Infor ERP Tips and Infor ERP News for Infor LX, BPCS, Infor ERP LX, Infor LN, Infor ERP LN, Baan, Infor M3, and Movex

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Infor LX Tips, Infor LN Tips, BPCS Tips, Baan Tips, Infor M3 Tips & Infor ERP News

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Infor ERP Tips & News from the Experts

Infor LX | Infor LN | BPCS | Baan | Infor M3

Clack Corporation Goes Live on LN 10.4

Kathy Barthelt 0 27809 Article rating: 5.0

Clack Corporation, a leader in water treatment and plastic processing, has gone live with Infor LN 10.4. The Crossroads RMC team partnered with Clack in this very important technology initiative for the company. With Clack’s dominance in the industry, they were challenged to provide a top-notch ERP system that would keep up with their ever-expanding business needs. LN 10.4 provides the right tools, specifically geared towards industrial manufacturers such as Clack. Combined with the Crossroads RMC Shop Floor Data Collection Solution for LN, Clack is positioned very well for growth in the years ahead.

BPCS/LX Tip of the Week: Financial Year End – Have you done all you need to do?

Anthony Etzel 0 54167 Article rating: No rating

I'm reposting this checklist for things to consider in order to finish out the current year, and plan for next year…

  • Are your accounting records up to date so you can make a projection of how the current year will turn out?
  • Are all account reconciliations up to date to facilitate the closing of the books after year end?
  • Are there accounts receivable that should be reserved for or written off prior to the end of the year?
  • If your business carries inventory, do you need to plan a physical count as of the end of the year?
  • Has depreciation on your fixed assets been recorded during the year? Have you considered depreciation on current year additions?
  • Have all new asset purchases and bank loans been recorded on your books?
  • Are there any liabilities, for example, pending legal actions or warranty issues, which will need to be recorded prior to year end? 
  • Do you have a plan in place to properly “cut-off” revenue at year-end to properly match revenue and expense?
  • Will there be bonuses, profit sharing contributions or discretionary retirement plan contributions paid prior to the end of the year? How will these payments affect cash flow?
  • Will you be in compliance with your bank covenants at year end?
  • Do you need to make arrangements to receive statements as of the end of the year for cash value of life insurance, loan balances, etc.?

Optimize Your Manufacturing Today!

Baan/LN Tip of the Week: Financial Year End – Have you done all you need to do?

Kathy Barthelt 0 88609 Article rating: No rating

I'm reposting this checklist for things to consider in order to finish out the current year, and plan for next year…

  • Are your accounting records up to date so you can make a projection of how the current year will turn out?
  • Are all account reconciliations up to date to facilitate the closing of the books after year end?
  • Are there accounts receivable that should be reserved for or written off prior to the end of the year?
  • If your business carries inventory, do you need to plan a physical count as of the end of the year?
  • Has depreciation on your fixed assets been recorded during the year? Have you considered depreciation on current year additions?
  • Have all new asset purchases and bank loans been recorded on your books?
  • Are there any liabilities, for example, pending legal actions or warranty issues, which will need to be recorded prior to year end? 
  • Do you have a plan in place to properly “cut-off” revenue at year-end to properly match revenue and expense?
  • Will there be bonuses, profit sharing contributions or discretionary retirement plan contributions paid prior to the end of the year? How will these payments affect cash flow?
  • Will you be in compliance with your bank covenants at year end?
  • Do you need to make arrangements to receive statements as of the end of the year for cash value of life insurance, loan balances, etc.?

Optimize Your Manufacturing Today!

BPCS/LX Tip of the Week: Have you defined your KPIs?

Anthony Etzel 0 47994 Article rating: No rating

Key Performance Indicators measure how effectively your performance objectives are being achieved.

  • Have you defined KPIs for your company?
  • Are you measuring them effectively?
  • Is everyone in your company aware of what the KPIs are?

If you haven’t already done so, consider tying personal performance objectives directly to the company’s performance objectives. Doing so can greatly increase the likelihood that the company’s goals will be met.

Optimize Your Manufacturing Today!

Baan/LN Tip of the Week: Have you defined your KPIs?

Kathy Barthelt 0 91410 Article rating: No rating

Key Performance Indicators measure how effectively your performance objectives are being achieved.

  • Have you defined KPIs for your company?
  • Are you measuring them effectively?
  • Is everyone in your company aware of what the KPIs are?

If you haven’t already done so, consider tying personal performance objectives directly to the company’s performance objectives. Doing so can greatly increase the likelihood that the company’s goals will be met.

Optimize Your Manufacturing Today!

BPCS/LX Tip of the Week: Need a Productivity Boost?

Anthony Etzel 0 53234 Article rating: No rating

Are your employees not as productive as you’d like them to be? Are jobs not getting completed on schedule? Without actual data, making decisions about how efficient your operation is will be difficult. Start tracking actual time to complete each operation. Compare different production lines running the same job. Is one line running more efficiently? If so, start looking at why. Track downtime, setup, etc. Once you start really analyzing each piece of the puzzle, you can begin to uncover areas that are ripe for improvement.

Optimize Your Manufacturing Today!

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Tips:  LX | BPCS | M3

Tips: LN | Baan

It’s NOT All About the Money, Money, Money… Motivating Employees in the New Year!

Have you ever thought about what really motivates your employees?

It’s not about the almighty dollar, you know. Ok, ok…..money doesn’t hurt, but money alone doesn’t keep most people in their jobs. You actually need to motivate your employees to keep them showing up, mentally, and physically. Employees that don’t feel motivated are probably underperforming, and that means you’re losing money.

Ask yourself these questions about your employees:

  • Are they happy…..YES….HAPPY! Do they enjoy coming to work every day?
  • Do they feel challenged, or do they feel demeaned?
  • Are they sinking, or are they swimming?
  • Do they have the right tools in their arsenal to battle the giants?
  • Where’s the reward?

Happiness - I’ve worked with manufacturers for almost 20 years now, and I’ve seen employees who are fulfilled and very happy in their jobs, and employees who count the seconds until they leave each day. Happiness is a choice, but certainly, you as an employer can have a big impact on how happy your employees are. Happiness can be found when employees feel that what they do has a purpose. Do they understand that the part that they are making is used in the production of sophisticated medical equipment that saves lives? Or protects families from getting hurt in a car accident? Having the end customer in mind gives purpose to their work. Having a purpose can make people happy.  

Challenge – Are your employees given any incentive for process improvement? You are not blessed with the perfect mind. All brilliant ideas do not come from you. The lowest man/woman on the totem pole may have the next best idea for your business. Encourage them to bring those ideas forward. Do they have a path for growth that is clearly defined? If you’re never looking for more from your employees, they probably won’t give it to you.

Sink or Swim - When an employee makes a mistake, do you reprimand or punish them? Instead, how about teaching them? Explain to them how things could be done differently next time and provide some guidance and reassurance that they can and will do better.  A pat on the back when they do it right the second time doesn’t hurt either.

Tools – Have you thought about what you need to provide for your employees to make them successful? Do they need training? Or maybe retraining? Would they benefit from being paired with a mentor? How about their physical tools? Is the machinery and software up to snuff? Are they being held back by outdated software and manual processes?

Reward – So, yes, you need to pay your employees fairly, but there are more rewards to be had. Increased responsibility is a great one (make sure you give them the title that goes with it). Designate an employee of the month and announce their great work to everyone in the company. Give employees an opportunity to attend a conference or a workshop which will benefit them and the company. Send a hard-working employee a handwritten note letting them know that you noticed their efforts.  Reward the little things and boost morale.

Sorry, I know this is a lot, but employee motivation is YOUR problem, or shall I say… your opportunity to make them happy and more productive. 

Here are 5 ways you can motivate your employees to give their best every day:

1. Train Your Employees

2. Give Your Employees the Right Tools

3. Automate Processes

4. Give Your Employees Real-Time Feedback

5. Provide Incentives to Do More

For more ideas, read this article from the Harvard Business Review https://hbr.org/2016/01/to-motivate-employees-do-3-things-well.
 

Can you do it? Of course, you can! You don’t have to do it all by yourself, however. Companies like Crossroads RMC can assist. We provide training services that can be completely tailored to your business. We also provide software solutions to help automate many of your manual processes, and dashboard solutions to provide real-time feedback on performance.

If you choose to do this, the benefits to your company will be amazing. You will have a happy, loyal, and prepared workforce, ready to come to work each day to make the company wildly successful. Something to think about as we start a new year.

I’m looking forward to working with you to make the new year great!
 

About the author:
 



Kathy Barthelt is the vice president of  Crossroads RMC, which helps optimize manufacturing systems. She cares deeply about bringing the human side into manufacturing. One can often find her writing and speaking about stress and shop floor workers, job skill, or employee motivation and production improvement. You can find even more insights from her past blog posts.

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