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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

Why should I automate my processes?

LN & Baan

Kathy Barthelt 0 29140 Article rating: 5.0

The truth of the matter is that automation is a necessity in order to stay competitive in today’s marketplace. The demand to do more with less is ever present. Automating your processes can give you the competitive advantage you’ve been looking for.

Basic automation tools also help manufacturers track performance, such as cycle times, and order-to-delivery times, so that they can measure improvements. This tracking ability provides a historical record, as well as analytics that can be used to predict future needs. With this information, manufacturers can keep a close eye on trends in production orders, and use them to identify seasonal and customer buying trends and triggers. This insight can be helpful in planning for needed resources—from personnel to raw materials.

Read more > Manufacturing Industry Perspectives - Shop floor automation: A necessity for competitive manufacturing

Contact Kathy Barthelt today to discuss how Crossroads RMC can help you automate your processes and propel your business beyond the competition.

 

Infor LN & Baan Tip of the Week: Inventory aging analysis report

Kathy Barthelt 0 42890 Article rating: 5.0

A new standard Inventory Aging report can be printed in the Perform Inventory Aging Analysis (whina1440m000) session. This report is mainly based on the physical incoming and outgoing inventory movements and transactions. The date of inventory consumption or issue is compared to the date of receipt. If inventory is not yet issued, a reference date is used for aging calculation.

The report includes this information:

• Which inventory items are not frequently used or are obsolete.

• How long items have been stored in a warehouse.

• Inventory and transaction values. This facilitates the financial auditing process.

To use this new feature, an inventory aging analysis definition must be available in the Inventory Aging Analysis Definition (whina1140m000) session.

What do you get with IDF?

Infor Development Framework

George Moroses 0 26753 Article rating: 5.0

What do you get with IDF?

With Infor Development Framework (IDF), you can configure your view of the application data without modifying the core application and its supportability. Included with IDF are several interfaces including:

• PowerLink – A Windows-based client for end users

• Link Manager – A Windows-based environment administration client for importing environments, starting and stopping environment, and installing Fix Patches.

• Net-Link – A browser-based client (used by LX when running with SiW)

• System-Link – A XML-based interface for processing transactions from external sources.

The IDF ISO includes several components:

• All of the above interfaces

• Enterprise Integrator – for customizing IDF components and creating new business objects

• EGLi – Enterprise General Ledger 

• CRMi – Customer Relationship Management 

If you already have IDF installed for Infor LX 8.3.x, then it must be upgraded to a level that is compatible with LX 8.4. IDF PTFs and Fix Patches are required. See the Infor LX IDF 06.03.05 Installation and Upgrade Guide for details.

OTTO Q&A from the Director of Planning & Technology at Champion Industries

George Moroses 0 23850 Article rating: 5.0

1.  How difficult is it to initially install OTTO?

Dead easy is the straight answer. We relied on you to install, and you installed in the predicted 1 hour.  

2.  Would you install it on a test system or on the production system?

Production system is another easy answer. I use OTTO as the ideal prototype when talking to business contacts about “add-on” products. It is non-invasive; it only reads data from our ERP files. I know the implementation is 100% safe because no ERP files are ever updated (read corrupted) by OTTO.

3.  How difficult was it to implement OTTO? Was there a negative impact on daily operations?

There is a learning curve involved in using any new tool that has value to add. OTTO implementation is very low on the impact scale, but I would strongly recommend that a prospective client plan on investing in education and practice. OTTO implementation is low impact. No valuable tool is “no impact”.

Click here to learn more about OTTO

Is the Crossroads Analytics Dashboard Product Better than Spreadsheets?

Crossroads RMC 0 30865 Article rating: 5.0

You bet it is!

The Analytics Dashboard allows you to take your data and configure it any way you’d like, all without touching your ERP system! 

Any number of reports can be generated with just a few mouse clicks. In addition, full color graphs are automatically generated to illustrate the data being presented. Paper reports and Excel spreadsheets are dated. With Analytics Dashboard, data is refreshed at the touch of a button. 

Analytics Dashboard for Infor LN & Baan >
Analytics Dashboard for Infor LN, BPCS, & M3 >

MES News: Current trends indicate plants and factories are seeking to improve...

George Moroses 0 30603 Article rating: 5.0

Current trends indicate plants and factories are seeking to improve internal flexibility, implement a common information platform, and deliver real-time information. MES supports a variety of lean concepts on the plant floor, including kanban, waste reduction, load balancing, etc.  It maximizes your existing investment in your ERP system while embracing lean initiatives.  Visit our Crossroads MES page to learn more.

Infor LX & BPCS Tip of the Week: Purge optional during Month/Period End - LX 8.4

George Moroses 0 33579 Article rating: 5.0

For various month/period end programs, the purge function is now optional.

Scope:

INV903, Inventory Month End Close, optionally purges both inventory records as well as customer invoices. Some applications already have a flag or option for purging (for example, ACP900) and other applications are stand-alone. If you do not want to purge, do not run these programs: Order Purge and Close, ORD900, Close Quotes, ORD930, and Delete RMAs, ORD935. Now there are options on whether to purge records during the month end or period end programs.

The Benefits include:

• Flag or option added to allow the user to decide whether to perform month-end function with or without purge.

• Allows for month-end processing without purge.

• Improves efficiency of month-end processing.

Impact:

This enhancement includes these programs or areas:

• INV903, Inventory Month End Close

• ACR900, A/R Period Close

• CST900, PRF900, SFC900 Shop Order Close

• PUR900, Purchasing Month End Close
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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

Kathy Barthelt

Infor LN & Baan Manufacturing Tip: All About Routings

The planning data for the method of manufacturing is defined in Routing. A routing consists of operations, with each operation identifying the last to be carried out in a work center and/or on a certain machine defined for a specific site.

Routings can be as follows:

  • Standard Routing - A generic routing that can be attached to multiple items
  • Item specific - A routing that is applied to one item
  • Network routing - A routing containing sequentially ordered operations and parallel operations
  • Order quantity dependent routing - A routing that is defined for a specific quantity of items

You use the Routing module to record routings for manufactured items. You can define the following:

â–ª Work centers - A work center is where production activities are performed. Resources, such as people and machines, are linked to a work center. A work center is a group of resource units used as a functional planning unit. The operation rate code, which is linked to the work center, is used to calculate the standard cost of an item or the estimated and actual costs. The capacity load on a work center is used in the planning of production. Work centers can be part of enterprise units used for multi-company modeling purposes.

â–ª Machines - Machines are linked to work centers and are used to plan operations. The rate defined for a machine is used to calculate the actual machine costs. The capacity load on a machine is used for production planning.

â–ª Reference operations - Classified according to the nature of the work performed, reference operations are used to describe activities that take place in the job shop. Reference operations are linked to operation rate codes, which are used to calculate the standard cost of an item or the estimated and actual costs. Reference operations are used in production planning.

â–ª Operations - The operation data for standard and customized manufactured items is maintained with operations. Operation data is stored and maintained for standard items and customized items. A series of operations are performed to manufacture an item. The sequence of operations is defined as a routing in operations. Yield and scrap are defined per operation.

â–ª Norm times - The run time and production rate of an operation are determined using norm tables. After a matrix is defined for two physical characteristics, such as length and width you can maintain a set of standard operation times for the X-Y coordinates. When tasks and routings are defined, the run time and production rate can be calculated by using a norm table.

â–ª Skills - Certain skills may be mandatory to perform a specific operation. To ensure employees assigned to an operation possess the necessary knowledge, skills are linked to both employees and operations.

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