How Manufacturers Benefit From Smarter Document Management
For many scaling manufacturers, an ERP system is the beating heart of their operations, tracking production schedules, inventory, logistics, and invoicing. But when it comes to managing the documents, projects, and collaborative workflows that happen around those ERP-driven processes, the cracks begin to show.
From offers and contracts to SOPs, product improvements, and quality assurance documentation, manufacturers juggle a wide range of business-critical content. But all too often, these documents are scattered across local folders, email inboxes, and siloed systems. The result? Lost time, missed opportunities, and serious compliance risks.
In this article, WorkPoint’s CCO, Aaren Ekelund and Solution Sales Specialist, Anders Kaagh, share their insights into the benefits of smarter document management for manufacturers.
Improve collaboration and document control
“Most of the manufacturing companies we talk to either attempt to do everything inside their ERP, or they have a patchwork of processes using office tools, email, and local file storage,” explains Anders Kaagh, Solution Sales Specialist at WorkPoint. “They have Microsoft 365, but they don’t realize how powerful it is. It’s perceived as a basic file repository and a set of office tools – not as the foundation of a structured, collaborative work platform.”
What is often missing is a bridge between the ERP and the people doing the actual work: project managers, quality leads, and operations teams who need a better way to collaborate and control documentation across departments and partners.
ERPs are great for financials and supply chain data, but they’re not built for collaboration. They’re designed for accountants, not information workers. You can’t journal emails, version-control documents, or structure product development workflows in an ERP.
Bridge the gap between ERP and document management
Built on top of Microsoft 365 and SharePoint, WorkPoint 365 gives manufacturers a secure, scalable environment for managing projects, documents, and quality processes – without having to replace their ERP system. It’s designed to work alongside it: to bridge the gap.
Many customers still want their ERP to be the system of record. With WorkPoint, the project might start in the ERP, but then it flows into a structured environment where you can manage the documentation, tasks, communication, and quality workflows. WorkPoint 365 sits between the ERP and your teams, organising the work that happens in between.
Imagine you manage production planning for a factory in a different country. Your project management platform is mission-critical. Without it, production stops; that’s the level of operational importance. WorkPoint’s partner-driven model means customers work with certified experts who tailor solutions to their specific industry needs.
Get even better value from Microsoft 365
All WorkPoint customers are, by definition, Microsoft 365 users. But most are barely scratching the surface of what’s possible.
“They might use Outlook and Excel, and some light SharePoint usage for a single department,” says Aaren. “But the full power of the platform – structured collaboration, document control, compliance management – is untouched.” And without that structure, there’s no foundation for emerging technologies like AI.”
“First, the data needs to be in the right place. As soon as we help them organise their data and processes, it opens the door to AI-powered insights,” Aaren continues. “For example, if you’ve delivered 20 similar production flows for 20 customers, what could you learn from that?”
Make quality management more practical
In manufacturing, quality assurance isn’t optional, it’s business-critical. But when quality documentation is buried in email threads or someone’s desktop, compliance becomes a minefield.
Most of our manufacturing clients are going for ISO 9001 and similar certifications. With WorkPoint, they can store SOPs, manage version control, track non-conformance reports, and get notified when a document needs review, all in one place. It may be a full QMS system or just elements to support certifications and processes that our partners implement for customers.
And that’s a crucial point: WorkPoint doesn’t replace specialized systems, it enhances them. Through an expansive partner network, companies can configure tailored modules for quality, supplier communication, or customer collaboration.
Run your operations more efficiently
For COOs and operations leaders, the trigger to act often comes after ERP modernization. “Once they’ve upgraded to Microsoft Business Central, for example, our partners often spot the next opportunity: digitizing the operations around the ERP,” explains Aaren. “That’s when they bring in WorkPoint.” And while today’s setup may work, that doesn’t mean it can’t work better. As Anders puts it, “Why wouldn’t you want your business to run even more smoothly?”
Enhance your manufacturing processes
Manufacturing doesn’t stop at the ERP system. If your teams are still digging through emails for contracts or saving vital documents to desktop folders, it’s time to rethink how your organization manages information-based work.
With Microsoft 365 enhanced by WorkPoint 365 and delivered through expert partners, you can bring structure to your data, streamline collaboration, and future-proof your operations while leveraging new AI possibilities.