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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

BPCS/LX Tip of the Day: Inventory Management

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Establishing the Quantity On-Hand and the Quantity Available.

LX maintains buckets for information associated with the following inventory transactions for each item:

  • Opening Balance
  • Issues
  • Receipts
  • Adjustments
  • Allocations for the Customer
  • Allocations for Manufacturing


The on hand quantity does not include any allocations. To arrive at the on hand quantity, start with the opening balance, less any issues, plus any receipts, then add or subtract any adjustments. Available inventory is the on-hand less any allocations.

 

 

Baan/LN Tip of the Day: Chart of Accounts

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Zero sublevel accounts are posting level accounts. All others are parent accounts. Once the balances have been updated in the child ledger accounts, the parents are automatically updated.

Inquiries and reports can be printed or displayed either by child accounts or by parent accounts. On line drill-down is possible from either child or parent.

BPCS/LX Tip of the Day: Cycle Counting Part 2

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Understanding: The Cycle Count Alternative

The best way to cycle count is to count the same number of items each day and at the same time each day. The goal is to count your “A” items 4 times a year. The “A” items should be those item that are about 80% of the total inventory value and 20% of the total items. Consider creating your own cycle count schedule then instead of using the cycle count transaction, use the inventory adjustment transaction. The item balance is changed at the time the transaction is keyed. The transaction list can be used for the reconciliation process.

Baan/LN Tip of the Day: Company Calendar

Kathy Barthelt 0 103445 Article rating: 5.0

Baan uses the company calendar in the following modules to determine the start and end dates for planned orders:

  • Master Production Scheduling
  • Material Requirements Planning
  • Capacity Requirements Planning
    (All three combined in a single planning module for Baan V and LN)
  • Shop Floor Control

The calendar provides the valid working days, number of shifts per day and the number of hours in a day.

Baan allows for a single calendar for the whole company or for a calendar for each work center.

BPCS/LX Tip of the Week: Cycle Counting Part 1

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Understanding: The Cycle Count Transaction

If you rely on BPCS to provide you with a cycle count list, the number of items could vary from day to day from a few items to count, to several. So the person doing the cycle counting may spend a few minutes to a few hours counting items. After the cycle count is complete, the balances are not changed until the reconciliation is complete. This process could take some time before the balances are changed.

The cycle count transaction process is similar to the physical inventory transaction process.

Baan/LN Tip of the Week: GRINYA

Kathy Barthelt 0 109434 Article rating: 3.0
GRINYA is one of the more complex issues in ERP Finance. GRINYA is the tracking via ledger account of the value of items received on a purchase order that have not been matched to a supplier invoice.

Baan solutions for Baan IV and V were incomplete. To take full advantage of the current GRINYA reconciliation process, check Infor solution #107147, which contains the GRINYA user manual and a link to download the software for your version of Baan. For ERP LN, look at Document Code U8942C US.

It is called User Guide for Reconciliation and Analysis. If you are not running the latest GRINYA solutions, patching will require a good amount of time in filling the Interim tables this solution runs from. Infor has posted several procedural write ups, so check the Support Site and read up before tackling this for the first time.

BPCS/LX Tip of the Week: Work Center & Machine Locations

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For either file, you must specify a valid location code as defined in the Location Master File.

If the machine master locations are blank, then the work center locations are used. There are cases where you may want to do a combination between the two in defining the locations.

Let’s say the end item has one operation. The operation is at work center 510 and Machine A is in the work center. You have locations setup in both the Work center file and the Machine master File. You report 100 complete at the work center without specifying the machine.

In this case, the inventory will be processed based on the locations defined in the work center file. If the transaction included the machine number, then the locations in the machine file would be used.
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Tips:  LX | BPCS | M3

Improves control over PO costing changes during invoice entry by replacing passive warnings with an intentional override action.

  • In ACP500D3 (Invoice Entry PO Costing), users previously could unintentionally accept changes by pressing ENTER, even when quantity to cost or amount to cost values had changed.

  • A new “F14 to Override” warning message replaces the old message:
    “Details have changed. Press enter again to accept data.”
    This ensures users acknowledge and confirm significant changes explicitly.

New System Parameter:

  • “Apply GRN Costing Tolerance for PO Costing” (optional):

    • Within tolerance: Displays the original message —
      “Details have changed. Press enter again to accept data.”

    • Outside tolerance: Triggers the new override requirement —
      “F14 to Override”

Benefits:

  • Enhances oversight and reduces unintentional cost acceptance.

  • Enables better control of PO costs when invoice details differ from expectations.

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Tips: LN | Baan

Infor LX & BPCS: Why You Need MES

You know your plant better than anyone, and most likely you'd admit that there is room for improvement. Perhaps too many defects are causing costly issues down the road, or maybe your production is behind and orders are shipping late? Do you know what needs to be improved? Do you know about the root causes of the problems that you’re experiencing? Is it fair to say, you don’t know what you don’t know … yet?

MES helps you dig into the problem and better yet, SOLVES the problem!

What Is MES and How Does It Work?

Many companies still enter data manually or share work instructions on paper. Most of them, however, know there’s a better way to organize the mass of activity happening on the plant floor. MES provides visibility to that activity as well as the underlying data and uses that data to improve how that activity is done and makes it repeatable. MES connects multiple sites, integrates with equipment, and raises the effectiveness of business applications all to better optimize operations.

The 3 Pillars of MES:

  1. Establishing a plan and staying on schedule. The system takes your input — production shifts/times, production goals, etc. — and calculates the rate at which you need to complete production in order to meet customer demand. Operators see real-time progress on dashboard graphics, knowing the progress at every moment.
  2. Enforcing a repeatable process. Knowing your process is being followed exactly as defined provides the ultimate peace of mind. Every target, from fastening to product routing, is achieved just as you defined it time after time.
  3. Creating a rich data set. Capturing data is one thing; being able to act on that data is really the key to driving improvement initiatives. Use your analytics, explore your data set, and identify and solve your hidden inefficiencies.

All three of these MES pillars are used to help you reach productivity and quality goals by:

  • Solving production scheduling challenges
  • Discovering and sharing your best operators’ insights
  • Uncovering inefficiencies in your process and fixing them
  • Reducing the exhausting task of putting out fires
  • Establishing a continuous improvement philosophy
  • Increasing operator engagement and dedication

And if you need another reason... according to Forbes.com, MES ranks in the Top 5 Key Areas to Affect How Goods Are Made in 2023 - Five Predictions For Manufacturing And Logistics In 2023.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2023/02/13/five-predictions-for-manufacturing-and-logistics-in-2023/?sh=1155863f1f76

So, what's next? Work with Crossroads RMC, an experienced MES partner who has seen situations just like yours and who has guided companies in your position. And best of all, Crossroads RMC doesn’t just know MES, we have a team of experts who are knowledgeable about manufacturing best practices, your Infor ERP, and MES and can bring all of that knowledge together to help you formulate the right plan for your company’s success.

Contact Anthony Etzel at Crossroads RMC today. He can provide you with a free MES ROI calculator to give you some concrete numbers to help you see what MES can do for your business. 800.762.2077

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