Please Wait a Moment
X

Infor LX Tips, Infor LN Tips, BPCS Tips, Baan Tips, Infor M3 Tips & Infor ERP News

Crossroads Connections

Infor ERP Tips & News from the Experts

Infor LX | Infor LN | BPCS | Baan | Infor M3

Are ERP System Blockages Thwarting Your Progress?

Kathy Barthelt 0 14359 Article rating: 5.0

After a week of blocking the Suez Canal, the now-famous cargo ship, Ever Given has been freed from the 27,000 cubic meters of sand and mud that were surrounding the ship. Supply chains are flowing again. I for one am very glad to hear that the ship has been freed since coffee, toilet paper and a whole host of other items were being held up! In all seriousness, it was and is a crisis that will have ripple effects on the global economy.

As I often do, I started to relate this crisis to the world of ERP that we live in. Although we are not responsible for dealing with a situation like what happened in the Suez Canal, we all deal with problems in our jobs every day. Some of these problems are small, and some are not so small. Some problems are caused by human error, some by prevailing winds that blow us in a particular direction, and some by circumstances out of our control. It is what we do about the problems we encounter that make all the difference. We could bury our heads and hope the problems somehow go away on their own, or we can take action and do something to bring about the change necessary to get past the blockage.

I see “blockages” every day in working with my customers. Sometimes it is a lack of understanding of best practices in a given department, or a reliance on tribal knowledge that determines how and why something is done in the system, or inefficient manual processes destroying a company’s efficiency, or hundreds (or thousands) of customizations standing in the way of an upgrade, or employees labeling an ERP system as “no longer a fit” when their company is only using 10% of the available functionality in the system.

So, maybe today we could focus on what it would take to remove the “blockage” that we have in our way. What benefits could we realize if we worked together to bring about incremental change? Could we actually get that upgrade done? Could we start operating based on industry-leading best practices? Could we increase our market share? Could we decrease our costs and boost our revenue? All of this is possible.

Contact me today so that we can begin to work together to solve the problems that stand in the way of your progress.

solutions@crossroadsrmc.com or 800.762.2077

Crossroads RMC's support team is friendly, well trained, experienced, and committed to resolving your support & technical issues as quickly & effectively as possible.

Crossroads RMC 0 16017 Article rating: 5.0

How good would you feel if you knew that 30+ years of ERP manufacturing experience was on the other end of the phone when you placed a support call?

That’s what our customers get when they call Crossroads RMC for help.

Crossroads RMC offers a number of services to help you make the most of your Infor ERP investment, regardless of the version of Infor LX, BPCS, Infor LN, Baan, or Infor M3, you are running. Our support team is friendly, well trained, experienced, and committed to resolving your support and technical issues as quickly and effectively as possible. To ensure all your support needs are met, we offer several different methods:

  • TELEPHONE SUPPORT:
    Our phones are answered by live representatives to ensure that you receive prompt, personal, and efficient assistance. These services are available Monday through Friday 8:30 am to 5:00 pm ET. We also offer standby support and after-hour support when requested.
  • ONLINE SUPPORT:
    Online support is available by logging onto your system using a remote connection. With a live connection, our consultants are able to view your system and troubleshoot issues in real-time.
  • REMOTE & ON-SITE CONSULTING:
    Consulting is an excellent option if more in-depth service, training, or troubleshooting is needed. End-User training or group custom training on new features and solutions is also handled effectively using this method of support.
  • BUSINESS ASSESSMENTS:
    Experienced Crossroads RMC Consultants will compare your existing business processes with your existing software and put together a detailed report of their findings. This includes recommendations for improving the day-to-day running of your business while getting the maximum benefit from your software. This also ensures that you are up to date with any features and technologies without adding disruption to your business.

Learn more about our support services>

Infor LN & Baan: What are your production orders telling you?

Kathy Barthelt 0 18166 Article rating: 5.0

Measure what you want to improve.

Six simple words, but put together they convey a powerful concept that can transform manufacturing companies. It’s a basic concept that’s hard to argue with: Collect data, see where the data leads you, and make changes that have a positive impact on the data. Repeat often.

If your company is manufacturing a product, you’re more than likely creating manufacturing variances. These variances tell managers where the company is not performing to the standards that were created and agreed to by those responsible in the Engineering, Finance, or Production Departments. There is almost a 100% chance you are creating either favorable or unfavorable manufacturing variances and, quite frankly, none of the variances will ever be favorable because the company is either over-costing or under-costing the production parts.

The data is all there within your ERP system… or at least it should be… provided that you are not tracking production information outside of your ERP system in a spreadsheet.

Analyzing your production orders can help you track down:

Is Your Infor ERP System the Elephant in the Room?

Crossroads RMC 0 22281 Article rating: 5.0

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. The new version wasn't researched, its functionality was unknown and no one was trained on it.

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?”

Yes - It matters more than you think.... 

Manufacturing: How much time are you wasting on manual processes?

Crossroads RMC 0 21081 Article rating: 5.0

It tells us that there is a great need for a review of your manufacturing processes.

Manual processes around labor reporting, production completions, issuing of material, inspection approvals, serialization, and more can weigh down the entire shop floor team and can be the source of significant errors. Your business and your customers’ needs have changed and you are in a constant battle to keep up. It is hard to know which area to tackle first and where the greatest impact can be made.

That's where the Crossroads RMC Manufacturing Utilization Review comes in. Whether you're on an old version of BPCS or Baan, or the latest version of Infor LX or Infor LN, odds are there are aspects of Manufacturing / Production Control in the ERP system that doesn't fit your business's current strategy. Do you throw out the software and start with something new? Odds are that is overkill. Sometimes it just boils down to taking the time to understand how your current state matches up with your corporate strategy, understanding the gaps, and developing a plan to get you from point A to point B.

We have successfully helped companies transform their business in the areas of: 

  • Planning / Scheduling
  • Shop Floor Control
  • Final Assembly
  • Quality Control
  • Production Control
  • Forecasting
  • Work Centers / Routings / Bill of Materials

Our consultants have 30+ years of experience that bring about REAL...

Finance: How much time are you wasting on manual processes?

Crossroads RMC 0 21730 Article rating: 5.0

Time-consuming processes around month-end close, year-end close, AP matching, invoicing, account reconciliation, vendor payments, tax compliance, and more can weigh down a Finance team. Your business and your customers’ needs have changed and you are in a constant battle to keep up. It's hard to know which area to tackle first and where the greatest impact can be made.

That's where the Crossroads RMC Finance Utilization Review comes in.
Whether you're on an old version of BPCS or Baan, or the latest version of Infor LX or Infor LN, odds are there are aspects of Finance in the ERP system that doesn't fit your business's current strategy. Do you throw out the software and start with something new? Odds are that is overkill. Sometimes it just boils down to taking the time to understand how your current state matches up with your corporate strategy, understanding the gaps, and developing a plan to get you from point A to point B.

We have successfully helped companies transform their business in the areas of:

  • Procure to Pay
  • Record to Report
  • Quote to Cash
  • Financial Planning & Analysis

Our Finance consultants have 30+ years of experience that bring about REAL...

RSS
12345

Theme picker

Tips:  LX | BPCS | M3

Determining whether to use Master Production Schedule (MPS) planning or Material Requirements Planning (MRP) planning for items in Infor LX and BPCS involves understanding the nature of the items and their demand characteristics.

Master Scheduled Items typically encompass finished goods or service items. These items receive their requirements either from Independent demand, Dependent demand, or a combination of both...

Advanced Remittance Processing, ARP, provides an automated approach to your cash application process. ARP works together with Accounts Receivable to save valuable time and resources by automatically applying incoming payments to open receivables during daily batch processing. You can easily and efficiently resolve unapplied remittances online.

Advanced Remittance Processing (ARP) is an automatic cash application process that allows you to perform the following functions:

135678910Last

Theme picker

Tips: LN | Baan

Are you striving to create shipping labels that cater to all your customers' needs? Do you require specific details on your shipping labels for particular items or product lines?

According to recent research, the global barcode label printer market was valued at $2.6 billion in 2022 and is estimated to reach $4.3 billion by 2032, exhibiting a CAGR of 5.2% from 2023 to 2032.

Crossroads RMC's RMClabel software automates the printing of customer-specific and item-specific labels...

Ensuring access to historical logistical and financial transaction information for your employees is crucial. However, before proceeding with archiving or deletion, it's essential to evaluate the necessity of retaining this data. Baan and Infor LN (ERP LN) offer standard archiving sessions within major modules that typically handle a significant volume of historical transactions. These sessions are designed to transfer historical data to an archive company before deleting it from the operational company.

When it comes to archiving sessions, you have three primary options:

135678910Last

Theme picker

Categories