I recently came across an article from CIO Magazine that talked about the various ways that your ERP system could be hurting your business. The single most important item on that list referenced ERP systems that weren’t integrated with other systems that housed mission-critical business data.

Having data in two (or more) systems that don’t talk to one another is like baking a pizza crust in one oven and the toppings in another. Once baked, you may have some good food to snack on, but it sure isn’t pizza! Pizza requires the cheese and sauce and spices to bake with the crust. One takes on the flavor of the other and when you take a bite, you get a complete representation of the flavors.   

That’s the value of an integrated ERP system. When you take a bite, you get a complete representation of the flavors…meaning, you get one version of the truth. Everything comes together to allow you to analyze critical business data in an efficient way with no disconnects.

Crossroads consultants have spent years developing integration expertise to tie countless different systems to Infor ERPs.

Here are some examples…

Polar Beverages, Inc. of Worcester MA has just announced a successful ‘Go Live' that brings their Adirondack Beverages division, in Scotia NY into a corporate environment running on the Infor LX platform. All business functions will be handled through the Infor LX platform, including Manufacturing, Supply Chain, and Financials. 

In early 2017, 2 divisions of Polar in Worcester MA and Fitzgerald, GA began utilizing Infor LX. Crossroads RMC partnered with Polar by providing technical and application support throughout the duration of the project.

Did you implement your ERP system 5 years ago… or maybe 20 years ago? At the time, it was like a brand new car… sleek, fast, top-of-the-line, and fuel-efficient. And although it may have needed a few minor “adjustments”, overall you were very pleased. Fast forward to today. Does it still have that new car smell? Does it run as efficiently as it used to? Do you know how to fix a problem when it occurs?

While ERP systems are certainly designed to last, over time, your business changes, your customers’ needs change, employees change and you are left with a system that may run “fine”, but you certainly don’t feel the same way about it as you did when it was brand new.

So the good news is that you CAN restore that “new car smell” with a utilization review. What is a utilization review? It's an opportunity for someone, outside of your organization, to evaluate the “what”, “how”, “who” and “why” related to the software that you use to run your business. Our consultant reviews current usage and related business processes of your entire ERP system, or a particular area like Finance, Manufacturing, Materials Management, or Technology to make recommendations that will reinvigorate your ERP system and those that use it.

Stop avoiding the warning light that indicates a serious problem and get started with a FREE 1-hour phone assessment to determine if your business can benefit from a utilization review!

Request Free Assessment>

A utilization review can be performed 100% remotely via phone or web meeting, or in person, following safety guidelines. 

Regardless of the size of your business, continuous improvement in productivity is essential to enhancing gross profits and maintaining competitiveness.

Here are a few of the best tips to help you improve the productivity of your manufacturing facility as presented by Robotics and Automation News >

You are invited to a Zoom webinar.

Date/Time: Wednesday, October 14^th 10:00 a.m. CDT / 11:00 a.m. EDT
Topic: Consumer Use Tax 101: What's all the fuss about for manufacturers and distributors?

Your business makes a purchase and you notice the seller doesn’t collect sales tax. So it must be tax free, right? Wrong. Consumer use tax may still apply, and if you’re not actively tracking use tax obligations, you could be making a costly mistake.

Put simply, use tax is owed on a purchase when the seller does not collect sales tax, or when the use of the product/service (or the location of consumption) results in more tax being owed. Sound complicated? It is, and that’s what makes use tax one of the most mismanaged compliance issues for businesses.

We brought in our partners at Avalara to dive in. For this session, learn more about consumer use tax, what it is, and when your business may be on the hook to pay it.

• The events that can trigger consumer use tax requirements
• The most common consumer use tax management challenges
• The impact of economic nexus laws on consumer use tax
• How your business can step up compliance to avoid being audited

This will be one ‘use-ful’ webinar that you won’t want to miss!

Register Today>

Outbound BODs from M3 to integrated applications
This table shows the BODs that are available with Infor M3. Where the product column is blank, the BOD is not currently used by interfacing products, but the BOD is generated by M3 and is available to be processed through ION and any application that is set up to receive it.

Read the full list of outbound and inbound BODs from M3 to integrated applications>

Infor Operating Service (OS) is a technology platform that supports fully integrated, industry-specific solution suites with mobile-first design, a consumer-inspired user experience, and science-driven analytics. It leverages the convergence of information, analytics, cloud computing, mobility, and social business.

This platform includes these products:

•    Infor Ming.le
•    Infor ION CE
•    ION Messaging Service (IMS)
•    Infor Data Lake
•    Infor Document Management
•    Infor Localization Services Platform (LSP)
•    Infor Localization Services

Read OS overview>

If you plan to use Infor WebTop, the WebTop version 4.7 or above is required when running LX 8.4. Also, acquire and install the latest WebTop 4.7 patches from Infor Xtreme prior to running LX WebTop. WebTop 4.7 can be applied to your existing environments before you install 8.4.0. If this is completed before installing LX 8.4 then the LX install will take care of much of the Webtop server configuration automatically, including installing the LX Webtop metadata, updating WEB_ENV, and including the Webtop Platform library in the INLIBL data area as part of the environment setup. If you choose to install WebTop after the LX 8.4 installation is completed, the “Infor LX 8.4 Webtop 4.7 Configuration Guide” will guide you through all the configuration steps to set up Webtop for your LX environment.