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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

Infor LX & BPCS Tip of the Week: Inventory Transfers for Outside Operations

Anthony Etzel 0 58108 Article rating: 5.0

This enhancement allows users who currently perform outside operation processing in shop floor programs to manage the transfer of components used in the outside operations to the vendor’s designated warehouse.

This enhancement provides modified and new INV511D screens and adds new logic to allow the user to identify all shop orders that have components linked to outside operations or to identify all the components linked to an outside operation on a shop order. The shop orders can be filtered by either a date range or by a specific vendor.

Inventory Transfers for Outside Operations enhances the management of external operations by providing screens that simplify the selection of the shop orders or items to transfer to a vendor.

Transfers to the vendor warehouse are performed in the Inventory Transfers, INV511D, screens.

Infor LX / BPCS Tip of the Week: Optional Authority to Maintain Reason Codes

Anthony Etzel 0 54210 Article rating: 5.0

This enhancement allows users to update Reason Code Maintenance, INV140D1, for Transaction Effects that they are not authorized to in any other programs. A new system parameter was added to Inventory Parameters, INV820D. The enhancement allows users who do not actually perform transactions in Infor LX to maintain the reason codes for the transactions.

Infor LN / Baan Tip of the Week: Deleting Records

Kathy Barthelt 0 80684 Article rating: 5.0

To improve performance and reduce database growth, deleting records is highly effective. The disadvantage of deleting records is that data is no longer available. Usually, however, not all records need to be saved. For example, line activities are stored by warehouse. Normally, you do not need to keep these records. Therefore, after closing a warehouse order, line activities can be removed. The User's Guide for ERP LN Archiving describes several sessions you can use to delete old data. Other data such as items and business partners can be reviewed once in a while, after which you can delete the data you no longer need. For every order and contract table a session is available to archive and delete old orders. In these sessions, you can specify several characteristics to select the orders to be removed, such as date or status. Run these sessions on a regular basis.

Explore your IDF programs

Anthony Etzel 0 33412 Article rating: 5.0

If you haven't already, you may want to start to explore your IDF programs. Currently they provide the replacement for the 300 series inquiry programs. In addition, navigation drill downs are far superior to any green screen presentation of the data.

Consistently meet customer commitments without last minute surprises

George Moroses 0 23402 Article rating: 5.0

What if you had a solution that allowed you to consistently meet customer commitments without last-minute surprises and unexpected extra effort and cost?

We do this by preventing slippage — slippage is any break in the plan that disrupts both normal material flow and the rhythm of the plant that is preventable by timely key user intervention.
Click here to learn more about OTTO, On-Time Orders.

Crossroads RMC and FIFCO to partner on an Infor LX / ION Project

Anthony Etzel 0 41952 Article rating: 5.0

A quote from the Applications and Development Manager at FIFCO…

"FIFCO has a long standing relationship with Crossroads RMC. Over the past 20 years, Crossroads has been committed to our success. We chose Crossroads to implement ION for the technical expertise and in-depth knowledge they have of ERPLX. I have found this to be true of all the consultants I have worked with over the years from Crossroads. I hope for FIFCO USA and Crossroads RMC to continue their partnership for many more years to come."

BPCS / LX Tip of the Week: Inventory Period Balance Freeze

Anthony Etzel 0 57766 Article rating: 5.0

This enhancement provides clients the ability to store the opening/ending on hand balance for each Inventory period at the Item (IIM), Warehouse/Item (IWI) and Lot/Location (ILI) levels. Infor LX clients can back date inventory transactions into the immediate previously closed period, and thus update what was saved as the opening/ending balance throughout the current open period. 

Tracking the opening/ending/period balance for each inventory period can give users insights into the levels of inventory for each item, item/warehouse and item/warehouse/lot/location combination.

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Tips:  LX | BPCS | M3

Improves control over PO costing changes during invoice entry by replacing passive warnings with an intentional override action.

  • In ACP500D3 (Invoice Entry PO Costing), users previously could unintentionally accept changes by pressing ENTER, even when quantity to cost or amount to cost values had changed.

  • A new “F14 to Override” warning message replaces the old message:
    “Details have changed. Press enter again to accept data.”
    This ensures users acknowledge and confirm significant changes explicitly.

New System Parameter:

  • “Apply GRN Costing Tolerance for PO Costing” (optional):

    • Within tolerance: Displays the original message —
      “Details have changed. Press enter again to accept data.”

    • Outside tolerance: Triggers the new override requirement —
      “F14 to Override”

Benefits:

  • Enhances oversight and reduces unintentional cost acceptance.

  • Enables better control of PO costs when invoice details differ from expectations.

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Tips: LN | Baan

An ERP System Review is NOT a Report Card

It's a no-judgment-review - we promise!

report card C minusWe all remember our school days and the nervousness that we felt when it came time to get our grades. Even if we were doing well, we were still nervous. Sometimes we experienced that same nervousness when it came time for a performance review on our job. Nervousness…sometimes dread…knowing that our performance was not what we wanted it to be, or others expected it to be. 

Somehow I think the feelings that we felt in our past often find ways to creep into our present. I have seen this recently when I suggested an ERP system review to one of our customers. They immediately became flustered and thought about every possible problem that they knew existed within the software and how they were currently using it. I asked them to consider the purpose of the ERP system review.

An ERP Utilization Review will:

  • Document how your company is using your ERP system (or a particular aspect of the system) and to what extent the system meets the needs of the business.
  • Identify challenges encountered using the software.
  • Create opportunities for improving business processes and generating additional value.
  • Identify potential risks and areas that need improvement.


key hole to the futureSo, if the result of ERP system review is to establish a path forward for growth based on current status, then why doesn’t every company take advantage of it? I think for some, the answer lies in the feelings of nervousness and dread still stuck in the recesses of our brains.

An ERP system review or more specifically a utilization review is NOT a personal report card, or performance review showing how well a particular individual does his/hers/their job, nor is it an attack on the team that implemented the software. 

As they say, hindsight is 20/20. What we view now to be a less than ideal implementation methodology may have been absolutely appropriate at the time the software was originally deployed. The software has likely matured and the skillsets of the individuals responsible for the system have likely matured as well. In some cases, those resources are no longer with the company, leaving those that remain with no back story as to how and why implementation decisions were made.

Instead of viewing the ERP utilization review as a reason to find fault in previous decisions, think of it as discovering untapped potential – both of the ERP system and the people who use it. Viewing an ERP utilization review in this way puts a positive spin on it and allows us to challenge ourselves to identify opportunities for growth far greater than anything we imagined before. This means not only moving our businesses forward faster but also advancing the strength of the company as individuals and as a team.

What untapped potential lies within your company?

Consider a utilization review of your entire ERP system, or just a part of it like Finance, Technology, Materials Management, Order Processing, or Shop Floor Control. You just might be surprised at what greatness can be achieved… far greater than anyone could have imagined.  

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Kathy Barthelt

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