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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

Crossroads RMC welcomes MBL (USA) Corporation

Anthony Etzel 0 31231 Article rating: 5.0

Crossroads RMC welcomes MBL (USA) Corporation as our newest Data Collection and Warehouse Management client.

MBL (USA) Corporation, with headquarters located in Ottawa, Illinois, manufactures all types of V-Belts, V-Ribbed Belts, Timing Belts, and Variable Speed Belts for both original equipment and service parts in the automotive, recreational, and industrial markets. In addition to supplying North, Central and South America markets, products are exported to countries worldwide. Their corporate parent is Mitsuboshi Belting LTD located in Japan.

MBL (USA) Corporation’s objective was to improve inventory visibility, eliminate paperwork, and use a bar code scanning solution to manage warehouse inventory and eliminate the manual process for inventory warehouse transactions.

Our discovery was able to highlight improvements to streamline the process in the warehouse and improve inventory visibility. Crossroads RMC is a reseller and support partner for TouchPath Warehouse Management which is integrated to MBL (USA) Corporation’s ERP/LX software. TouchPath Warehouse Management provides the insight into your inventory and the warehouse management tools to help you increase customer satisfaction and reduce costs.

We are proud to have MBL (USA) Corporation as our newest client and look forward to being a strategic partner and support their company growth and success.

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

Anthony Etzel 0 58662 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 54904 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 81492 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 33789 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 23756 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 42301 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."

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Tips:  LX | BPCS | M3

Tips: LN | Baan

Kathy Barthelt

Infor LN & Baan Tips & Tricks for OPERATIONS: What is Statistical Inventory Control (SIC) and How Does It Work?

Statistical Inventory Control (SIC) is an inventory-controlled order system designed to maintain stock levels based on predefined thresholds, rather than being demand-driven like EP (Enterprise Planning). Since SIC relies on inventory levels, it may lead to higher stock levels. To minimize financial risks, SIC is best suited for:

  • Low-cost items.
  • Items with predictable demand or short lead times.


Applications of SIC

  • Low-Cost Items: Particularly effective for inexpensive goods.
  • Predictable Demand or Short Lead Time: Suitable when demand patterns are stable or lead times are minimal.
  • Warehouse-Specific Planning: Useful for planning by warehouse rather than across the supply chain.
  • Trading Industries: Commonly employed in sectors like supermarkets.
  • Immediate Demands: Effective for items required immediately by customers.
  • Ease of Use: Simple to implement and manage.


Limitations of SIC

  • Does not account for dependent demand from planned orders (e.g., MPS/MRP/INV).
  • Does not generate distribution orders.
  • Ignores time-phased planned orders.
  • Lacks forecast consumption techniques.
  • Uses both nettable and non-nettable warehouses.

How SIC Works

SIC operates based on the Reorder Point, Stock Levels, and Order Method.

Triggering SIC

When Economic Stocks (calculated as On-Hand Inventory + On-Order – Allocated Stocks) on the Horizon Date fall below the Reorder Point, SIC triggers the creation of:

  • Planned Purchase Advice.
  • Planned Production Advice.


Order Methods in SIC

The quantity for these advices is determined by the Order Method, which can be one of the following:

  • Replenish to Maximum Stock
  • Fixed Order Quantity
  • Economic Order Quantity (EOQ)
  • Lot-for-Lot

Example: SIC in a Supermarket

Scenario: Managing stock for Ice Cream (1 Kg Pack)

  • Current Stock: 10 PCs
  • Reorder Point: 5 PCs
  • Safety Stock: 2 PCs
  • Lead Time: 1 Day
  • Order Method: Replenish to Maximum (Maximum Stock: 20 PCs)
  • Maximum Anticipated Consumption: 3 PCs/Day

Process:

  1. Customer purchases reduce the stock.
  2. When stock reaches 5 PCs, SIC is triggered.
  3. A Purchase Advice is generated for 15 PCs to replenish stock to the maximum level (20 PCs).
  4. During the lead time (1 day), the remaining 3 PCs (excluding Safety Stock) meet customer demands.
  5. In emergencies, Safety Stock can also be utilized.

Statistical Inventory Control offers a practical approach for managing inventory levels, particularly in industries with predictable demand or fast-moving items. However, its limitations make it less ideal for complex or time-phased planning scenarios.

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Kathy Barthelt

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