Configurable Workflow Platform Built on a Low-Code ERP Stack for a U.S. Industrial Manufacturer

The client’s ERP could juggle ledgers and inventory, yet every approval still lived in someone’s inbox. “We need one path, one clock, one place to look,” the COO said—and no one wanted to pry open years of custom code.

Devox responded with a Configurable Workflow Layer that sits alongside the ERP, rather than within it. Business teams drag stages in a visual designer, drop rules into a YAML file, and press Publish; the layer hooks the ERP’s repositories, stamps each change with user and time, and lights up a live dashboard. We replaced a week-long email chain with a guided, trackable approval process that users complete in minutes. The pilot stuck, the board signed, and the same pattern now drives purchasing, quality, and service tickets without touching the ERP’s core.

• Solution Architect
• 2 Low-Code Engineers
• Backend Engineer
• QA Automation Engineer
• DevOps Engineer
• Business Analyst
• Project Manager

• Forms that didn’t match the system. People filled in clean, friendly-looking screens — but underneath, the data didn’t line up. Each workflow rule had to decode what the interface meant before it could run.
• Permissions that no one could see. Roles existed in theory, but the screens didn’t follow them. Buttons remained clickable even when someone wasn’t supposed to take action, which meant risk.
• One narrow way in. There was only one method for writing updates — and it was sensitive. A small mistake could block a whole workflow. We had to tread carefully.
• A shifting data model. The structure kept changing without notice. One day, a new field would show up and quietly break three existing rules. The system had to learn to adapt on its own.
• No way to see what changed. If someone edited a number or reassigned a task, there was no record of it. Audit teams relied on screenshots when available.
• Logic is in too many places. Key conditions are documented across notes, scripts, and internal documents. If a new SLA were introduced, someone would have to track down ten different locations just to make it work.
• Development slowed by setup. Builds stalled on misconfigured environments. Developers spent time fixing paths instead of fixing code.

• Low-Code Platform UI Designer & Script Engine
• C# /.NET 7 service for repository hooks and rule runner
• YAML rule files stored in Git (hot-reload)
• PostgreSQL 14 for workflow metadata & version hashes
• React 18 + Ant Design dashboard (stage editor / SLA monitor)
• Docker Swarm (6 nodes) + GitLab CI/CD blue-green deploys
• Prometheus + Grafana + Loki observability stack
• SAML SSO (Active Directory) + JWT service tokens + Vault-managed secrets

Devox Software added a rule-driven workflow layer that attaches to the ERP rather than modifying its decades-old code.

• Configurable stages. Every approval path — VAT, purchasing, quality — now lives in a human-readable YAML file. Business users tweak approvers or mandatory fields in the visual designer, press Publish, and new rules go live in seconds with no downtime.
• Rosetta mapping. A single translation file keeps friendly screen labels (“Unit price”) in lockstep with the database’s terse columns. Forms and reports stay in sync even when the schema drifts.
• Built-in deadlines. The layer starts a timer the moment a stage opens. If an SLA slips, the task turns red on the live dashboard and pings its owner — bottlenecks surface before they derail month-end.
• One-click audit trail. Every edit is stamped with the information of who, when, what changed, and a hash of the previous value. Auditors scroll a ready-made history instead of chasing screenshots.
• Reliable updates. We roll out changes quietly, without stopping work. The ERP stays untouched, but approvals now follow clear paths instead of vanishing into inboxes.

BUSINESS OUTCOMES

• Cycle time collapsed. Average approval time — for VAT packets, purchase orders, or NCRs — dropped from 3 days to 4 hours, keeping production schedules intact.
• Workload re-balanced. Planners reclaimed ≈approximately 300 staff-hours per month once email chasing and Excel updates were eliminated.
• On-time compliance. SLA hits for finance and quality rose from 72% to 98%; month-end close no longer waits for straggling sign-offs.
• Audit ready by default. Field-level history exports in seconds; the most recent ISO 9001 audit was completed with zero corrective actions related to document traceability.
• Change without chaos. Process owners now ship rule tweaks themselves—four iterations in the first quarter, without raising a single IT ticket.

TECHNICAL OUTCOMES

• Hot rule releases. New YAML packages load in <15 s; All deployments completed without impacting production availability.
• Stable performance. 12,000 workflow calls per day run on existing hardware, with CPU utilization remaining below 55% even during month-end peaks.
• Early-warning radar. Live SLA timers surface bottlenecks; overdue tasks fell by 85 % after the first month.
• One-file schema control. The Rosetta map prevents label/column drift — no broken forms have occurred since go-live, despite two database extensions.
• Immutable lineage. Every change is recorded with the author, timestamp, and fingerprint, providing auditors with the clarity they need without requiring manual effort.