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

Anthony Etzel 0 82444 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.
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Baan/LN Tip of the Week: Aborted Finalization Run

Kathy Barthelt 0 76149 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.
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BPCS/LX Tip of the Week: SFC600

Anthony Etzel 0 79537 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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BPCS/LX Tip of the Week: Downtime Reasons

Anthony Etzel 0 78507 Article rating: No rating

Using SFC600 to enter downtime.

You are tracking downtime and using SFC600 to enter the downtime, but you don’t know where to go to setup downtime reasons. You can set up the downtime reason codes in the INV application by selecting the reason code maintenance program INV140D1.

Once you are in the reason code maintenance program, position to the transaction effect code “D”. Using the transaction effect code “D” you can now setup as many downtime reason codes as needed. The reason code field is alpha numeric, so be creative with your reason code assignments.

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Baan/LN Tip of the Week: Restricted User Access

Kathy Barthelt 0 72916 Article rating: No rating
Administrators are able to restrict access in Baan in several ways – including Companies, Packages, Modules, Sessions, and Tables – using the Authorization capabilities of the system.

In Baan IV, access can be given or denied on a user by user basis.

In Baan V and LN, the Authorization Management System can provide or deny access based upon roles to which users are assigned.

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BPCS/LX Tip of the Week: Work Center - Cells

Anthony Etzel 0 60715 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.
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Baan/LN Tip of the Week: Closed, Final Closed, Provisional Close – What’s The Difference?

Kathy Barthelt 0 77120 Article rating: No rating

Fiscal, Reporting and Tax Periods can have status Open, Closed or Final Closed. If a period is Closed or Final Closed, you cannot post entries to those periods. If a period is Closed, you can re-set it to Open and post entries. If a period is Final Closed, you cannot post and you cannot set it back to Closed or Open.

A Provisional Close is run at year-end to bring the balances forward for the new year without having to close the previous year. A Provisional Close can be run as many times as you like. After a Final Close, a Provisional Close cannot be run.

The Provisional Close allows you to continue into the new year with all financial reporting and not have to rush with the Final Close until all adjusting entries are made and any final signoffs have been completed.

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Baan/LN Tip of the Week: Product Families

Kathy Barthelt 0 76880 Article rating: No rating

In Baan IVC, plan items on the lowest plan level were automatically actual items (not product families). All plan items on higher plan levels were product families.

The relationship between a product family and items on lower plan levels was defined in a planning bill of material.

In Infor LN, every family item must be defined in the Item Base Data module. A family item can exist on any plan level. The relationship between a family item and items on lower plan levels is defined in aggregation relationships.

Aggregation relationships in Infor LN are much more flexible than the planning bills of material in Baan IV. For example, users can define aggregation relationships between items on the same plan level.

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Tips:  LX | BPCS | M3

Tips: LN | Baan

Kathy Barthelt
/ Categories: Infor LN & Baan Tips, Technology

Infor LN & Baan Tips & Tricks for TECHNOLOGY: Data Sharing Methods (Advantages and Disadvantages)

Depending on the multicompany scenario you choose, an implementation team must decide whether or not tables must be logically linked or if data must be synchronized in another way to achieve availability of data across various companies. 

There are 3 ways in which data may be shared among companies. Here are some advantages and disadvantages of each:

  1. Logical Table Linking - If two companies use the same physical data, the physical table exists, or is used, in only one company: the physical company. Each piece occurs only once: one instance of the same data. If the term logical table linking is used, users from multiple companies use a single physical instance of the data. If the company tables are on the same server, this can be accomplished by logical table linking. Access to specific data can be restricted, if required.

    • Advantages: Logical Table Linking takes place in real time; therefore, the moment a record is created or modified in one company, a record becomes available in all other linked companies as well. The setup and maintenance of logical table linking is easier than the setup and maintenance of data replication. Logical table linking is extremely reliable because this type of linking is independent of network connections and user interventions. 

    • Disadvantages: Table sharing implies that all attributes for a record are the same in all companies. Therefore, suppose you share the item table and, for a particular item in a company, the product class is XXX. In this case, in all other companies, the product class for this item must be XXX as well.

  2. Data Replication - In this situation, each company has exactly the same data, but each company has a unique copy of the data. The same piece of data exists in multiple (physical) places: multiple instances of the same data. The process to copy the data is called data replication.

    • Advantages: Rather than using table sharing by means of the logical linking of tables, you can replicate the content of tables between companies. The advantage is that, on company level, some (non-key) attributes of a record can differ by company. For example, if the bills of materials are replicated instead of shared, for each company, you can link a different warehouse to the bill of material. As a result, the bills of materials can be the same across all companies and only the warehouses differ. Using replication, you can also make only a subset of the records available in other companies. For example, if you replicate items between companies, in a sales company, for example, by means of the item group, you can only make end items available. In addition, you can replicate only a subset of items, for example, depending on the item group. Note that replication also requires that the referenced tables are replicated or shared.

    • Disadvantages: Replication is not in real time, and therefore, for processes that require real-time integrated data as the financial integration processes, replication is not an option. For replication, you also must take into account the sequence in which you replicate. First, you must replicate the child tables and then the parent tables, and therefore first the business partners and then the purchase contracts. During the replication process, the data must be frozen. This point is of particular importance if the replication process takes a lot of time.

  3. Manual Syncronization - If only a small number of records are the same between some companies, you can enter, maintain, and keep the records synchronized manually. Note that the more dynamic data is, the more difficult this process is. This solution is strictly procedural. Therefore, depending on the discipline of the users, the solution is error sensitive: data can be forgotten, updated too late, or typing errors may occur.

  • Advantages - The main advantage is the flexibility so that only the data that really must be shared can be kept synchronized. By manually keeping data synchronized, not all attributes of a record need to have the same value.

  • Disadvantages - The main disadvantage is that this method depends on user interaction. Therefore, the method depends on the user’s time - because the method is not a real time procedure and the user may forget to update the data - and users can make mistakes.

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Kathy Barthelt

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