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.

Throughout the years, Crossroads RMC has participated in several 4.0.05CD upgrades to LX, from which we had the opportunity to refine our methodology for CEA (Configurable Enterprise Accounting) implementations/upgrades. As a result, we have fine tuned our overall upgrade approach and have been very successful in implementing this approach with our clients.

CEA replaces the green screen GLD module and allows for considerable flexibility in the design of the COA (Chart of Accounts).

Our approach incorporates any changes that are needed in the COA and facilitates the transfer or replacement of Profit Centers and Account Codes from BPCS to LX, building on the existing GL. Among the issues we manage is the conversion of historical GL balances.

We maximize the use of LX and CEA while minimizing the manual effort that gets you there.

Contact Frank Petrasio to discuss how we can help you:

• Preserve what works in BPCS
• Optimize what works in LX

with a maximum of respect for your time and budget. Learn more about Crossroads RMC Consulting>

The final step in Cycle Count processing is to maintain the (ICY) Cycle Count file. This history file increases in size with each posting session. It is up to users to purge the historical data that you no longer need. Previously, INV015 Cycle Count Purge by date only allowed users to purge the cycle count file by date. Now, additional selection criteria have been added that allows users improved ways to control records they may want to purge.

How often are you counting your inventory? Are you sure your counts are accurate?  Are inaccurate counts affecting your ability to satisfy customer orders?

Crossroads RMC Cycle Counting Application gives you:

· Overall increased inventory accuracy

· Ability to review and approve count before direct update of Baan/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 – with some of our customers, counts used to take weeks. They can now complete a count of all their inventory in one day.

Learn more: Crossroads RMC Data Collection - Web Collect 

There are several factors that need to be considered when undertaking a major project like an ERP implementation or upgrade. Before you look to others outside of your organization to provide the expertise needed, you need to first look internally to ensure that the right players are in place to lead the project and also ensure business continuity during the project.

• Executive Sponsorship - Does Senior Management have a clear and well understood commitment to project success?
• Strong Project Manager?
• Core Team Functional Representation - Are the Team Members knowledgeable participants and able to keep the project moving forward?
• User Community Support?
• Motivation - Are the Team Members willing and able to provide the time needed for a large-scale implementation?

Do You need help figuring out if your organization is properly positioned for an implementation or upgrade? Contact us. We can help.

The job shop bill of material is defined by site. It is used as the source for the estimated materials in the job shop production order.

The new job shop bill of material differs from the old bill of material. These changes are applicable for the new job shop bill of material:

• It has a header and a status.
• It is always revision controlled.
• It can be designated for planning and for costing.
• The effective dates have been moved from the material lines to the header.
• The BOM quantity has been moved from item production data to the header.
• The use up has been moved from alternatives to the material line.
• The warehouse is defined on the material line (mandatory).
• The routing operation is defined on the material line (optional).

The job shop bill of material can be generated through the production bill of material.

In IDF Customers, the default order class for the warehouse customer should be a user-defined order class (base order class = 004). Do not use base order class 002 or 005, to allow for automatic invoicing of warehouse orders (if a separate manual Ship Confirm event is required per the order class, auto invoicing cannot occur from Pick Confirm).

Given the environment today with growing global competition in terms of innovation, cost and time to market (given by short product cycles) as well as with increasing regulatory demands, the answer to the question “Can you afford not to invest in MES?” is turning into a clear “NO”. 

Click here to read the full Critical Manufacturing article.

Crossroads MES is Infor’s global solution for manufacturing execution and is perfectly suited to fill the gap between your manufacturing initiatives and your ERP system.