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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

Baan/LN Tip of the Week: Inventory Tracking

Kathy Barthelt 0 69904 Article rating: No rating

Do you have a good handle on your inventory? Do you know when products need to be reordered and which are on their way? Are you able to find inventory easily within your facility, or are items getting misplaced and then unnecessarily reordered? Having a good inventory system in place will avoid unnecessary costs and save lots of time. We’ve been helping customers with this for over 20 years. Let us know if you need help getting started.

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Baan/LN Tip of the Week: How is Your Productivity?

Kathy Barthelt 0 73627 Article rating: No rating

Are your employees not as productive as you’d like them to be? 
Are jobs not getting completed on schedule? 

Without actual data, making decisions about how efficient your operation is will be difficult. Start tracking actual time to complete each operation. Compare different production lines running the same job. Is one line running more efficiently? If so, start looking at why. Track downtime, setup, etc. Once you start really analyzing each piece of the puzzle, you can begin to uncover areas that are ripe for improvement.

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BPCS/LX Tip of the Week: Understanding What Goes On – Out on the Factory Floor

Anthony Etzel 0 28417 Article rating: No rating

Ok… so you want to know the status of a specific shop order that was released two days ago.

What do you do?

It’s a sure bet that you have a manager, supervisor, or planner who can walk the floor and find the order at whatever work center it happens to be at. He/she can then answer “what operations have been completed and how many were completed?” All this requires leg work, and of course, a fair amount of time.

Now, if you have setup your BPCS master files properly, and you report transaction activity, you should be able to get those shop order statuses much faster using the SFC300 Shop Order Inquiry Screen.

At your fingertips you can see:

  • Release date & due date
  • How many hours remain in total and at each operation
  • The quantity required, what was finished and the remaining quantity
  • What components (materials) have been issued

Pretty basic information, right? Are you getting what you need to know? If not, then you may want to reexamine how your BPCS files are setup and what transactions along with their frequency are captured.

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December Lunch & Learn Webinar for BPCS & LX!

ERP Data Analysis Made Easy!

Anthony Etzel 0 25158 Article rating: 5.0

Want answers to questions like…

  • Which lines of business are performing best, and what products are being sold?
  • Who are my top-performing sales reps, and what products are they selling?
  • What trends can I see based on my customers’ purchases?
  • What warehouse orders are planned over the next 6 months and do I have enough inventory on hand?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Get all of this and more with easy drag and drop capability all without touching your ERP system or creating custom reports!


1:00 p.m. ET | 10:00 a.m. PT

Watch Video Now

Learn How to Create Views for:

  • Accounts Payable
  • Accounts Receivable
  • Labor
  • Material Costs
  • Production
  • Sales Orders
    And more!

BPCS/LX Tip of the Week: Role-Based Security

Anthony Etzel 0 35797 Article rating: No rating

Role-Based Security introduces role type profiles and allows combining the use of role profiles with the traditional LX user type security profile functionality. The new role type profile can be defined to allow or deny access to All Products, Attention Key, Programs, and Transaction Effects.

Facility, Warehouse, and Company securities are still defined solely by the user profile settings and are not affected by the assignment of a role. Where applicable, the role authority is displayed alongside the user authority on the security profile maintenance screens making it easy to see where there are differences in authority between the user and the assigned roles.

When users are assigned to roles, security access in LX becomes a combination of authorities granted or denied by the role plus any user exceptions. User exceptions override authorities set by the roles. A user can also be assigned to more than one role.

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Baan/LN Tip of the Week: Strategies to Issue Materials – LN

Kathy Barthelt 0 74381 Article rating: No rating

LN offers you various levels of control for the issue of materials. You can specify a different method for each material.

Available methods to control the quantity of the issue:

  • Direct user control over the quantities to issue
  • Quantities determined by the allocations

Available methods to control the time of the issue. LN issues the material:

  • After a user gives a command
  • At the allocation date
  • Immediately when the production order is released

Special methods:

  • Backflushing
  • Floor stock

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Flexfab Selects Crossroads RMC for Company Wide Implementation of Data Collection for Infor LN

Crossroads RMC 0 32008 Article rating: 5.0

Flexfab Horizons International, Inc, a global leader in the manufacture of high performance silicone and other advanced polimer products, has selected Crossroads RMC’s Data Collection Solution, RMC3, for their company wide solution for data collection. The initial implementation will take place in Q4 2017 at their location in Nottinghamshire, UK and will focus on improvements in warehouse management. Applications to be implemented include Receiving, Inspections/Approvals, Putaway, Stock Transfers and Stock Inquiry. Flexfab is already a long time user of RMClabel for all of their barcoding needs. This product is made to work seamlessly with all of Crossroads RMC's data collection applications, so the incorporation of this solution will also be part of this project. Implementation for Flexfab US will occur in early 2018.

BPCS/LX TIP OF THE WEEK: ARE YOU STILL USING HANDWRITTEN TICKETS FOR YOUR INVENTORY?

Anthony Etzel 0 32914 Article rating: No rating

This method of inventory tracking is slow, and prone to human error.

Putting a simple barcode system in place speeds up the process of tracking inventory movements, reduces the likelihood of mistakes, and creates a recorded history of the who/what/where that can provide valuable insight to those who make critical business decisions for your business.

Not sure where to start? Contact us and we’d be happy to help you take the first step.

 

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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.

Last

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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