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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

ION News: Crossroads RMC uses the ION process to deliver data to/from LX 8.3.5

George Moroses 0 26776 Article rating: 5.0

Crossroads RMC is currently working with a customer in the food and beverage industry to develop 18 inbound and outbound customized BOD messages using the ION process to deliver data to/from LX 8.3.5.

All of the messages will be using the standard OAGIS (Open Applications Group Integration Specification) BOD Message. The OAGIS is a widely accepted standard within the industry which specifies a standard way of passing data in and out of applications using an XML format. 

Some of the BOD Messages that we will be processing are:

  • Item Master
  • Purchase Order
  • Receipts
  • Accounts Payable Invoices
  • Vendor information
  • Notifications messages

This project kicks off in February 2020 with milestone deliveries throughout the year.

How Do I Determine If MES Is Right For My Business?

George Moroses 0 31305 Article rating: 5.0

There are certain key questions that must be answered to determine whether or not an MES system would benefit your organization: 

  • How do you analyze OEE?
  • Is there an opportunity to reduce WIP inventory, indirect labor, downtime, waste or scrap?
  • What is the cost and impact of producing and distributing shop paper including drawings and work instructions?
  • Would you like to go paperless on your shop floor?
  • How are your continuous improvement initiatives tied to your ERP?
  • Is Management requesting real time production status reporting via dashboards or drilldown reports?
  • What different “islands of automation” exist on your shop floor?

The answers to each of these questions could have a significant impact on the profitability of your business. Want to quantify your results? Contact George Moroses today to schedule your FREE MES ROI Analysis.

Consulting News: How comprehensive is the Crossroads RMC ERP business audit & how does it work?

George Moroses 0 37417 Article rating: 5.0

Our Infor LX Practice just finished a Supply Chain and Manufacturing audit for one of our customers. During that engagement, several areas of the business were identified that could benefit from additional training and consulting support. 

Areas of significance were:

  • Purchasing
  • Customer Service
  • Billing
  • Inventory
  • Costing
  • Bills of Materials and Routings
  • Material Requirements Planning
  • Shop Floor Control

Several manual procedures and “tribal knowledge” systems were discovered. The evaluation was done by two consultants who spent time with key users during two onsite visits. The next step in the process will involve working with the client to prioritize the list of items identified and develop a strategic plan focused on growth and efficiency.

Infor LX & BPCS Tip of the Week: Order processing enhancement – LX 8.4

George Moroses 0 39769 Article rating: 5.0

Restrict Over-shipments to Customers

  • System parameter option controls when over shipments are allowed

Options to:

  • Continue current process with warning message
  • Give error message
  • Automatically correct to quantity available for shipment
     
  • Option to revise the order quantity so that pricing, promotions, credit checking load planning and other processes reflect the actual quantity
  • Allows better control of exceptions for over shipments
  • Ensures that pricing, promotions are correctly based on actual order quantity

About 65% of the world’s population are visual learners. This extends into the ERP software realm, too.

Infor LN & Baan

Kathy Barthelt 0 43032 Article rating: 5.0

Graphical representation makes complex concepts—like the intricacies of an ERP system—more universal, relatable and easy to understand.

ERP dashboards gather and visualize critical metrics from across the organization, offering insight into the performance, outlook and interconnectivity of business processes.

By setting up ERP dashboards that illustrate key metrics and compellingly communicate operational performance, key stakeholders will have a clear picture of the health of the business—and make better, more informed business decisions as a result.

The Crossroads Analytics Dashboard has preconfigured views for all of the following:

 Infor LN & Baan
  • Accounts Payable
  • Accounts Receivable
  • Journal
  • Booked Sales
  • Invoiced Sales
  • Production
  • Receipts
  • Purchase Orders
  • Inventory

To learn more visit our Analytic Dashboard webpage.

Data Collection: Are you able to perform a full cycle count of your inventory in one day?

Kathy Barthelt 0 36250 Article rating: 5.0

Cycle Counting Benefits:

  • Overall increased inventory accuracy
  • Increased accuracy of count
  • Ability to review and approve count before direct update of Baan / Infor LN tables
  • Elimination of unnecessary re-orders of items with current inventory
  • Greater ability to satisfy customer orders due to greater visibility to accurate inventory levels
  • Direct labor cost savings – less staff required for count
  • Increased productivity during count

Some of our customers counts used to take weeks. They can now complete a count of their entire inventory in one day. One of our LN customers just told us that they recently wrapped up a cycle count using our software and said it was the first time ever that they completed a count without one complaint or mistake!

Contact us today to learn more - 800.762.2077

Integration News: Crossroads RMC has developed an integration from Baan IV to Modula OnePick for Grindmaster Corporation

Kathy Barthelt 0 30002 Article rating: 5.0

One Pick is a Modula Lift automatic vertical warehouse with a special picking bay equipped to provide expedited picking and a high level of pick accuracy. With this system, Grindmaster is able to save floor space, store items safely, automate inventory management, track items, save picking time and prevent picking errors. Go live for this solution is expected in Q1 2020.

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Tips:  LX | BPCS | M3

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.

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.

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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.  

Get a free phone consultation button

800.762.2077

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Kathy Barthelt

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