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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 Week: Work Center - Cells

Anthony Etzel 0 86152 Article rating: No rating
The LMP module (Lean Manufacturing Process) uses work centers but refers to them as production cells.

A cell is one or more work centers that produces an end item. So when a company decides to adopt the lean manufacturing philosophy, the concept of work centers takes on a new meaning.

In lean terms, the work center, or group of work centers, becomes a production cell. In other words, a mini-factory producing end items with similar characteristics.

BPCS/LX Tip of the Week: The Machine Master Part 2

Anthony Etzel 0 83060 Article rating: No rating
Understanding:

The Machine Master File

Do your machines have a fixed asset tag? The machine master file has a field called Fixed Asset.

BPCS does not use this field, so you can use this field for anything. You can record your fixed asset tag in this field and use the effective date. You can create a custom fixed asset list by using a DFU or Query program.

Baan/LN Tip of the Week: Business Partner Structures

Kathy Barthelt 0 84557 Article rating: No rating

In ERP LN, users can define a distributed business partner organization by defining parent business partners to link the business partners with different roles.

In Baan IV, users can define a distributed business partner organization in the Maintain Concern Structure of Trade Relations (tccom3101m000) session.

Harsco Rail Goes Live With the RMC3 Data Collection Solution

Crossroads RMC 0 36246 Article rating: No rating

Harsco Rail, an industry leader in the railway track maintenance, has completed the first phase of their implementation of the Crossroads RMC Data Collection Solution for Baan V. The initial implementation included receiving and putaway. Harsco’s data collection project manager reports, “When I ask them (the users) how it’s going, they smile. I have had nothing but very positive feedback. It’s been very uplifting for me to work on this project and have it so well received.” The next phase of the implementation will include Report Operations Complete, Inventory Transfers, and Stock Inquiry.

Baan/LN Tip of the Week: Tax Exemption Certificates

Kathy Barthelt 0 82603 Article rating: No rating

In Baan IV, tax exemption processing is supported only on sales orders for non-tax provider users.

In Infor LN, tax exemption certificate processing is also performed for purchase orders, and for sales orders if users use a tax provider.

Users can define tax-exemption certificates in the following sessions:

  • Tax Exemptions for Sales (tcmcs1142m000)
  • Tax Exemptions for Purchasing (tcmcs1560m000)
  • Register Warehouse for Tax Exemptions (tcmcs1561m000)

 

BPCS/LX Tip of the Week: The Machine Master Part 1

Anthony Etzel 0 82002 Article rating: No rating
Understanding:

The Machine Master File


Machines are associated with a work center. For example, in the work center you may have multiple machines and each machine can have a unique machine ID. If there are several machines that perform the same function, they may operate at different speeds and efficiencies. Setting up the machine master can be a benefit for planning capacity and shop order throughput.

Baan/LN Tip of the Week: Aborted Finalization Run

Kathy Barthelt 0 75409 Article rating: No rating
When a finalization run is aborted and in the batches selected for this finalization run are transaction types having the update mode finalization, you must use the Restart Finalization Run session. This session can be found in the Transaction Processing menu of the General Ledger Module of the Finance Package.

BPCS/LX Tip of the Week: SFC600

Anthony Etzel 0 79307 Article rating: No rating
In addition to SFC650, this ERPLX program is also used to capture and post shop floor information.

The key difference between the two is that SFC600 only captures Labor (run time) reporting, machine time, downtime and indirect time.

If you use SFC600, then all shop order material receipts and issues would be captured using INV500.

Both Inventory and Shop Floor Transaction entry is keyboard dependent, unless you incorporate an automated method like an MES solution to capture the data.
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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.

Last

Tips: LN | Baan

An ERP System Review is NOT a Report Card

It's a no-judgment-review - we promise!

report card C minusWe all remember our school days and the nervousness that we felt when it came time to get our grades. Even if we were doing well, we were still nervous. Sometimes we experienced that same nervousness when it came time for a performance review on our job. Nervousness…sometimes dread…knowing that our performance was not what we wanted it to be, or others expected it to be. 

Somehow I think the feelings that we felt in our past often find ways to creep into our present. I have seen this recently when I suggested an ERP system review to one of our customers. They immediately became flustered and thought about every possible problem that they knew existed within the software and how they were currently using it. I asked them to consider the purpose of the ERP system review.

An ERP Utilization Review will:

  • Document how your company is using your ERP system (or a particular aspect of the system) and to what extent the system meets the needs of the business.
  • Identify challenges encountered using the software.
  • Create opportunities for improving business processes and generating additional value.
  • Identify potential risks and areas that need improvement.


key hole to the futureSo, if the result of ERP system review is to establish a path forward for growth based on current status, then why doesn’t every company take advantage of it? I think for some, the answer lies in the feelings of nervousness and dread still stuck in the recesses of our brains.

An ERP system review or more specifically a utilization review is NOT a personal report card, or performance review showing how well a particular individual does his/hers/their job, nor is it an attack on the team that implemented the software. 

As they say, hindsight is 20/20. What we view now to be a less than ideal implementation methodology may have been absolutely appropriate at the time the software was originally deployed. The software has likely matured and the skillsets of the individuals responsible for the system have likely matured as well. In some cases, those resources are no longer with the company, leaving those that remain with no back story as to how and why implementation decisions were made.

Instead of viewing the ERP utilization review as a reason to find fault in previous decisions, think of it as discovering untapped potential – both of the ERP system and the people who use it. Viewing an ERP utilization review in this way puts a positive spin on it and allows us to challenge ourselves to identify opportunities for growth far greater than anything we imagined before. This means not only moving our businesses forward faster but also advancing the strength of the company as individuals and as a team.

What untapped potential lies within your company?

Consider a utilization review of your entire ERP system, or just a part of it like Finance, Technology, Materials Management, Order Processing, or Shop Floor Control. You just might be surprised at what greatness can be achieved… far greater than anyone could have imagined.  

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Kathy Barthelt

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