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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

Eliminating ERP Customizations: Key Considerations and Modern Solutions

Kathy Barthelt 0 2 Article rating: 5.0

Transitioning away from customizations can indeed pose challenges, but it's not insurmountable with the right approach. Here’s a look at the real issues and solutions that can pave the way for a streamlined, up-to-date ERP.


Common Challenges:

  1. Dependency on Custom Processes
    Custom processes become ingrained, and removing them disrupts established workflows. However, business processes often evolve over time, as do best practices incorporated into modern ERP systems.

  2. Cost and Time Constraints
    Testing, retraining, and hiring consultants for an upgrade are valid concerns. Yet, consider the efficiency gains and reduced maintenance costs over time by utilizing standard ERP features.

  3. User Resistance
    Change management is critical, as employees can be skeptical of losing tools they’re familiar with. Effective communication about the benefits of standardized, future-ready tools can help ease the transition.


The Reality Check: Has Your Organization Changed?

Evaluate how much your business needs have shifted, how user expectations have evolved, and if any workarounds or interim solutions are now adding unnecessary complexity. Many companies discover that industry-standard ERP features can replace outdated customizations.


Did You Know?

Infor LN & Baan Tips & Tricks for FINANCE: Use of Electronic Bank Statements

Kathy Barthelt 0 346 Article rating: 5.0

All actions required for converting, validating, matching, and posting electronically received bank statements can be performed within a single session:

  • Bank Statement Workbench (tfcmg5610m100)
  • Bank Statement (tfcmg5610m000)

Alternatively, you can use the sequence of electronic bank statement sessions outlined below.

Steps to Process Electronic Bank Statements:

Harnessing the Power of AI to Help Manufacturers Sell More at the Right Time

George Moroses 0 30 Article rating: 5.0

AI: Transforming Manufacturing—From Production to Profitability

As AI reshapes industries, manufacturers are asking critical questions: How will customers discover and purchase products in an AI-driven world? And how can companies keep pace with these advancements?

At Crossroads RMC, we address these challenges with our AI Readiness Assessment (AIRA). An AIRA creates a clear, actionable digital roadmap, significantly boosting efficiency, accuracy, and strategic capabilities. This assessment ensures a smooth, swift AI transition.

Our AI Readiness Assessments target key areas:

Infor LX/BPCS Tips & Tricks for EXECUTIVES

George Moroses 0 431 Article rating: 5.0

TECHNOLOGY: Facility Security Ranges

Previously, a user could complete the Cost Transfer (CST920) process for any range of facilities regardless of their security settings established in SYS600. This enhancement verifies the user security settings set up in SYS600 before processing cost transfers for a range of facilities in CST920. If the user has authority for a facility range, but there are facilities within that range that are not authorized, the program skips those facilities and completes the cost transfer process.

FINANCE: Expiration Date for Quotes and RMAs

A Cancel-by-Date has been added to the Quote Header and RMA Header panels. This optional field can limit how long a quote or authorization to return items for credit is valid.  

For quotes, this enhancement provides an optional end date for the quote. For RMAs, it provides an optional date by which the customer must return the items to receive the credit listed on the RMA.

The Cancel-By-Date prints on the Order Acknowledgement and RMA Acknowledgement to inform the customer of this important limitation to the quote or return authorization. 

An Order Entry user cannot copy the quote to create a new order if the Cancel By Date has caused the quote to expire.

OPERATIONS: Default Split Salesperson to Customer Orders

Sales commissions are based on combinations of the Primary, Split, and Line-Level salesperson and the commission codes defined for the customer and item. You can now define the Split Salesperson in the same master files as the Primary Salesperson. While the Primary Salesperson is mandatory, the Split Salesperson is optional. It defaults during Order Create using the identical hierarchy as Primary Salesperson. Using Split Salesperson provides more flexibility in the calculation of sales commissions. The ability to define a default Split Salesperson improves the accuracy of sales commission qualification and calculation and reduces maintenance and adjustments necessitated by corrections.

Infor LX/BPCS Tips & Tricks for TECHNOLOGY: Facility Security Ranges

George Moroses 0 345 Article rating: 5.0

Previously, a user could complete the Cost Transfer (CST920) process for any range of facilities regardless of their security settings established in SYS600. This enhancement verifies the user security settings set up in SYS600 before processing cost transfers for a range of facilities in CST920. If the user has authority for a facility range, but there are facilities within that range that are not authorized, the program skips those facilities and completes the cost transfer process.

Infor LX/BPCS Tips & Tricks for FINANCE: Expiration Date for Quotes and RMAs

George Moroses 0 397 Article rating: 5.0

A Cancel-by-Date has been added to the Quote Header and RMA Header panels. This optional field can limit how long a quote or authorization to return items for credit is valid.  

For quotes, this enhancement provides an optional end date for the quote. For RMAs, it provides an optional date by which the customer must return the items to receive the credit listed on the RMA.

The Cancel-By-Date prints on the Order Acknowledgement and RMA Acknowledgement to inform the customer of this important limitation to the quote or return authorization. 

An Order Entry user cannot copy the quote to create a new order if the Cancel By Date has caused the quote to expire.

Infor LX/BPCS Tips & Tricks for OPERATIONS: Default Split Salesperson to Customer Orders

George Moroses 0 395 Article rating: 5.0

Sales commissions are based on combinations of the Primary, Split, and Line-Level salesperson and the commission codes defined for the customer and item. You can now define the Split Salesperson in the same master files as the Primary Salesperson. While the Primary Salesperson is mandatory, the Split Salesperson is optional. It defaults during Order Create using the identical hierarchy as Primary Salesperson. Using Split Salesperson provides more flexibility in the calculation of sales commissions. The ability to define a default Split Salesperson improves the accuracy of sales commission qualification and calculation and reduces maintenance and adjustments necessitated by corrections.

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Tips:  LX | BPCS | M3

FINANCE: Prevent Voiding of Selected Invoices
This enhancement prevents users from voiding invoices after they have been selected for payment. If a user selects an invoice for payment and another user voids the invoice during the payment process, it can produce erroneous and duplicate records. The ACP500 programs were modified to check the status of an invoice before it can be voided. If the invoice has been selected for payment, a message is generated, and the invoice cannot be voided.

OPERATIONS: Copy Shop Order
In the Shop Order Selection program, action 3=Copy is available. This action allows copying any shop order except for flow orders or campaign orders. Instead of copying from the parent item's bill of material and routing, the new shop order’s materials and operations will be copied from the selected shop order. Note that if the existing shop order is linked to a customer order or line, this linkage will not be copied to the new shop order.

TECHNOLOGY: Group Security for ILM501 Inbound Delivery Maintenance
Add function key / action code security to control who is authorized to create/revise/delete functions in ILM501 Inbound Delivery Maintenance.  With added Group Security, managers can control which users are authorized to create, change and delete deliveries in ILM501 Inbound Delivery Maintenance.

This enhancement prevents users from voiding invoices after they have been selected for payment. If a user selects an invoice for payment and another user voids the invoice during the payment process, it can produce erroneous and duplicate records. The ACP500 programs were modified to check the status of an invoice before it can be voided. If the invoice has been selected for payment, a message is generated, and the invoice cannot be voided.

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Tips: LN | Baan

Kathy Barthelt
/ Categories: Infor LN & Baan Tips

Baan/LN Tip of the Week: Product Configurator - Part 2

Baan Tips

Who gets involved?
  1. Most commonly Engineering is involved in writing the rules, creating the bills and routings.
  2. Sales or Customer Service determines the questions and the order they are asked in.
  3. Sales or Customer Service determines the rules for the pricing.
  4. Sales, or Customer Service, and Engineering work together in determining the part number, description and text.

What are the steps?

  1. You must start by defining the features and options (questions and answers) and the order in which these are asked. We work this out first using sticky notes and large easel paper. Normally during the process we find that we want to move these questions around. Setting them down on paper makes the process of getting the data into Baan much more efficient. We also then have a record of what decisions were made prior to entering the data. This is normally a joint effort of Engineering and Sales. This is required and must be the first step.
  2. Constraints for features and options. These are the rules for determining what questions are asked and which options are allowed. This is generally done by Engineering or whoever is responsible for the configurator. This is required.
  3. Generic Bill of Material. All possible bill options are entered here and constraints are written to determine which options are selected based on the answers to the questions. This is generally done by Engineering or whoever is responsible for the configurator. This is a required step.
  4. Generic Routing. Similar to the bill of material, but used for generation of the routing steps. This is generally done by Engineering or whoever is responsible for the configurator. This is optional.
  5. Generic Item Data. This consists of creating custom item numbers, descriptions, text, material, size or standard fields in the custom item master. This is generally done by Engineering or whoever is responsible for the configurator though Sales may have some involvement. This is optional.
  6. Generic Pricing. This is used to calculate the selling price based on the answers to the questions. This is normally a responsibility of Sales or whoever determines the pricing. This group is also trained on writing the constraints for this section only. This is optional.

What other modules will be affected?
  1. Quotes, sales orders and projects.
  2. PRP planning for the configured items.
  3. Managing changes to the configuration. Who, what and when?
  4. Variant statistics.
  5. MPS and generic items.
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