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Infor LX Tips, Infor LN Tips, BPCS Tips, Baan Tips, Infor M3 Tips & Infor ERP News

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Infor ERP Tips & News from the Experts

Infor LX | Infor LN | BPCS | Baan | Infor M3

Crossroads RMC's Analytics Dashboard serves as the perfect complement to extend your MES solution

George Moroses 0 34467 Article rating: 5.0

Did you know our Analytics Dashboard serves as the perfect complement to extend your MES solution?

Need real-time information regarding what shop orders are active, which lines are down, and overall OEE? Want to display all of this data in easy to understand graphs and charts with drill-down capability?

Contact us today to find out how our Analytics Dashboard can provide all of the information you need in real-time.

  • MES Work Center Job Step Status
  • MES Work Center Machine Status
  • MES Shop Order Status
  • MES Order / Operation Status
  • MES Order / Parts Status
  • MES Badge Status

Contact George Moroses to learn more.

Infor and Crossroads RMC Partner to Drive Success at Ridewell

Anthony Etzel 0 36495 Article rating: 5.0

Earlier this year, Ridewell Corporation inked a deal with Infor to move their BPCS 4.05 CD system to Infor LX. As part of that deal, Crossroads RMC’s MES software was selected to provide shop floor automation. 

For the ERP upgrade, Infor reached out to Crossroads RMC to provide support for both Finance and Data Conversion due to our positive track record with 4.05 CD to LX migrations. Crossroads RMC has extensive migration experience and developed a methodology for converting legacy 4.05 CD GL into CEA. 

The process Crossroads RMC developed makes it cleaner, more manageable, and easy to embrace from the client perspective. Infor also engaged Crossroads RMC to provide technical support to manage the data conversion, utilizing the Infor utilities and converting Ridewell’s 4.05 CD data to standard LX.

IDF: Defining the Attributes for a New Object

Anthony Etzel 0 30158 Article rating: 5.0

Attributes are the fields you define in your System i file.

You can begin by building your attribute list in Integrator by synchronizing the object with the host. This process reads the file definition from the System i and builds your list of attributes. The synchronize process will automatically run and read the definitions for the first occurrence of this file name within the library list. You can repeat this process manually multiple times if you change the file definition on the host by using the ‘Synchronize with Host’ option. However, the synchronization process will not recognize changed field names.

Non on key field attributes: The integrator requires a unique key for each object. If the host file already has a key, the synchronization process will automatically identify fields as part of the key as well as add a sequence number to multiple key parts. If the file does not have a unique key, you must either create a keyed logical file or identify the key manually. Key fields are the default sort order for all list views for an object.

Why do you need OTTO? Let’s let our customers tell you…

George Moroses 0 26082 Article rating: 5.0

“Our priorities change daily. It’s important to manage the priorities instead of having someone here in the office constantly expediting. We don’t want to run MRP every day, that would just introduce nervousness, all plans and priorities are likely to change and the flood of recommendations would be unmanageable. We run MRP once a week and rely on OTTO to track the constantly shifting priorities day-to-day.”  
Production & Inventory Control Manager, Top U.S. Crane Manufacturer

Learn More About OTTO

Crossroads RMC is proud to announce the release of the following dashboard views that come STANDARD with the LX Analytics Dashboard

George Moroses 0 29800 Article rating: 5.0

Standard Analytics Dashboard Views: 

  • Sales Bookings (ECH)
  • Accounts Receivable (RAR)
  • Accounts Payable (APH)
  • Planned Orders (KFP)
  • Purchasing (HPH)
  • Shop Order Material (FMA)
  • Shop Order Operations (FOD)
  • CEA
  • Order Booking (ECS)
  • Labor History (FLT)
  • Sales History (SIH)
  • Material Status (IIM/ILI)

Click Here to Learn More

If you can't see everything that happens on your shop floor, you are at a competitive disadvantage

Anthony Etzel 0 31239 Article rating: 5.0

If you’re not able to see everything that happens on your shop floor in real-time, you’re at a HUGE competitive disadvantage! Your competitors are running MES. 

Crossroads MES software provides:

  • A user-friendly interface and an easy exchange of information between the shop floor users and your ERP database. 
  • Planners the ability to schedule work to a specific machine or work area. In addition, it allows for work to be re-sequenced and split for better flexibility in scheduling shop floor activities.
  • Factory workers with the ability to receive the work schedule electronically as well as interacting with it by reporting transactional activity.
  • The ability to electronically display Drawing, Process Instructions, and Quality Instructions so you can eliminate, or minimize, the need for some of the paper on the shop floor.
  • The ability to pass shop floor transactional activity to dashboard displays as well as the ERP system. 

Click here to learn more about Crossroads MES 

or Contact Anthony Etzel today to learn more.

Infor LN & Baan Tip of the Week: Job Groups in LN

Kathy Barthelt 0 81073 Article rating: 5.0

In a scenario where performing job A depends on the result of job B, it is hard to decide at what time job A must be scheduled, and how long job B runs. To handle dependent jobs, you can now create a job group. Use the Job Groups (ttaad5140m000) session to create a job group. A job group has a name, with the same characteristics as a job name, and a description. The Status and User of the job group are handled automatically.

After creating the job group, the jobs are added to the group, approximately in the order the jobs must be performed. The first job in the group (with the lowest Group Number) determines the handling of the whole job group, such as execution date and whether the job group is being repeated. If the job group is not repeating, the job group and all non-repeating jobs in the job group are deleted when the job group has run.

The dependencies of the jobs in the job group are also determined. A job in the job group can only depend on a job in the same job group with a lower job number.

You can use the specific options in the Job Groups (ttaad5140m000 andttams5640m000) sessions to change the status of the job group. The job group statuses have the same meaning as the status of the jobs and the same status changes are allowed.

Note: Job groups are only handled by the BSE service Job Scheduler Service.

A/P Payment Update in LX 8.3.4

Anthony Etzel 0 42128 Article rating: 5.0

A/P Payment Update in LX 8.3.4. ACP660B creates a file using a layout required by the bank; the file informs the bank to pay invoices. These conditions must be met to create the file:

  • FIM is an installed product in SYS821  ­
  • The user is authorized to FIM in SYS600 ­
  • The company is active in FIMCOMIT in SYS105  ­
  • The payment type is in BONPAYTP (SYS105)
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Tips:  LX | BPCS | M3

New IDF Inquiries 

Infor LX has a long history of providing IDF inquiries over most critical business areas, but there are still some areas that lack this capability.
The following IDF inquiries are now available in 8.4.2:

  • Customer Quote
  • Customer Quote Line
  • RMA (Return Material Authorization)
  • RMA Line

Benefits

  • Ability to sort, subset, filter, and view information in a modern and intuitive way
  • Point and click navigation to related information – 360 views
    • Exceptional personalization and extensibility capabilities

New IDF Inquiries 

Infor LX has a long history of providing IDF inquiries over most critical business areas, but there are still some areas that lack this capability.
The following IDF inquiries are now available in 8.4.2:

  • Customer Quote
  • Customer Quote Line
  • RMA (Return Material Authorization)
  • RMA Line

Benefits

  • Ability to sort, subset, filter, and view information in a modern and intuitive way
  • Point and click navigation to related information – 360 views
    • Exceptional personalization and extensibility capabilities
Last

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

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