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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

Baan/LN Tip of the Week: Product Families

Kathy Barthelt 0 84504 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.

BPCS/LX Tip of the Week: Create the Master Schedule

Anthony Etzel 0 86798 Article rating: No rating

In the master schedule creation, you have the flexibility to enter a planning start date, or default to the facility planning start date. Infor LX uses the planning date to plan both orders with forecasts and customer orders as demand.You can create your master schedule from the Master Production Scheduling module (MPS).

No one cares how hard you work! How you can do more, while doing less – know your MO.

David Dickson 0 61074 Article rating: 5.0

Would you like me to tell you a dirty, little secret?

No one cares how hard you work. Sure, some people will notice if you seem to be working hard. Your spouse or companion might note that you seem tired, stressed, not as much fun, or just aren’t around much, but they care about the consequences, not how hard you work. Your boss might note happily that his staff seems busy, things are humming along, but you can be sure that when it is review time she gets no credit for “keeps staff very busy.” Nor will the boss give you extra points for being busy. It is about results.

People outside your personal life, beyond your coworkers, might notice that you are hard to contact, perhaps because you are so busy. But trust me, customers do not care why they can’t get hold of you, and they will not see it as a positive.

Infor and Crossroads RMC are proud to offer a joint webinar on Taking Your Shop Floor Paperless - August 28th, 2014.

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Taking Your Shop Floor Paperless - Webinar, August 28th, 2014.

During this webinar, you will learn about the Crossroads MES Shop Floor Solution which gives you the ability to do all the following and more:

  • Collect production data
  • Provide real time feedback to your workers and your management team
  • Integrate to machines on your shop floor to pull counts directly
  • Provide up-to-date electronic versions of shop floor paperwork at the work center
  • Monitor your production against your key performance indicators
     

Join us on Thursday, August 28th at 12:00 p.m. Eastern to learn more.

TO REGISTER:

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Baan/LN Tip of the Week: Company Calendar

Kathy Barthelt 0 123488 Article rating: No rating

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: SFC600 & SFC650

Anthony Etzel 0 95761 Article rating: No rating

These programs are used to capture and post shop floor information. Labor reporting, machine time, etc. can be captured by either program. The key difference is that one will also capture the production receipt and backflush components. Based on your company information / transaction process, one of these programs will most likely be used daily to capture current shop floor data. You can use the shop packet labor ticket for the manual recording, and the keying of the data. Alternatively, you can incorporate an automated method like an MES solution to capture the data and streamline the process.

Crossroads RMC to Exhibit at Manufacturing Matchmaking 2014

Crossroads RMC 0 50440 Article rating: No rating
Crossroads RMC will exhibit at the inaugural Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Center (IMEC) Manufacturing Matchmaking Event 2014 on September 23, 2014. Manufacturers from across the state of Illinois will come together at this event to discuss ways to improve the productivity and competitiveness of Illinois' small and mid-sized manufacturing firms.

BPCS/LX Tip of the Week: What is the bubble number and how do I maintain it?

Anthony Etzel 0 87412 Article rating: No rating

The bubble number is maintained at the component level for each component defined on the Bill of Material. It is an extra user-defined reference number that you can use to re-sequence the maintenance screen display or bills of material listings.

In Infor LX, the system displays the bubble number for the existing child items. Engineering drawings often use a bubble number at the component level on the drawing so that same bubble number can be used on the Bill of Material for a link of the component to the drawing. Alternatively, you may use it simply as a method to sequence the BOM.

Be careful of how you assign the number. It is a good idea to assign the number with a consecutive count by 10 leaving room to allow for component additions to the Bill of Material.

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Tips:  LX | BPCS | M3

Tips: LN | Baan

Is Your ERP Environment Ready for What's Next?

For many manufacturers, ERP has been the foundation of their business for years. It manages orders, inventory, production, purchasing, and financials. But as technology and business demands continue to evolve, many organizations are beginning to ask a different question:

Is our ERP environment ready for what's next?

For some, that conversation includes cloud migration. For others, it's about integration, visibility, analytics, or supporting future growth.

The good news is that modernization doesn't have to start with a major migration project.

Start with the Business, Not the Technology

One of the biggest misconceptions about modernization is that it begins with selecting a new platform.

In reality, the most successful projects begin by understanding the business challenges you're trying to solve.

Questions worth asking include:

  • Are systems connected and sharing information efficiently?

  • Where are manual processes creating delays?

  • Does reporting provide the visibility needed to make timely decisions?

  • Can the current environment support future growth?

The answers often reveal opportunities that can deliver value immediately, regardless of whether cloud migration is part of the long-term strategy.
 

Modernization Is a Journey

Many manufacturers take a phased approach to modernization.

Some begin by improving integrations between systems.

Others focus on reporting and analytics to improve visibility and decision-making.

Some explore cloud-based services while continuing to leverage their existing ERP investment.

The goal isn't simply to move applications to a new platform. It's to create a more connected, scalable environment that supports the business for years to come.
 

Planning Your Cloud Journey

As cloud adoption continues to grow, many organizations are evaluating what a migration path might look like.

Infor's Leap program was created to help customers take a structured approach to cloud modernization through readiness planning, industry best practices, and a defined migration framework.

Whether a move is months away or several years down the road, understanding the available options can help organizations make informed decisions and reduce risk.
 

Where Crossroads RMC Fits In

Every manufacturer's environment is different.

That's why the first step isn't choosing a cloud platform. It's understanding your business processes, integrations, reporting requirements, and long-term objectives.

At Crossroads RMC, we help manufacturers evaluate their current environment, identify opportunities for improvement, and develop a roadmap that aligns technology investments with business goals.

Sometimes that roadmap includes cloud migration.

Sometimes it starts with integration, analytics, or process improvements.

The important thing is having a plan.
 

Final Thoughts

Modernization looks different for every organization. For some, it's cloud migration. For others, it's improving integrations, analytics, or business processes.

The important thing is having a roadmap that aligns technology investments with business goals.

If you're evaluating what's next for your ERP environment, we'd be happy to share what we're seeing and help you explore your options.

Start the conversation

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