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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

Anxious to learn more about IDF? Attend Inforum Sessions highlighting the latest and greatest updates

Anthony Etzel 0 25225 Article rating: 5.0
  • ERP242 - Product: What’s new with LX 8.4
    Learn about our latest release of LX and the value it can provide to your business. This release includes additional support for IDF, new application features, and an expanded database. Additionally, this release continues to improve through ongoing enhancements from our enhancement request system.
    Thursday, Sep 26, 10:00 AM - 10:45 AM – Room 272

  • ERP243 - Product: LX—IDF Master Data Management
    Learn about the new flexibility and features available with item, cost, vendor, and customer definition through IDF during this session. Maintaining this critical information is now easier to manage and control with LX 8.4
    Wednesday, Sep 25, 12:00 PM - 12:45 PM – Room 272

  • Academy: Learn to Use IDF to Better Manage Customer, Vendor, and Item Data with LX
    Attend this session for hands-on experience using IDF to manage your critical master data in Infor LX 8.4. (Length: 1hr & 45mins) 
    Wednesday, Sep 25, 1:00 PM - 02:45 PM – Room 277

  • ERP106C - Case Study: Trinity—Upgrading a 20-Year-Old Customized ERP system
    Join this session to learn why and how Trinity is upgrading its customized 20-year-old BPCS ERP system to the latest version of LX and going vanilla. Trinity is using the best business practices built into LX along with Infor OS and IDF to support the latest user experience and integrations.
    Wednesday, Sep 25, 2:00 PM - 02:45 PM – Room 272

OTTO: Making plans happen isn’t just about monitoring material shortages

George Moroses 0 28209 Article rating: 5.0

Making plans happen isn’t just about monitoring material shortages. Supporting activities can be the real cause of delays. Some non-material events customers have monitored using OTTO include:

  • Scheduling and coordination of outside services (such as heat treating and plating)
  • Quality Assurance for pharmaceuticals and inspection
  • Moving off-site inventory to the plant
  • Moving inventory from temporary (conveyor) location to pickable location
  • Scheduling of overseas containers
  • Design engineering for make-to-order

OTTO provides the ability to proactively manage the entire customer order backlog from top to bottom. It begins monitoring orders as soon as they’re booked and identifies and prioritizes those critical events that must happen every day so they can be managed and get orders produced and shipped on time.

Visit Our OTTO page to learn more.

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

George Moroses 0 30352 Article rating: No rating

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: Methodology for Infor LX & BPCS Upgrades

Anthony Etzel 0 40294 Article rating: 5.0

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>

Infor LX & BPCS Tip of the Week: Additional Selection Criteria for Cycle Count Purge Enhancement – 8.4

Anthony Etzel 0 57989 Article rating: 5.0

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.

Infor LN & Baan Data Collection News: Crossroads RMC Cycle Counting Application

Kathy Barthelt 0 35225 Article rating: 5.0

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 

Consulting News: ERP Implementation or Upgrade... Are You Prepared?

Crossroads RMC 0 39129 Article rating: 5.0

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.

Infor LN & Baan Tip of the Week: Job Shop Bill of Material – 10.7

Kathy Barthelt 0 78494 Article rating: 5.0

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.

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Tips:  LX | BPCS | M3

Tips: LN | Baan

Kathy Barthelt

Moving Beyond ERP Customizations: Smarter Solutions for a Future-Ready System

Transitioning away from ERP customizations can feel like a major hurdle—but with the right strategy, it’s not just possible, it’s powerful. Let’s cut through the noise and look at the real issues... and the smart solutions that pave the way to a leaner, more future-ready ERP.

Common Challenges (and Why They’re Not Dealbreakers)

Reliance on Custom Processes
Custom workflows often become second nature—but are they still serving you? Modern ERPs evolve with industry best practices baked in, and chances are, today’s standard features do what your custom code used to… only better.

Budget & Time Constraints
Testing, retraining, consulting—it all adds up. But the long-term payoff? Reduced technical debt, faster upgrades, and major gains in efficiency and scalability.

User Resistance
Change is hard, especially when teams are comfortable with their tools. But clear communication and a strong change management plan can turn skeptics into champions of a smarter, streamlined system.

Reality Check: Has Your Business Outgrown Its Customizations?
Are workarounds piling up? Are outdated custom features slowing things down? It might be time to re-evaluate. Often, organizations discover that what once required custom code can now be handled with out-of-the-box functionality.


Did You Know?

  • ERP Upgrades Can Eliminate 25%–50% of Customizations.
  • Modern ERP systems, like Infor LN and Baan, now include many features that used to require custom development.


Smart Alternatives to Customization

  • Use Standard APIs & Libraries
    Modernize without disrupting. Refactor your code to integrate cleanly with the ERP’s built-in APIs—no more core modifications.
  • Tap Into Infor Extensibility & LN Studio
    Need to tweak something? Use Extensibility for light changes or LN Studio for deeper custom apps that don’t compromise ERP integrity.
  • Simplify Integrations with Infor ION
    If your customizations are all about connecting systems, ION has you covered with seamless, low-code integration across platforms.
  • Build with RMCgen
    Need custom development? RMCgen lets you create new components without ever touching standard ERP code—flexibility and stability.
  • Get Insights with Dashboards, Not Code
    Custom dashboards deliver actionable insights without bloating your ERP. Use analytics tools to tailor views for every role.
  • Embrace Built-In Reporting Tools
    Skip the custom report scripts. Infor Report Designer, Document Management, and BIRST give you the power to build rich reports—no dev time required.


Your Custom Inventory: Time for a Health Check
Not sure where to begin? Start by assessing your existing custom components. Crossroads RMC can help you pinpoint which ones are still pulling their weight—and which can be retired or replaced with smarter tools.


💡 Let’s Talk Solutions
Ready to unlock the full potential of your ERP—without dragging legacy code along for the ride? Crossroads RMC is here to help.

📞 800.762.2077
📧 solutions@crossroadsrmc.com
💬 Or Request a Consultation to start your journey to a flexible, future-proof ERP.

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Kathy Barthelt

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