CRM NocoBase

CRM NocoBase Inspiration

I run manufacturing companies that produce Galileo Thermometers, Storm Glasses, and other gift products for customers worldwide. Like many SMEs, we still rely on spreadsheets and disconnected tools to manage customers, quotations, shipments, invoices, and product information.

I wanted to build an affordable, AI-native ERP and CRM platform specifically for small and medium-sized manufacturers. My goal is to use AI not only to write code but also to transform how traditional businesses build and operate their internal systems.

What it does

CRM NocoBase is an AI-powered ERP and CRM platform for manufacturing businesses.

The platform currently supports:

Customer Management Product Master Data Management Quotation Management Proforma Invoices (PI) Shipment Management Packing Lists Commercial Invoices (CI) Business Card OCR Importer AI-assisted workflow automation

The system manages the entire business process:

Customer → Quotation → PI → Shipment → Packing List → Commercial Invoice → Completed Order

Our goal is to eliminate duplicate work, reduce human errors, and digitize manufacturing operations.

How we built it

We built the project using:

NocoBase (low-code platform) PostgreSQL Docker JavaScript / TypeScript OCR technologies OpenAI Codex for AI-assisted development

Codex became an important development partner. We use it to:

Design database schemas Build plugins and APIs Debug complex workflows Generate implementation plans Refactor code Create documentation

This dramatically accelerated development compared with traditional software development.

Challenges we ran into

Building real ERP software is much harder than creating a demo.

Some of our biggest challenges were:

Designing stable relationships between ERP modules. Managing complex business workflow states. Handling NocoBase runtime metadata issues. Building secure image and OCR workflows. Maintaining backward compatibility during rapid iterations. Translating real manufacturing processes into software systems.

The Business Card OCR module was especially challenging because we needed to combine AI automation with human verification to ensure data accuracy.

Accomplishments that we're proud of Built a working ERP and CRM platform used for real manufacturing operations. Successfully implemented the complete order workflow from quotation to commercial invoice. Developed a Business Card OCR importer to automate lead creation. Used AI and Codex to significantly accelerate software development. Demonstrated that a small manufacturing company can build enterprise software with AI assistance. What we learned

We learned that AI is much more than a coding assistant.

AI can fundamentally change how small businesses build software and digitize operations. By combining industry knowledge with AI-assisted development, even small teams can create customized systems that previously required large engineering organizations.

We also learned the importance of:

Rapid iteration Human validation Domain expertise AI collaboration Building software based on real business needs What's next for CRM NocoBase

Our next goals are:

Complete AI-powered lead generation from business cards. Add inventory and warehouse management. Introduce AI agents to automate repetitive ERP tasks. Support multilingual operations. Integrate email and document automation. Expand the platform to multiple companies and manufacturing scenarios.

Our long-term vision is to create an affordable AI-native ERP platform that helps small and medium-sized manufacturers around the world digitally transform their businesses.

Built With

• platform