Baan/LN Tip of the Week: Switching to a Difference Series

Kathy Barthelt / Tuesday, May 19, 2015 0 204 Article rating: No rating

In general, you can enter a different series in the order field if you have an available series.

To add a new series, find the appropriate group in the First Free Number session, and add a new series and first free number (usually 1).

In Baan IV, go to the Maintain First Free Numbers Session (under Common, Tables, Maintain Logistics Tables, Maintenance 1). Groups are easily identified (e.g., Purchase Order, Sales Order, etc.).

In Baan V, go to the First Free Number Session (under Common Data, Tables, Logistics). There are number groups (e.g., 570 may be for Purchase Orders, 650 may be for Sales Orders, etc.).

In LN, go to the First Free Number Session (tcmcs0150m000 – it is in different places in the menu under different Feature Packs). There are number groups (e.g., 210 may be for Purchase Orders, 310 may be for Sales Orders, etc.).

BPCS/LX Tip of the Day: MRP/MPS Simulation

Anthony Etzel / Monday, May 18, 2015 0 786 Article rating: No rating

The system allows you to manipulate and maintain a simulated MPS and MRP. You can copy the simulation from the existing first cut or you can create a totally new schedule. You can also perform a simulation of the rough-cut capacity plan. This allows a quick visual inspection by inquiry or menu of needed work center loads for the proposed MPS. After you choose a suitable MPS and rough-cut capacity, the system allows you to transfer the simulated MPS to the live Master Production Schedule.

BPCS/LX Tip of the Day: Inventory Stocking Levels – LX

Anthony Etzel / Tuesday, May 12, 2015 0 735 Article rating: No rating

The system supports four levels of inventory. You can view summaries of stock at each level through the Material Status Inquiry program or through reports.

Below are the four levels:

▪ Item

▪ Item + warehouse

▪ Item + warehouse + location

▪ Item + warehouse + location + lot

The lot number level and/or container of inventory can cross multiple warehouses and locations. For example, item + lot or item + lot + container. Locations exist within warehouses. There is no limit on the number of warehouses, locations, or lots that you can assign to an item.

Baan/LN Tip of the Day: Transfers - LN

Kathy Barthelt / Tuesday, May 12, 2015 0 2779 Article rating: No rating

A Transfer involves either one or two warehouses. If items are transferred between two different warehouses, all activities of the warehousing procedures must be carried out. However, if a transfer takes place between two locations within the same warehouse, the receipt activities are not carried out. You can use transfer orders to define a replenishment system within a single warehouse. This system controls replenishment from bulk locations to pick locations. Note: LN allows you to modify the outbound order line data based on the value the Allow Updating Outbound Order Lines up to and including field is set to in the Warehousing Order Types (whinh0110m000) session.

BPCS/LX Tip of the Day: LX Inventory Pallet Status Flow

Anthony Etzel / Tuesday, May 5, 2015 0 53612 Article rating: No rating

Four fields in the Item/Warehouse record (IIW file) affect the disposition of the

pallet status.

1. Goods Receiving Code: You define these codes in Goods Receiving Maintenance (WHM130). The codes control whether or not the stock passes through inspection, what percentage, or quantity of a delivery to inspect, and the number of quarantine days, if any.

2. Inspection Zone/Inspection Location: Either the Inspection Zone or the Inspection Location must be entered on the Item/Warehouse Master Maintenance screen WHM150D2-01.

Baan/LN Tip of the Week: Inventory Valuation

Kathy Barthelt / Tuesday, May 5, 2015 0 53307 Article rating: No rating

In Baan IV, inventory valuation is done by standard costs, unless you use projects. If you use projects, it is based on estimated or actual costs.

In Baan V and LN, you have the choice of LIFO, FIFO and MAUC (Moving Average).

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Crossroads RMC / Friday, May 1, 2015 0 30419 Article rating: No rating

Eliminate paper
Tuesday, May 19, 2015 - 2:00PM - 3:00PM ET

Streamline workflow to and from the shop floor

Are you tired of dealing with mountains of shop paper? Do your workers need a single, electronic, real-time source for all production-related documentation? Join us as we discuss how you can increase accuracy, boost productivity, eliminate paper, and save money with a Manufacturing Execution System (Crossroads MES).

This webinar will highlight how to deliver a built-in workflow that streamlines the information flow to and from the shop floor. With a simple touch of the screen, MES collects and delivers the critical information you need to run your production operation. Fully integrated with your Infor LX system, MES can help manufacturers modernize and automate:

Supervisor/manager real-time shift review
Scheduling shop orders by shift or by day
Splitting orders
Capturing shop floor activity
Capturing indirect and downtime activities
Production reporting

[registration link removed]

* Webinar duration is 60 Minutes

BPCS/LX TIP OF THE WEEK: Remembered Keys

Anthony Etzel / Tuesday, April 28, 2015 0 1918 Article rating: No rating

Infor LX remembers certain key values, such as item number, salesperson,

or container, in your workstation memory as you process information in certain

programs. You can assign one of the following values to each field:

0 -Infor LX automatically retrieves this value from remember key memory. Infor LX updates this value on a continual basis.

1 -Infor LX automatically retrieves the value you specify in Display Remembered Keys, SYS080. It does not update the value from any other program.

2 -Infor LX does not retrieve or update remembered key fields. Use the Display Remembered Keys program, SYS080, to set up remembered keys.

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Crossroads RMC / Wednesday, April 13, 2022

/ Categories: Because I Care, Analytics Dashboard

Dashboards vs. Reports – What do they offer and which do I need?

Companies are collecting oceans of data, and struggle with transforming it into usable information. Most businesses focus on two methods of sharing data - the report and the dashboard. While these two terms mean many things to many people, it is important to understand what these terms mean and how the report and dashboard have similar features but they are not the same thing.

What is a Report?

A report is meant to be used to gather detailed intelligence on the operations within an organization, thus a report can be either very broadly covering a wide scope of related information, or narrowly focusing on details of a single item, purpose, or event. All of this information, while presented in a report, is meant to be a snapshot in time.

Quite often, a report is built within the ERP system itself and often is constrained by the graphical and user limitations within the ERP. More often than not, large amounts of data are exported to Excel where added features allow for better manipulation of the data to a format that is digestible by users. Regardless, the data is only valid for that moment and time.

What is a Dashboard?

A dashboard is a graphical interface that provides at-a-glance views revolving around answering a central question. For example, an executive may ask you for up-to-the-minute details on "how the business is doing?". The answer to that question is as complex as the organizational structure of the company, but it is probably very simply measured with approximately 10 metrics. Those 10 metrics can likely be analyzed in chart form, and can and should be combined into one chart when the numbers are relatable or are on a similar scale. All these things should be considered when building a dashboard.

Dashboards, similar to the one in your vehicle, display critical data. Imagine driving down the road and having to push a bunch of buttons to find out how much fuel you have left, or having to pull over and pop the hood to check the oil pressure. It would be dangerous and a waste of your precious time. Your car's control panel or dashboard displays the most crucial information in an easy-to-use, graphical way.

How do Dashboards and Reports differ?

First, a report contains much more detailed information. Where a dashboard might provide a CEO with information on how the entire company’s sales are progressing, a corresponding report will give the CFO or VP of Sales the ability to see how each sales region or even salesperson is performing and make leadership decisions. Just like responsibility, data will get more granular as the organizational hierarchy goes down. The C-Suite might be interested in the detailed data, but for seeing a snapshot of high-level information, the dashboard is the desired mode.

Second, a report is much longer than a dashboard. Not only in the amount of detail but also visually. Tables and charts that live within a report can take up many pages. Furthermore, a report will likely require the reader to scroll through many screens or click from page to page.

A dashboard should confine its display to a single screen with no need for scrolling or switching among multiple screens. Something powerful happens when we see things together, all within eye span. Likewise, something critical is compromised when we lose sight of some data by scrolling or switching to another screen to see other data.

When an individual dashboard has so much information on it that scrolling is required, the power of the dashboard is diminished because the information that lives there is intended to be viewed together. Each piece of information on the dashboard is meant to give the reader the ability to answer part of the central question of the dashboard. These charts combine to answer the question, so if the reader can’t see them together, making them work together is much more difficult.

To sum it up, a report is a more detailed collection of tables, charts, and graphs and it is used for a much more detailed, full analysis while a dashboard is used for monitoring what is going on. The behavior of the pieces that make up dashboards and reports are similar, but their makeup itself is different. A dashboard answers a question in a single view and a report provides information. Put in another way, the report can provide a more detailed view of the information that is presented on a dashboard.

With dashboards, you can empower your entire team with data insights in real-time information, so your data is never stale. Users can create and share custom views of your data on the fly, in minutes.

With powerful Dashboards, you can:

Create pie charts, graphs, interactive maps, and more with just a few clicks.
Build a dashboard once and make it instantly available on any device.
Tell a story with your data with your own custom layouts, colors, and commentary—all with no coding and changes available instantly to users.
Know you always have current reports with real-time data updates.
Access your dashboards from anywhere–computer, tablet, or phone.