. A read-only SQL reporting copy, a local document index and an open-weight model served on your GPUs run entirely on your network, including air-gapped.

Is there an API for VISUAL?

The VISUAL API Toolkit exists for supported transactions. For reading, a SQL reporting copy is usually faster and safer for production.

How are VISUAL permissions mirrored?

Map users to VISUAL users and their site or entity access in the tool server, and apply those filters to every query and retrieval step.

Do I need a big GPU?

Usually not. A single modern GPU in the 24 to 80 GB class covers the interactive load of a typical VISUAL plant with a 8B to 32B model.

Related

Error fix

Fix a 401 Unauthorized error from Infor ION API

A 401 from ION API almost always means the credentials in the .ionapi file no longer match what ION API Gateway expects - not that the password is simply wrong. Check whether the Authorized App or service account behind the file was revoked, regenerated, expired, or issued for a different tenant, then re-test with a direct OAuth2 client_credentials call before touching any calling code.

How-to

Infor VISUAL REST API: what exists, the API Toolkit and how to wrap it

Classic Infor VISUAL integrates through the VISUAL API Toolkit (COM objects that apply business logic), direct SQL access for reads, and flat-file or EDI imports. A native REST API is not the traditional route. Most teams expose REST themselves by wrapping the Toolkit or SQL reads in a small service, or use Infor ION where their version and licence support it.

How-to

Infor VISUAL query tool and shop resource maintenance

To query VISUAL data, use a read-only SQL login in SQL Server Management Studio or a reporting tool against the VISUAL database, or the in-application query and reporting options your build provides. Shop resources, the machines and work centers that operations are scheduled on, are maintained in the Shop Resource area and drive scheduling, load and costing.

Error fix

Infor VISUAL error 19005: causes and step-by-step fix

Error 19005 is not a code we can tie to a single documented meaning, and published answers vary. In practice, numbered errors in VISUAL usually come from the database layer: a lost or failing SQL Server connection, an ODBC or client mismatch, or a permissions problem. The reliable way to fix it is to capture the full message text, test the connection outside VISUAL, and check the SQL Server error log.

How-to

Infor VISUAL system requirements: server, SQL Server, client and network

VISUAL runs on Windows with Microsoft SQL Server, using Windows client workstations. The exact supported Windows and SQL Server versions depend on the VISUAL release, so take them from Infor's release documentation, not from memory. This page lists what to verify, how to size, and where upgrades commonly break.

How-to

Infor VISUAL report builder: build a custom work order report

VISUAL reports are commonly built in Crystal Reports connected to the VISUAL SQL Server database, and then added to the application so users can run them. A work order report joins WORK_ORDER, OPERATION and optionally REQUIREMENT and PART, filters by work order, and formats it for the shop floor.

AI for ERP

AI for Infor VISUAL ERP: Answers and Agents for Job Shops

Add AI to Infor VISUAL ERP for make-to-order and job shop manufacturers: quoting, scheduling, and shop floor answers grounded in live VISUAL data, on-prem.

AI for ERP

An Air-Gapped Private LLM for SyteLine, Built for Defense Suppliers

Deploy a private LLM on an air-gapped network alongside Infor SyteLine for defense suppliers: no internet egress, ITAR and CMMC-aware architecture.

Stuck on Infor VISUAL (VISUAL Manufacturing)?

Talk to engineers who work inside Infor VISUAL (VISUAL Manufacturing) every week, and who build private AI that answers these questions from your own ERP data.

Talk to an ERP engineerBrowse ERP Help
All ERP Help articles

Keep exploring

Free tools

ERP fixes and how-tos

Runs with your ERP

Guides

AI on your ERP

Integrations

Software