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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

What is preventing you from upgrading your Infor LX or BPCS ERP System?

George Moroses 0 29178 Article rating: 5.0

Your answer to this question is likely customizations… customizations that were once the best thing since sliced bread but now have become the bane of your existence.

There is something you can do about it! 

Crossroads RMC has many options for LX & BPCS when dealing with customizations:

What is preventing you from upgrading your Infor LN or Baan ERP System?

Kathy Barthelt 0 31291 Article rating: 5.0

Your answer to this question is likely customizations… customizations that were once the best thing since sliced bread but now have become the bane of your existence.

There is something you can do about it! 

Crossroads RMC has many options for dealing with customizations:

The Importance of an Integrated System

Crossroads RMC 0 37092 Article rating: 5.0

I recently came across an article from CIO Magazine that talked about the various ways that your ERP system could be hurting your business. The single most important item on that list referenced ERP systems that weren’t integrated with other systems that housed mission-critical business data.

Having data in two (or more) systems that don’t talk to one another is like baking a pizza crust in one oven and the toppings in another. Once baked, you may have some good food to snack on, but it sure isn’t pizza! Pizza requires the cheese and sauce and spices to bake with the crust. One takes on the flavor of the other and when you take a bite, you get a complete representation of the flavors.   

That’s the value of an integrated ERP system. When you take a bite, you get a complete representation of the flavors…meaning, you get one version of the truth. Everything comes together to allow you to analyze critical business data in an efficient way with no disconnects.

Crossroads consultants have spent years developing integration expertise to tie countless different systems to Infor ERPs.

Here are some examples…

The largest independent bottling company in the United States announced a successful Go Live

George Moroses 0 28602 Article rating: No rating

Polar Beverages, Inc. of Worcester MA has just announced a successful ‘Go Live' that brings their Adirondack Beverages division, in Scotia NY into a corporate environment running on the Infor LX platform. All business functions will be handled through the Infor LX platform, including Manufacturing, Supply Chain, and Financials. 

In early 2017, 2 divisions of Polar in Worcester MA and Fitzgerald, GA began utilizing Infor LX. Crossroads RMC partnered with Polar by providing technical and application support throughout the duration of the project.

Is it time to reinvigorate your ERP system?

Crossroads RMC 0 33168 Article rating: 5.0

Did you implement your ERP system 5 years ago… or maybe 20 years ago? At the time, it was like a brand new car… sleek, fast, top-of-the-line, and fuel-efficient. And although it may have needed a few minor “adjustments”, overall you were very pleased. Fast forward to today. Does it still have that new car smell? Does it run as efficiently as it used to? Do you know how to fix a problem when it occurs?

While ERP systems are certainly designed to last, over time, your business changes, your customers’ needs change, employees change and you are left with a system that may run “fine”, but you certainly don’t feel the same way about it as you did when it was brand new.

So the good news is that you CAN restore that “new car smell” with a utilization review. What is a utilization review? It's an opportunity for someone, outside of your organization, to evaluate the “what”, “how”, “who” and “why” related to the software that you use to run your business. Our consultant reviews current usage and related business processes of your entire ERP system, or a particular area like Finance, Manufacturing, Materials Management, or Technology to make recommendations that will reinvigorate your ERP system and those that use it.

Stop avoiding the warning light that indicates a serious problem and get started with a FREE 1-hour phone assessment to determine if your business can benefit from a utilization review!

Request Free Assessment>

A utilization review can be performed 100% remotely via phone or web meeting, or in person, following safety guidelines. 

4 Tips to Enhancing Productivity in Manufacturing

by Robotics & Automation News

Crossroads RMC 0 38599 Article rating: 5.0

Regardless of the size of your business, continuous improvement in productivity is essential to enhancing gross profits and maintaining competitiveness.

Here are a few of the best tips to help you improve the productivity of your manufacturing facility as presented by Robotics and Automation News >

Infor M3 Webinar: Consumer Use Tax 101: What's all the fuss about for manufacturers and distributors?

Frank Petrasio 0 28452 Article rating: 5.0

You are invited to a Zoom webinar.

Date/Time: Wednesday, October 14th 10:00 a.m. CDT / 11:00 a.m. EDT
Topic: Consumer Use Tax 101: What's all the fuss about for manufacturers and distributors?

Your business makes a purchase and you notice the seller doesn’t collect sales tax. So it must be tax free, right? Wrong. Consumer use tax may still apply, and if you’re not actively tracking use tax obligations, you could be making a costly mistake.

Put simply, use tax is owed on a purchase when the seller does not collect sales tax, or when the use of the product/service (or the location of consumption) results in more tax being owed. Sound complicated? It is, and that’s what makes use tax one of the most mismanaged compliance issues for businesses.

We brought in our partners at Avalara to dive in. For this session, learn more about consumer use tax, what it is, and when your business may be on the hook to pay it.

  • The events that can trigger consumer use tax requirements
  • The most common consumer use tax management challenges
  • The impact of economic nexus laws on consumer use tax
  • How your business can step up compliance to avoid being audited


This will be one ‘use-ful’ webinar that you won’t want to miss!

Register Today>

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Tips:  LX | BPCS | M3

Previously, Material Requirements Planning (MRP) preferred practices meant that the component's due date was the same as the parent's shop order release date. Because MRP trends have changed, the preference for this due date is the day before the release date of the parent. Although Infor LX already has this functionality in Shop Order Maintenance programs (SFC500), users could not change how due dates were determined for lower-level shop orders in Multi-Level Shop Order Release, SFC530D.

This enhancement provides an additional parameter for Multi-Level Shop Order Release. This parameter allows the user to change how the due date of the child components is determined. The Multi-Level Shop Order Release, SFC5302, has a new parameter for shop orders. The Due Date of Children = Release Date of Prent (Due Date of Children) field allows the user to set the due date determined for multi-level shop orders.

This feature uses different exchange rates in the user's inventory processes by using new macros in Post Inventory to G/L, INV920D. INV920 used macros limited by the Override Exchange Rate parameter set on the book in Book Definition, CEA105D3. If the Override Exchange rate parameter is set to No, the macro uses the Rate Type of the Book. If the Override Exchange parameter is set to Yes, the macro uses the Rate Type of the Order Company. This enhancement provides macros that use the Rate Type of the Order Company. This enhancement provides macros that use the Rate Type of the Warehouse Company, Order Company, or the Book regardless of the Override Exchange Rate parameter in the Book.

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Tips: LN | Baan

Is Your Infor ERP System the Elephant in the Room?

The Infor ERP Elephant in the Room That Must Be Addressed

In a recent survey of Infor ERP customers, we discovered that 50% of respondents said that they did not know whether or not their ERP system had the features and functionality required for their business.  50%....1 out of every 2……not good.

Why is this the case? Well, the causes can be traced back to one of the following reasons:

  • A key-person has retired or left the company and their knowledge left with them.
  • Systems were implemented based on how the previous system worked.
  • Upgrades and implementations were viewed as a “technical upgrade”, meaning that the upgrade was done to get off an old or outdated platform. All the new features and functionality weren't researched so they are unknown and no one could be trained on them.


You may say “So what? Who cares if our team doesn’t know what else is available, or how the rest of the ERP system functions? Does it really matter?” It matters more than you think.

If you rely on an Infor ERP system to get your job done, you need to not only know what sessions to run, what fields are required, and what reports provide results, you also need to understand how the transactions impact the rest of the system. Without that understanding, you are inadvertently creating a departmental silo which can have a negative impact on the performance of the ERP for the rest of the company. 

Not knowing the functionality of the ERP results in limited use of the system as a whole. In my 25 years working with ERP systems, I have seen many cases where a company becomes frustrated with the limitations of the system only to discover that they were only utilizing 10-20% of the ERP system's capabilities. The system didn’t impose the limitation…it was the use of the system, or shall I say the lack of it, that was the culprit.

To be competitive in today’s economy, an ERP system should be able to move in lockstep with a business as its needs change. In order for this to happen, the entire company needs to be willing to change too. Part of this change involves taking advantage of the best practices that are built into the Infor ERP system. If you're not sure how to do that - you are not alone! Fully understanding your Infor ERP requires a team of capable users in each key department of your organization to marry the capabilities of the ERP system with your business objectives. Sounds complicated? Well, it doesn't stop there. Your team of capable users needs to communicate between the key departments to make sure one department's procedures don't handicap any other department. Once this level of understanding and communication is established, decisions can be made to take advantage of the most effective way to minimize costs, increase efficiency, improve quality and deliver the highest level of customer service possible…everything you invested in the Infor ERP system for in the first place, is now unleashed.

Not sure where to start? Crossroads RMC's consultants have this exact expertise and the skills to get you through tough times. Our expertise comes from years of experience, and best practices to evaluate your business processes and identify areas where improvement is needed. Whether you need to increase the return on your ERP investment or have no idea what to do next, our comprehensive ROI business case, cost estimates, benefits, and a plan of action will supply you with the information you need to add value to your business.

Request a free phone consultation>  or contact us to learn how to get started> solutions@crossroadsrmc.com  |  800.762.2077

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