Top 8 ERP implementation best practices

Implementing an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system is a colossal task. If done right, it is extremely beneficial. If done poorly, it could hurt you business dramatically. For a successful implementation, business professionals need to learn how to reduce and prepare for risks and failures. Tony Kontzer, a California-based freelance journalist at TechTarget, shared an article highlighting 8 ERP implementation best practices companies should consider when deploying their new system.

  1. Define business goals first. “Companies should start by getting clear on desired key performance indicators and doing the strategic planning needed to align the effort with what the company does.”
  2. Address data quality. “The ERP implementation process presents an ideal opportunity to get the entire organization’s data in order. Getting a handle on the issue has become even more important during the emerging era of cloud ERP and AI-driven analytics, with data typically being pulled seemingly from everywhere.”
  3. Get clear on your staffing strengths and weaknesses. “This is a general IT rule of thumb, but it’s especially important for ERP deployments. ERP touches every part of a company, affects nearly every process, records every transaction and spits out insights. If an organization wants to get it right, having the right people can make a huge difference.”
  4. Find a trusted implementation partner. “The search for a good implementation partner can be tough, but it’s well worth the effort.”
  5. Create a good implementation methodology. “Implementation methodologies will make or break the success of an ERP rollout. A good ERP deployment requires defining business requirements through documentation.”
  6. Focus on communication. “Regardless of whether a deployment is on premises or in the cloud, employees need to know how the software changes their jobs and then be trained on those new tools. This can go a long way toward determining how effectively users adopt a new system.”
  7. Embrace the little failures along the way. “Little failures will undoubtedly happen during the course of a deployment. How an organization responds to them will help to determine how effective the new ERP system ultimately becomes.”
  8. Know when to wait. “Business processes have become so complicated, and the average company has so many more applications and systems it’s relying on, that the post-deployment stages of integrating processes and bringing people up to speed have lengthened. Sometimes, companies would be better served by resisting the urge to implement a new ERP system now when now may be too soon.”

 

For Full Article, Click Here

Set debug logging on Lawson Security Rules

, ,

Follow the steps below to set debug logging on Lawson Security Rules.

 

Launch Lawson Security Administrator (LSA).

Select Server Management.

Select Server.

Select the Auditing + Logging tab.

Under Logging Levels on the right, click Debug.

Under the Select User to Log section type in the RMId of a user who should be logged.

Additionally, under the Select User to Log section type ALL in upper case*.

Click Apply.

After the security Caching Interval time is reached then perform the same action you need to troubleshoot.  Note the date/time you perform the action.

Collect the logs: On the Lawson server, the name and location of the log files are: LAWDIR/system/lase_server_*_*.log  and ios.log and ios.log(x).

To disable the debug logging in LSA, go back to the Auditing + Logging tab. Change the Logging Levels to Critical and highlight the RMId you added and click Remove, then highlight ALL and click Remove.

Valley View Casino and Hotel and Infor Deliver a Seamless Guest Experience

Infor recently announced Valley View Casino & Hotel, Southern California’s premier gaming destination and a loyal customer of over two decades, is implementing Infor’s hospitality Point of Sale (POS), Hospitality Management System (HMS) and Table Reservation Management. Per the press release, with the automation of reward redemption, Valley View aims to elevate the overall customer experience, providing streamlined processes that cater to the unique needs of the gaming sector. Joe Vargas, SVP and general manager of Infor Hospitality, says of the partnership, “Valley View’s adoption of Infor’s POS and HMS marks a milestone for us, as it represents the inaugural implementation of Infor POS on the gaming floor. This strategic move, driven by exceptional support and the pursuit of operational excellence, showcases the trust Valley View places in Infor. The decision not only addresses their current challenges but also positions Valley View at the forefront of innovation and success in the hospitality industry.” Valley View understands that for hospitality brands to succeed, their technology must evolve to meet changing guest expectations. With Infor POS, they are given new positive functionality over the previous solution, with player and guest focused benefits to unlock new possibilities. Furthermore, Bruce Howard, General Manager of Valley View Casino & Hotel, comments, “We are delighted to be the first casino in the country to implement Infor’s Point of Sale System. Our 20-year partnership with Infor has been a win/win scenario for both companies since its inception in 2004 and we are confident that will continue with their new advanced technology into POS, another integral part of our business.”

 

For Full Article, Click Here

Lawson Error – Ask your administrator for access to other applications

, ,

A user logs into Infor OS or Lawson Mingle, clicks the waffle icon in the top left and encounters the below error:

“If you’re seeing this, ask your administrator to give you access to other applications”

 

Resolution 1 (Requires a Lawson Administrator):

Verify if the IFSSecurityRole has been assigned to the Application:

  1. In Infor OS, click on the User Menu and go to Admin Settings
  2. Within the “Manage Applications” section, double-click on the Application that the user is attempting to use (e.g., Infor Lawson).
  3. In the Application Details screen, choose the Permissions tab

On the Permission screen, you should see the IFSSecurityRoles configured for the application.

To grant permission to the user for the application, ensure that at least one of the listed IFSSecurityRoles is assigned to them.

 

Resolution 2 (Requires a Lawson Administrator):

Provide User Permission:

  1. Access the User Menu and navigate to User Management.
  2. In the Search field, search for the user
  3. After the user’s details appear in the search results, click on the User Details icon.
  4. On the user screen, proceed to the Security Roles tab.
  5. Click the plus sign in the upper left corner, choose the appropriate IFSSecurityRole, and click on ADD & CLOSE to grant permission.

Have the user sign out and sign back in to Infor OS after the change.

 

What is object storage?

Object storage, as defined by Amazon Web Services (AWS), is a technology that stores and manages data in an unstructured format called objects. Modern organizations create and analyze large volumes of unstructured data such as photos, videos, email, web pages, sensor data, and audio files. method of technology storage differs from hierarchical or tiered storage, and results in a flat data architecture where users can retrieve and analyze any object in the network, regardless of the file type, based on its properties and function. Harrison Saunders, editorial intern for Silverlinings –  the Information for cloud network architects platform – stresses object storage’s importance to the modern business workplace. Modern businesses, Saunders explains, generate and analyze massive amounts of unstructured data, including photos, videos, emails, web pages, sensor data, audio files, and other types of digital content that do not fit easily into traditional databases. As businesses grow and expand, they have to oversee rapidly expanding but isolated pools of data from various sources that are used by a wide range of applications, business processes, and end users. Saunders further shares that object-based storage has become the preferred method for storing static content, data archives and backups due to its scale-out capabilities, meaning few scalability limitations when compared to traditional file or block-based storage. Additionally, object storage improves data durability and resiliency by storing objects across multiple devices, systems and even data centers and regions. Being on the cloud, object storage also allows data to be accessed from anywhere. However, there is one drawback of object storage that Saunders points out. Object storage isn’t meant for transactional data because it wasn’t made to take the place of network-attached storage (NAS) for file access and sharing. It also doesn’t support the locking and sharing features that are required to keep a single, up-to-date version of a file. Moreover, Saunders notes that according to AWS, customers use object storage for a wide range of applications. Saunders explains that common usage scenarios include analytics, data lake storage, cloud-native application data, data archiving, rich media, backup and recovery, and machine learning to name a few.

 

For Full Article, Click Here

Three Ways To Ensure Your Data Migration Is A Success

Data migration is an important project that companies these days are prioritizing more often. Whether it be because you are switching new platforms, purging obsolete data or archiving historical records, data migration efforts take a lot of planning, require a lot decision making and warrant the need to consider security and risks associated with handling/moving their data. Lewis Wynne- Jones, Forbes council member and VP of Product at ThinkData Works, shares an article on how to ensure that your data migration will go smoothly. “Data migration is a challenge and an opportunity, explains Jones. “It’s an opportunity to future-proof your organization, gain a competitive advantage, reduce friction and improve operations. But it’s not a problem with a one-size-fits-all solution. Custom approaches are always required. It will take time and energy to do it right.” Below are three ways, according to Jones, that will ensure your data migration is a success.

  1. Gain the benefit of cloud-based tools now, not later. “By virtualizing legacy data sources and inaugurating a modern analytics stack during migration, you’ll parallelize the migration effort into two streams: one that’s focusing on the migration itself, and another that’s extracting value out of data today. The first is running a critical improvement; the second helps pay for it.”
  2. Consistently verify the correctness of the migration. “One of the reasons migration efforts are hard to complete is the worry that the new environment won’t mirror the old one. The problem here is that most data environments lack a staging area that provides a lens into what the old data looks like, how it’s built and what applications it’s powering. Data lineage graphs should help here: Spot-check where data lives and where it’s going, then do the same thing with the new data and make sure all processes are accounted for. When you’re satisfied that all downstream processes have been accounted for, you can confidently move the data.”
  3. Know your data. “You don’t need to know everything—there can and should be discovery and decisioning during the migration—but creating a comprehensive data inventory and establishing your requirements about the new schema, location, access protocol, business glossary and metadata fields before the migration means you’ll have a decent sense of what you have, what you want and how it will be used. These are North Stars you can refer to during the migration to make sure the process is going as planned.”

 

For Full Article, Click Here

Updating Infor RQC Configuration

, ,

If you make changes to the rqc_config.xml file, you will need to deploy the changes to RQC. Luckily, this is a simple change.

To update or make changes to RQC, follow these steps:

Either go to http(s):/<lawson server>:<port>/rqc/html/utility.htm

OR

Open Lawson portal and navigate to Bookmarks > Requisition Center > Utilities. They both will lead you to the next screen where you will have a couple options.

By clicking “Reload Configuration File”, this will deploy your changes to rqc_config.xml. And by clicking “RQC IOS Cache Refresh”, this will refresh the RQC cache. See the screenshots below for reference. Your rqc_config.xml file is now successfully updated.

 

 

 

Machine Builder AWL Streamlines Production Process with Infor Cloud Solution

Infor recently announced that machine builder AWL has chosen Infor to help optimize its production process and will deploy Infor CloudSuite Industrial Enterprise as the enterprise resource planning (ERP) system for the material handling business unit to support volume production. Per the press release, AWL’s implementation plans include:

 

From project organization to mass scaling. “Where this business unit could previously work on a project basis, the request for serial machine concepts, combined with the process characteristics of serial production, creates new requirements for the ERP system handling complex multi-modal manufacturing requirements. To meet this, AWL chose Infor’s cloud solution, powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS). One deciding factor for serial machine concepts is the traceability within production and the product lifecycle. This allows any disruptions or issues to be quickly identified and addressed despite the large scale.”

Global planning. “The Infor CloudSuite was implemented first in the material handling business unit in just five months. Further implementation throughout the rest of the organization is currently taking place, with a targeted go-live in Q1 2026, so AWL will eventually benefit from a company-wide rollout of the standardized and highly flexible multi-tenant cloud solution.”

Implementation in five months. “The solution has already been implemented in five months for part of the organization, where normally such an implementation could takes years. AWL states that this is possible due to the combination of choosing standard solutions within only part of the organization. Moreover, Infor and AWL benefit from the limited need for data conversion because it involves a virtually new activity of the company.”

 

For Full Article, Click Here

How to run Lawson Infor Reporting “Report Studio” and “Workspace Advanced” in Microsoft Edge using “Internet Explorer Mode”

, ,

Given Microsoft’s discontinuation of support for Internet Explorer, which is required for report creation, editing, and saving in Infor Reporting, an alternative browser setup is essential. Here’s a step-by-step guide for configuring Microsoft Edge to operate in Internet Explorer mode for Infor Reporting. Ensure to follow these steps carefully:

  1. Launch the Microsoft Edge browser.
  2. Access the “Settings” menu.
  3. In the left panel, select “Default Browser.”
  4. Set the “Internet Explorer compatibility” option to “Incompatible sites only (Recommended).”
  5. Set the “Allow sites to be reloaded in Internet Explorer mode” option to “Allow.”
  6. In the “Internet Explorer mode pages” menu, click the “Add” button and input the URL used for Infor Reporting:

As of 7/7/2022

  1. Log in to Ming.le.
  2. From the app menu, select “Infor Reporting.”
  3. In the Edge browser, click the “…” settings icon located in the top right corner of the screen.
  4. Toward the bottom of the menu, choose “Reload in Internet Explorer mode.”
  5. Optionally, enable the option to “Reload Reload in Internet Explorer mode next time.”
  6. Click “OK.”
  7. You might be redirected to the Ming.le login page; if so, log in again.
  8. Access “Infor Reporting” (it should now indicate that you are running in Internet Explorer mode).
  9. Select a report and open it for editing.
    1. Example for EU1 MT Cloud:
      1. https://infor-reporting.eu1.inforcloudsuite.com/InforReporting/
    2. Example for on-premise Infor Reporting:
      1. https://myreportserver:800/InforReporting/

 

For MT Cloud Environments via Ming.le

To make Infor Reporting function properly through Ming.le, an additional step is needed:

  1. Log in to Ming.le using the Microsoft Edge browser.
  2. Once logged in to Ming.le, open a new “tab” by clicking the “+” (plus) icon (or pressing CTRL-T).
  3. In the new tab, enter the URL for Infor Reporting, e.g., for EU1 MT Cloud: https://infor-reporting.eu1.inforcloudsuite.com/InforReporting.
  4. Infor Reporting should start, and your Microsoft Edge browser should display a top bar indicating “You’re in Internet Explorer mode.”
  5. This top bar can be closed by clicking the “x” icon in the top right corner of the screen.
  6. You can now launch “Report Studio” or “Workspace Advanced.”

Example:

 

By default, URLs added in the “Internet Explorer mode pages” menu will expire after 30 days and must be re-added. You can change this behavior using Group Policy or a Windows registry adjustment, as explained here.

 

Note: If you encounter an authentication error when opening a new tab in Ming.le (as shown below)

  1. Access your MS Edge browser settings.
  2. In the left panel, select “Privacy, search, and services.”
  3. Click on “Choose what to clear” in the “Clear browsing data” section on the right panel.
  4. Select all options and set the “Time range” to “All time.”
  5. Close all browser windows.
  6. Try again; the authentication error should be resolved.

The Intersection of Cloud ERP, AI and Sustainability in 2024

In recent years, it’s no doubt that some technologies are becoming more prevalent than others. What’s more is when these technologies work together. Peter Pluim, President of SAP’s Enterprise Cloud Services & SAP Sovereign Cloud Services, believes from past trends and the forward outlook this year, that this is the year of Cloud ERP (enterprise resource planning), powered by Business AI (artificial intelligence). Pluim shares an article on Forbes stating that these two technologies, along with sustainability, will reshape the current business landscape. “Looking ahead to 2024, the strategic adoption of advanced Business AI-powered analytics within Cloud ERP will be crucial for proactive planning and informed decision-making, as well as driving improved efficiency,” he says. Below are the many ways these technologies will empower the digital landscape this year:

Cloud Computing Continues to Expand. “The need for innovative business models and revenue streams, coupled with the ability to pivot swiftly according to business needs, has intensified. Cloud ERP emerges as the fastest route to a complete digital transformation and the cultivation of advanced business capabilities, touching every facet of a company.”

AI-Powered ERP and Automation. “2024 promises to be the year of Business AI-infused Cloud ERP. Scott Russell, member of the Executive Board of SAP writes that with AI, we can now imagine real-time inventory optimized by predictions, automated purchases triggered by demand forecasts, and self-healing systems that fix bottlenecks before they become problems.”

More Powerful ERP Analytics. “ERP analytics are no longer just about looking at the past; they’re also about understanding the present and shaping the future. As ERP analytics continues to evolve, its role in shaping a responsible and resilient future for businesses will only grow.”

ERP Drives More Sustainable Operations. “The integration of Cloud ERPs with generative AI is fast-tracking sustainability goals by providing a practical “Green Ledger” for tracking emissions, optimizing the supply chain, and ensuring regulatory compliance for a more environmentally conscious future.”

Sovereign Cloud Market on the Ascent. “Deloitte predicts the global sovereign cloud market will hit $41 billion in 2024, a 16% jump from 2023, driven by government cloud initiatives offering compliance-first solutions. It’s a compelling blend that ensures more secure, localized data management, while preserving the flexibility and scalability that customers value in today’s dynamic business environment.

 

For Full Article, Click Here