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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

An ERP System Review is NOT a Report Card

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

Kathy Barthelt 0 28908 Article rating: 5.0

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 in our job. Nervousness…sometimes dread…knowing that our performance maybe 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.

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. 

An ERP Utilization Review will:

Infor LN & Baan Finance Tip: Unallocated Payment

Kathy Barthelt 0 70690 Article rating: 5.0

How do I assign an unallocated payment to a purchase invoice when the document dates are not the same?

When trying to assign an unallocated payment, it is possible that the purchase invoice is not displayed in session Assign Unallocated / Advance Payments to Invoices (tfcmg2106s000), even though it is showing in the open entries. This can happen when the document date of the unallocated payment lies before the document date of the purchase invoice you want to assign it to. There are 2 ways to handle this...

Infor LX & BPCS Tip: What items should be M-P-S planned vs. M-R-P planned?

George Moroses 0 34361 Article rating: 5.0

Master Scheduled Items are those items that are finished goods, or service items, that receive their requirements either specifically from Independent demand, or both Dependent and Independent demand.

  • Independent Demand is demand that cannot be calculated from higher-level demand in the product structure, and therefore must be either a forecast or an actual customer order (Finished Goods or Service parts sold to customers).
  • Dependent demand.....

Infor LN & Baan Tip: Separate item codes for incoming & outgoing subassemblies

Kathy Barthelt 0 62305 Article rating: 5.0

You may be wondering if it's necessary to have separate item codes for incoming and outgoing subassemblies.

No, it is not necessary to have separate item codes for incoming and outgoing subassemblies, but it is recommended. In theory, you could have only one item code with the description subassembly and use the same item code for the outgoing subassembly and for the incoming subassembly. However, when monitoring inventory movements and financial integration transactions, it will be difficult to understand the process. Also, the costing logic is much clearer when different item codes for the incoming and outgoing subassemblies are used. Because of this, it is advised to use a different item code for the outgoing subassembly and a different item code for the incoming subassembly.

Infor LX & BPCS Tip: Changing an item to non-inventory

George Moroses 0 24501 Article rating: 5.0

When an attempt is made to change an item’s type to a non-inventory item from any other value, a new validation is performed to determine if the item has any inventory on hand and, if so, prevents changing the item’s type.

This enhancement available in LX 8.4 prevents LX from showing an on-hand inventory balance for a non-inventory item.

The programs or areas impacted include:

  • Facility/Planning Data Maintenance, MRP140D2
  • IDF Enterprise Item

To get this enhancement, request and apply MR 80120.

Top 10 Things (you might not know) About Crossroads RMC

Crossroads RMC 0 15492 Article rating: 5.0


10.  Crossroads RMC has been in business since 1984 & has been an  partner since 1991
 

 9. Crossroads RMC offers functional & technical training on all versions of Infor LX, BPCS, Infor LN, and Baan and will completely tailor the training to your specific needs. 🤝🏽

 8.  Our consultants have over 1,000 years of combined experience working with manufacturers just like you! 🤓

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DATA: See it. Understand it. Discuss it.

Crossroads RMC 0 15712 Article rating: 5.0

We’ve all heard author and management consultant Peter Drucker’s famous quote “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.”  

What’s the right way to manage “It” though? Is it enough to put the data in the hands of the responsible manager and wait for change to occur? Does the manager have a pulse on everything that went into those numbers?

Your numbers tell a story, but there is a lot of...

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Tips:  LX | BPCS | M3

Tips: LN | Baan

Is Your Infor ERP System the Elephant in the Room?

The Infor ERP Elephant in the Room That Must Be Addressed

In a recent survey of Infor ERP customers, we discovered that 50% of respondents said that they did not know whether or not their ERP system had the features and functionality required for their business.  50%....1 out of every 2……not good.

Why is this the case? Well, the causes can be traced back to one of the following reasons:

  • A key-person has retired or left the company and their knowledge left with them.
  • Systems were implemented based on how the previous system worked.
  • Upgrades and implementations were viewed as a “technical upgrade”, meaning that the upgrade was done to get off an old or outdated platform. All the new features and functionality weren't researched so they are unknown and no one could be trained on them.


You may say “So what? Who cares if our team doesn’t know what else is available, or how the rest of the ERP system functions? Does it really matter?” It matters more than you think.

If you rely on an Infor ERP system to get your job done, you need to not only know what sessions to run, what fields are required, and what reports provide results, you also need to understand how the transactions impact the rest of the system. Without that understanding, you are inadvertently creating a departmental silo which can have a negative impact on the performance of the ERP for the rest of the company. 

Not knowing the functionality of the ERP results in limited use of the system as a whole. In my 25 years working with ERP systems, I have seen many cases where a company becomes frustrated with the limitations of the system only to discover that they were only utilizing 10-20% of the ERP system's capabilities. The system didn’t impose the limitation…it was the use of the system, or shall I say the lack of it, that was the culprit.

To be competitive in today’s economy, an ERP system should be able to move in lockstep with a business as its needs change. In order for this to happen, the entire company needs to be willing to change too. Part of this change involves taking advantage of the best practices that are built into the Infor ERP system. If you're not sure how to do that - you are not alone! Fully understanding your Infor ERP requires a team of capable users in each key department of your organization to marry the capabilities of the ERP system with your business objectives. Sounds complicated? Well, it doesn't stop there. Your team of capable users needs to communicate between the key departments to make sure one department's procedures don't handicap any other department. Once this level of understanding and communication is established, decisions can be made to take advantage of the most effective way to minimize costs, increase efficiency, improve quality and deliver the highest level of customer service possible…everything you invested in the Infor ERP system for in the first place, is now unleashed.

Not sure where to start? Crossroads RMC's consultants have this exact expertise and the skills to get you through tough times. Our expertise comes from years of experience, and best practices to evaluate your business processes and identify areas where improvement is needed. Whether you need to increase the return on your ERP investment or have no idea what to do next, our comprehensive ROI business case, cost estimates, benefits, and a plan of action will supply you with the information you need to add value to your business.

Request a free phone consultation>  or contact us to learn how to get started> solutions@crossroadsrmc.com  |  800.762.2077

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