Infor ERP Tips and Infor ERP News for Infor LX, BPCS, Infor ERP LX, Infor LN, Infor ERP LN, Baan, Infor M3, and Movex

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

Manual Processes Are Killing Your Productivity

Infor LX | BPCS | Infor LN | Baan

Crossroads RMC 0 23153 Article rating: 5.0

Nearly 70% of workers say that the biggest opportunity of automation lies in reducing time wasted on repetitive work.

Which repetitive tasks would workers most like to see automated? A recent study by McKinsey Global Institute found that there are three productivity killers that workers are eager to automate:

  1. Data Collection: Eliminate human error and manual data entry by automatically collecting, uploading, or syncing data into a system of record (55%).
  2. Approvals: Become more efficient by automating approvals, sign-offs, and confirmation requests (36%).
  3. Updates: Reduce wasted time by automatically requesting status updates and other information (32%).

Workers believe that automating these tasks will reduce wasted time (69%), eliminate human error (66%) and recover hours lost to manual, repetitive tasks that could be automated (59%).

Too expensive you say? Too big of an effort to make it happen?  Not necessarily...

Infor LX & BPCS Tip: Hold Status - Customer Orders

George Moroses 0 25528 Article rating: 5.0

How do I know which orders are on hold? – Pick Release / Pick Confirm

Orders that are on credit hold, customer hold, user hold, margin hold, credit card hold, or pricing hold cannot be selected for Pick Release or Pick Confirm. The ORD952B, Orders Not Selected Report, can be requested at Pick Release or Pick Confirm to list any order that would normally qualify for selection, but has been excluded for other reasons, and to print that reason. ORD952B has been modified to validate the hold status of the original customer order, instead of the intercompany automation warehouse order that is being processed, and to print a reference to the original customer order along with the reason.

Collaborate IN-PERSON With Infor LN Users

LN North America User Group - Face-to-Face 2022 (lnnaug.org)

Kathy Barthelt 0 27325 Article rating: 5.0

Exciting News - LN North America User Group Annual Meeting is Face-to-Face in 2022! (lnnaug.org)

Crossroads RMC is proud to sponsor the LN North American User Group Annual Meeting on April 19 & 20, 2022 in Columbus, Ohio.

Are you ready to collaborate IN PERSON with other Infor LN (ERP LN) customers? Would you like a chance to speak to Infor team members in Product Development, Product Management, and Software Development?

Then this FREE event is for you! 2 Full Days of learning sessions, customer stories, discussion groups, and networking. Join us!

To Register →

Infor LN & Baan Tip: Project Status Options

Kathy Barthelt 0 60747 Article rating: 5.0

Ever wonder what the implications are of choosing one project status versus another?

Here is the explanation of project status possible values:

Free
You can carry out project engineering. This means that you can:

  • Define the project master schedule (PMS) by using the Project Control module.
  • Maintain the project structure.
  • Maintain the customized product structure by using customized bills of material and routing sheets.
  • Carry out project estimating.

Simulated
You simulate the rough capacity requirements planning...

Infor LX & BPCS Tip: How Items Are Selected for a Cycle Count

George Moroses 0 27301 Article rating: 5.0

The Cycle Counting Sub-System Within Inventory Management

The system uses the following information as the basis for cycle counting selection:

  • Cycle Counts/Year: The system calculates the time between cycle counts based on your entry in this Item Master file field for each item (optional).
  • Last Cycle Count Date: This date is in the Location Inventory file, ILI, if you use locations, or in the Warehouse Inventory file, IWI, if you don't.

The system adds the time between cycle counts (calculated as described above) to this date. If the result is less than or equal to today's date, the item is selected for cycle counting. If it is greater than today's date, the item is not selected, it is not due yet for cycle counting.

There is another special condition that causes an item to be selected for cycle counting. If the ILI/IWI record of the item has a Y in the Cycle Flag field, the item is selected automatically. This flag indicates that the item's on-hand balance has gone to a negative value sometime since the last cycle count. That applies even if the value is not negative at selection time. The programs that can set this field are INV500D, INV510, and BIL540.

You can also limit the items selected for counting by specifying limits of the item numbers or warehouses to be searched.

Mitigating Risk With Your Infor ERP

Infor LX | BPCS | Infor LN | Baan

Crossroads RMC 0 23488 Article rating: 5.0

MARCH… "in like a lion and out like a lamb"

Problems = Risk

Boy, it sure seems like we’ve seen our fair share of March “LIONS” over the past few years, wouldn’t you agree? Those lions have manifested mostly as external global problems outside of the control of any given person or manufacturing operation. As we know, problems = risk.

So, how do businesses respond to risk, specifically when it comes to their ERP system? We all deal with risks in our jobs every day. It is our response to the risk that makes all the difference. Creating short-term, midterm, and long-term response strategies ensure that a company can not only handle a fast-changing situation or emergency but also make the investments needed to seize opportunities and become more resilient.

To create these response strategies, manufacturers should examine:

  • How did we get here?
  • Where are we now?
  • Where are we headed?
  • What to do about it?

In order to really dig into each of these areas, our customers have successfully partnered with us to review a particular part of their business that they feel is at risk and sometimes have asked us to review everything…soup to nuts. This review is done through an ERP Utilization Review. In this review, we can dig into such things as...

Infor LN & Baan Tip: LN Order Management - Generating Purchase Receipts

Kathy Barthelt 0 59233 Article rating: 5.0

The purpose of the option to "Generate" is to insert purchase order lines automatically into the purchase receipt. As part of the automatic process, all receipt lines are also automatically confirmed. The option should be used when large orders are received.   

If necessary, received quantities that are not correct can be adjusted through session Correct Purchase Receipt (tdpur4106s100).

Alternative: From the purchase order lines menu the option...

Infor LX & BPCS Tip: What is System i Workspace AnyWhere?

George Moroses 0 29270 Article rating: 5.0

Infor System i Workspace AnyWhere is a user interface for launching Infor ERP and IBM i application tasks through a web browser. It provides an intuitive way for users to navigate through the System Manager Menu structure and to launch tasks that can display screens either using a graphical or an emulator look and feel.

Learn more> System i Workspace AnyWhere Product Guide

First3839404143454647Last

Tips:  LX | BPCS | M3

Tips: LN | Baan

It’s NOT All About the Money, Money, Money… Motivating Employees in the New Year!

Have you ever thought about what really motivates your employees?

It’s not about the almighty dollar, you know. Ok, ok…..money doesn’t hurt, but money alone doesn’t keep most people in their jobs. You actually need to motivate your employees to keep them showing up, mentally, and physically. Employees that don’t feel motivated are probably underperforming, and that means you’re losing money.

Ask yourself these questions about your employees:

  • Are they happy…..YES….HAPPY! Do they enjoy coming to work every day?
  • Do they feel challenged, or do they feel demeaned?
  • Are they sinking, or are they swimming?
  • Do they have the right tools in their arsenal to battle the giants?
  • Where’s the reward?

Happiness - I’ve worked with manufacturers for almost 20 years now, and I’ve seen employees who are fulfilled and very happy in their jobs, and employees who count the seconds until they leave each day. Happiness is a choice, but certainly, you as an employer can have a big impact on how happy your employees are. Happiness can be found when employees feel that what they do has a purpose. Do they understand that the part that they are making is used in the production of sophisticated medical equipment that saves lives? Or protects families from getting hurt in a car accident? Having the end customer in mind gives purpose to their work. Having a purpose can make people happy.  

Challenge – Are your employees given any incentive for process improvement? You are not blessed with the perfect mind. All brilliant ideas do not come from you. The lowest man/woman on the totem pole may have the next best idea for your business. Encourage them to bring those ideas forward. Do they have a path for growth that is clearly defined? If you’re never looking for more from your employees, they probably won’t give it to you.

Sink or Swim - When an employee makes a mistake, do you reprimand or punish them? Instead, how about teaching them? Explain to them how things could be done differently next time and provide some guidance and reassurance that they can and will do better.  A pat on the back when they do it right the second time doesn’t hurt either.

Tools – Have you thought about what you need to provide for your employees to make them successful? Do they need training? Or maybe retraining? Would they benefit from being paired with a mentor? How about their physical tools? Is the machinery and software up to snuff? Are they being held back by outdated software and manual processes?

Reward – So, yes, you need to pay your employees fairly, but there are more rewards to be had. Increased responsibility is a great one (make sure you give them the title that goes with it). Designate an employee of the month and announce their great work to everyone in the company. Give employees an opportunity to attend a conference or a workshop which will benefit them and the company. Send a hard-working employee a handwritten note letting them know that you noticed their efforts.  Reward the little things and boost morale.

Sorry, I know this is a lot, but employee motivation is YOUR problem, or shall I say… your opportunity to make them happy and more productive. 

Here are 5 ways you can motivate your employees to give their best every day:

1. Train Your Employees

2. Give Your Employees the Right Tools

3. Automate Processes

4. Give Your Employees Real-Time Feedback

5. Provide Incentives to Do More

For more ideas, read this article from the Harvard Business Review https://hbr.org/2016/01/to-motivate-employees-do-3-things-well.
 

Can you do it? Of course, you can! You don’t have to do it all by yourself, however. Companies like Crossroads RMC can assist. We provide training services that can be completely tailored to your business. We also provide software solutions to help automate many of your manual processes, and dashboard solutions to provide real-time feedback on performance.

If you choose to do this, the benefits to your company will be amazing. You will have a happy, loyal, and prepared workforce, ready to come to work each day to make the company wildly successful. Something to think about as we start a new year.

I’m looking forward to working with you to make the new year great!
 

About the author:
 



Kathy Barthelt is the vice president of  Crossroads RMC, which helps optimize manufacturing systems. She cares deeply about bringing the human side into manufacturing. One can often find her writing and speaking about stress and shop floor workers, job skill, or employee motivation and production improvement. You can find even more insights from her past blog posts.

 Link with Kathy

Print
41061 Rate this article:
5.0
Kathy Barthelt

Kathy BartheltKathy Barthelt

Other posts by Kathy Barthelt

Contact author

x

Categories