Enterprise ERP systems are built to manage complexity. But for many Infor M3 users, the daily experience still involves moving between multiple programs, checking different panels, copying values, and piecing together context before making a decision. This can be a tedious process that leads to errors. Infor Experience Designer helps simplify that experience by bringing actions and supporting information into one configurable screen.
Infor describes M3 Experience Designer as a tool included as part of Standard embedded in M3 that lets users build and customize applications using components such as forms, tabs, data grids, headers, and media. These components are supplied with data through M3 APIs, Custom Lists, and ION APIs. Infor also describes Experience Designer as a no-code solution for configuring M3 applications.
For M3 users, this matters because many processes do not happen in one neat location. Item data may sit in one area, compliance details in another, documents elsewhere, and transaction history in a separate view. Infor M3 Experience Designer creates a single workspace that helps connect that context visually so users can work with less friction.
Why do ERP processes become harder than they need to be?
ERP processes become harder when users need to leave the process flow to find information. In M3, this often happens when a task depends on multiple programs, supporting documents, custom fields, approval rules, or data.
A typical user may know what needs to be done, but still spend time answering basic operational questions: :
- Which record should I update?
- Where is the supporting document?
- Which code applies to this item or profile?
- Which fields are mandatory?
- Do I need another program to complete the task?
This is where Infor Experience Designer can improve ERP user experience.
Human factors matter 6x more than technical factors in improving ERP benefits, which reinforces a simple point: ERP value depends on how easily people can use the system for their daily work.
How does Infor M3 Experience Designer simplify daily work?
Instead of changing the ERP backbone, teams can improve the user layer into a role-specific screen that reflects how users actually perform a process. For example, an organization can create a screen that combines:
Because Infor Experience Designer works within the M3 H5 experience, users can continue using standard M3 programs where needed while using designed applications for processes that benefit from a simplified view.
Infor notes that Experience Designer applications can be reached through the M3 menu, Infor OS widgets, shortcuts, and more.
What are the real benefits for M3 users?
The real benefit of Infor Experience Designer is not just a better-looking screen. It is a faster, clearer, and more consistent way to complete ERP tasks. It enables business users to build their own functionality quickly, leveraging their domain expertise rather than software development skills.
For business users, the biggest advantages include:
- No coding required: Users do not need a development background to configure practical screens.
- Drag-and-drop style configuration: Teams can design layouts around the process, not around technical complexity.
- Less screen switching: Key data can be displayed in one place.
- Better adoption: Users are more likely to follow the process when the system is easier to use.
- Fewer errors: Required fields, reference data, and documents can be surfaced together.
- Faster onboarding: New users can work from guided, role-based views instead of learning every underlying program first.
- Faster delivery and adaptation: New screens and workflow changes can be rolled out in days instead of waiting on development cycles.
- Reduced dependency on IT/developers: Business teams can make changes themselves, freeing up technical resources for higher-value work and removing IT as a bottleneck for routine updates.
When should enterprises use Infor Experience Designer?
Enterprises should use Infor Experience Designer when the standard M3 experience is functionally correct but operationally difficult for users. It is especially useful when a process requires data from several places, when users repeat the same navigation steps, or when business teams need a clearer view without building a custom application from scratch.
Good use cases include:
- Item or profile maintenance
- Customer or supplier overview screens
- Warehouse and logistics workbenches
- Compliance-heavy operational processes
- Label printing preparation
- Document review screens
- Role-based dashboards for daily transactions
It’s important to remember that Infor M3 Experience Designer is not a replacement for every customization. It is best used when the goal is to simplify the user experience, consolidate information, and guide process execution.
Use case: Fortude simplifies waste profile maintenance and label printing in M3
Fortude used Infor Experience Designer to simplify an M3 process where waste profile data, regulatory fields, documents, and label information had to be accessed across multiple areas. The goal was to give users a cleaner way to view, maintain, and validate waste profile information while supporting label printing requirements for transportation and compliance.
This is the starting point of the process. Users begin by searching for the customer, viewing the customer waste profile, and creating or updating the profile. The profile is connected to M3 item data, custom fields, workflow initialization, and document-related information.
Why this matters:
Waste profiles are compliance-heavy records. They may include the origin of the waste, waste type, disposal or recycling facility, EPA-related details, mandatory documents, and other regulatory fields. By using Infor Experience Designer, these details can be presented in one structured screen instead of forcing users to move across multiple M3 programs.
Once the waste profile is available, the next step is label printing. The second flow shows how M3, Experience Designer, workflow triggers, web services, transfer folders, and IDM support the waste label printing process.
Why this matters:
Waste material labels often require specific data for transportation and compliance, including waste product numbers, EPA codes, manifest numbers, and different label formats for bulk, packaged, and waste materials. With Infor Experience Designer, users get a simplified entry point for label-related data while the backend process handles workflow, output generation, and document management.
What this use case shows
This Fortude use case shows that Infor Experience Designer is most valuable when the process is already defined in M3, but the user experience is fragmented. Instead of building a heavy custom application, the business can create a focused screen that brings together the right fields, records, workflows, and documents for the task.
In practical terms, it helps M3 users:
- Maintain waste profile information in one place
- Reduce manual lookups across M3
- Connect regulatory fields to the profile
- Support label printing with fewer disconnected steps
- Improve process visibility for compliance-heavy operations
Infor Experience Designer vs custom development: Which is better?
Infor Experience Designer is better for no-code user experience improvements, while custom development is better for complex logic, deep integrations, or entirely new functionalities. It would really depend on what your business needs and the personalization you require.
What risks should teams avoid?
The main risk is treating Infor Experience Designer as a screen-building exercise instead of a process improvement exercise. A cluttered single screen can be just as frustrating as ten separate screens.
Before building, teams should define:
- The role the screen is for
- The process step it supports
- What data users truly need
- The fields that must be editable
- The documents that must be visible
- The permissions and governance model
- The testing approach for updates
This is also where Fortude’s Infor CloudSuite consulting experience becomes relevant. Fortude works with enterprises to enhance Infor CloudSuite environments through consulting, extensions, accelerators, and managed services. For Infor Experience Designer, the value comes from combining M3 process knowledge with practical UX design and strong testing discipline.
How can M3 teams get started?
The best way to get started with Infor Experience Designer is to choose one high-friction process and redesign the user experience around the role, not the system menu.
Start with these steps:
- Identify a process with heavy screen switching.
- Interview users to understand where time is lost.
- Map the M3 data, documents, APIs, and actions required.
- Design a simple screen.
- Test with real users before scaling.
- Document governance and ownership.
- Repeat for other high-value processes.
To explore where Infor Experience Designer can create the most value in your M3 environment, Fortude can help assess high-friction processes, design solutions , and support implementation through its Infor CloudSuite consulting expertise.
