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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

Optimize with Infor Development Framework: IDF

Infor LX | BPCS | M3

George Moroses 0 18514 Article rating: 5.0

Why You Need IDF

The Infor Development Framework (IDF) not only helps you modernize the look and feel of your LX software but also the interactions of the IBM i software with other applications in your business.

“The IDF is a multi-user interface, single codebase architecture that’s metadata-driven (and) provides a lot of flexibility to adapt the software for their processes.” says Infor. This is the direction that Infor is going starting...

Managing the Inventory Risk

Infor LN & Baan

Kathy Barthelt 0 17398 Article rating: 5.0

Proper Inventory Management & Planning is not for the weak!

Any of these ever happen to you?

  • My supplier can’t provide the raw materials I need when I need them because I waited too long to order.
  • I underestimated how much raw material I had on hand and now my customer’s order is waiting on hold until I can get the parts I need.
  • I couldn’t meet the desired delivery date for my customer’s order, so they took their business somewhere else.
  • I ordered too many raw materials or made too many sub-assemblies because I didn’t have good visibility to my on-hand inventory.

...

LN & Baan | LX & BPCS Tip: 9 Tips for Secure Manufacturing Business Systems Through OT Cybersecurity Vulnerability Management

Infor LX, BPCS, Infor M3, Infor LN & Baan

Crossroads RMC 0 21986 Article rating: 5.0

Always happy to share a good article on protecting your business from cybersecurity threats. 

9 OT Cybersecurity Strategies To Secure Manufacturing Industries

By Will Fastiggi - Technology for Learners - January 23, 2023

Let’s delve into the details of how to secure manufacturing industries through OT cybersecurity vulnerability management. Below are some tips and tricks.

1. Implement a...

Infor LX & BPCS: Why You Need MES

George Moroses 0 26296 Article rating: 5.0

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...

Staff Augmentation: Knowledgeable ERP Staff Quickly

Infor LX, BPCS, Infor M3, Infor LN & Baan

Crossroads RMC 0 13816 Article rating: 5.0

So... your staff is working on a critical project for your top customer, and in order to maintain customer satisfaction and complete the project on-time, you are faced with the immediate need for additional staff. You know that the recruitment process takes way too long, and that it's virtually impossible to find highly qualified employees that won't need lengthy training to bring them up to speed on your ERP system, let alone your business. 

What if... your ERP system is dragging and you know you are behind on installing updates that are likely to improve system performance, but your IT guy is working on something else of importance and can't perform the upgrade?

Either of these scenarios sound familiar? 

Staff Augmentation ensures that...

Infor LN & Baan Tip: What Data Can Be Archived or Deleted?

Kathy Barthelt 0 52021 Article rating: 5.0

From time to time, your employees need access to information related to logistical and financial transactions that have occurred in the past. Before you archive or delete this information, you must understand the need for this information. Baan and LN contain standard archiving sessions in the major modules that tend to have a high volume of historical transactions. These sessions are designed to copy historical data to the archive company, and then delete the data from the operational company.

You have three options in archiving sessions...

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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.  

Get a free phone consultation button

800.762.2077

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Kathy Barthelt

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