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

How Do I Determine If MES Is Right For My Business?

George Moroses 0 36937 Article rating: 5.0

There are certain key questions that must be answered to determine whether or not an MES system would benefit your organization: 

  • How do you analyze OEE?
  • Is there an opportunity to reduce WIP inventory, indirect labor, downtime, waste or scrap?
  • What is the cost and impact of producing and distributing shop paper including drawings and work instructions?
  • Would you like to go paperless on your shop floor?
  • How are your continuous improvement initiatives tied to your ERP?
  • Is Management requesting real time production status reporting via dashboards or drilldown reports?
  • What different “islands of automation” exist on your shop floor?

The answers to each of these questions could have a significant impact on the profitability of your business. Want to quantify your results? Contact George Moroses today to schedule your FREE MES ROI Analysis.

Consulting News: How comprehensive is the Crossroads RMC ERP business audit & how does it work?

George Moroses 0 43994 Article rating: 5.0

Our Infor LX Practice just finished a Supply Chain and Manufacturing audit for one of our customers. During that engagement, several areas of the business were identified that could benefit from additional training and consulting support. 

Areas of significance were:

  • Purchasing
  • Customer Service
  • Billing
  • Inventory
  • Costing
  • Bills of Materials and Routings
  • Material Requirements Planning
  • Shop Floor Control

Several manual procedures and “tribal knowledge” systems were discovered. The evaluation was done by two consultants who spent time with key users during two onsite visits. The next step in the process will involve working with the client to prioritize the list of items identified and develop a strategic plan focused on growth and efficiency.

Infor LX & BPCS Tip of the Week: Order processing enhancement – LX 8.4

George Moroses 0 64002 Article rating: 5.0

Restrict Over-shipments to Customers

  • System parameter option controls when over shipments are allowed

Options to:

  • Continue current process with warning message
  • Give error message
  • Automatically correct to quantity available for shipment
     
  • Option to revise the order quantity so that pricing, promotions, credit checking load planning and other processes reflect the actual quantity
  • Allows better control of exceptions for over shipments
  • Ensures that pricing, promotions are correctly based on actual order quantity

About 65% of the world’s population are visual learners. This extends into the ERP software realm, too.

Infor LN & Baan

Kathy Barthelt 0 82022 Article rating: 5.0

Graphical representation makes complex concepts—like the intricacies of an ERP system—more universal, relatable and easy to understand.

ERP dashboards gather and visualize critical metrics from across the organization, offering insight into the performance, outlook and interconnectivity of business processes.

By setting up ERP dashboards that illustrate key metrics and compellingly communicate operational performance, key stakeholders will have a clear picture of the health of the business—and make better, more informed business decisions as a result.

The Crossroads Analytics Dashboard has preconfigured views for all of the following:

 Infor LN & Baan
  • Accounts Payable
  • Accounts Receivable
  • Journal
  • Booked Sales
  • Invoiced Sales
  • Production
  • Receipts
  • Purchase Orders
  • Inventory

To learn more visit our Analytic Dashboard webpage.

Data Collection: Are you able to perform a full cycle count of your inventory in one day?

Kathy Barthelt 0 41930 Article rating: 5.0

Cycle Counting Benefits:

  • Overall increased inventory accuracy
  • Increased accuracy of count
  • Ability to review and approve count before direct update of Baan / Infor LN tables
  • Elimination of unnecessary re-orders of items with current inventory
  • Greater ability to satisfy customer orders due to greater visibility to accurate inventory levels
  • Direct labor cost savings – less staff required for count
  • Increased productivity during count

Some of our customers counts used to take weeks. They can now complete a count of their entire inventory in one day. One of our LN customers just told us that they recently wrapped up a cycle count using our software and said it was the first time ever that they completed a count without one complaint or mistake!

Contact us today to learn more - 800.762.2077

Integration News: Crossroads RMC has developed an integration from Baan IV to Modula OnePick for Grindmaster Corporation

Kathy Barthelt 0 36817 Article rating: 5.0

One Pick is a Modula Lift automatic vertical warehouse with a special picking bay equipped to provide expedited picking and a high level of pick accuracy. With this system, Grindmaster is able to save floor space, store items safely, automate inventory management, track items, save picking time and prevent picking errors. Go live for this solution is expected in Q1 2020.

IDF News: IDF Maintenance

George Moroses 0 41052 Article rating: 5.0

The Infor Development Framework (IDF) provides two options that you can use to review information about jobs that are in the job queue or underway at the workstations and change the status of unattached jobs or review detailed information for specific unattached jobs.

                Option 5 – Job Status Maintenance: Use this option to review information about jobs that are in the job queue or underway at the workstations. You can also delete records of jobs in the Job Activity (JOBACT) file.

                Option 6 – Unattached Job Status Maintenance: Use this option to change the status of an unattached job. You can also review detail information for a selected unattached job.

First5657585961636465Last

Tips:  LX | BPCS | M3

Tips: LN | Baan

Infor LX & BPCS: Why You Need MES

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. The system takes your input — production shifts/times, production goals, etc. — and calculates the rate at which you need to complete production in order to meet customer demand. Operators see real-time progress on dashboard graphics, knowing the progress at every moment.
  2. Enforcing a repeatable process. Knowing your process is being followed exactly as defined provides the ultimate peace of mind. Every target, from fastening to product routing, is achieved just as you defined it time after time.
  3. Creating a rich data set. Capturing data is one thing; being able to act on that data is really the key to driving improvement initiatives. Use your analytics, explore your data set, and identify and solve your hidden inefficiencies.

All three of these MES pillars are used to help you reach productivity and quality goals by:

  • Solving production scheduling challenges
  • Discovering and sharing your best operators’ insights
  • Uncovering inefficiencies in your process and fixing them
  • Reducing the exhausting task of putting out fires
  • Establishing a continuous improvement philosophy
  • Increasing operator engagement and dedication

And if you need another reason... according to Forbes.com, MES ranks in the Top 5 Key Areas to Affect How Goods Are Made in 2023 - Five Predictions For Manufacturing And Logistics In 2023.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2023/02/13/five-predictions-for-manufacturing-and-logistics-in-2023/?sh=1155863f1f76

So, what's next? Work with Crossroads RMC, an experienced MES partner who has seen situations just like yours and who has guided companies in your position. And best of all, Crossroads RMC doesn’t just know MES, we have a team of experts who are knowledgeable about manufacturing best practices, your Infor ERP, and MES and can bring all of that knowledge together to help you formulate the right plan for your company’s success.

Contact Anthony Etzel at Crossroads RMC today. He can provide you with a free MES ROI calculator to give you some concrete numbers to help you see what MES can do for your business. 800.762.2077

Print
28277 Rate this article:
5.0
George Moroses

George MorosesGeorge Moroses

Other posts by George Moroses

Contact author

x

Categories