Migrating Lawson On-Premise to Infor Cloudsuite

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As businesses grow and technology advances, it’s not uncommon for companies to outgrow their current enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. In some cases, this may mean moving from an on-premise solution, such as Lawson, to a cloud-based platform like Infor Cloudsuite. If you’re considering making the switch, here are some steps to keep in mind.

  1. Evaluate your current system: Before making any changes, it’s important to evaluate your current system to identify what’s working well and what needs improvement. Consider factors like system performance, ease of use, functionality, and cost. This will help you determine whether Infor Cloudsuite is the right choice for your organization and identify any specific features or functions you need to ensure a successful transition.
  2. Plan your migration: Once you’ve decided to move to Infor Cloudsuite, the next step is to plan your migration. This involves determining what data needs to be migrated, setting a timeline for the transition, and identifying any potential challenges or roadblocks. It’s also important to consider how the migration will impact your business operations and develop a plan to mitigate any disruptions.
  3. Prepare your data: Before migrating to Infor Cloudsuite, you’ll need to ensure that your data is ready for the transition. This may involve cleaning up data, consolidating data sources, and preparing data for the new platform. It’s important to work closely with your IT team to ensure that data is transferred accurately and securely.
  4. Prepare interfaces: Determine which interfaces, both internal and between 3rd party vendors, will need to be rewritten, and which ones can be archived.  Work closely with IT to refactor or recreate the interfaces and prepare them for the new cloud environment.
  5. Train your staff: Moving to a new ERP platform can be a significant change for your organization, so it’s important to provide training and support to your staff. This may involve providing training on the new system, helping staff understand how to use new features, and ensuring that they have the resources they need to be successful.
  6. Go live: Once you’ve completed all of the necessary preparation and training, it’s time to go live with Infor Cloudsuite. This is a critical phase of the transition, as it’s important to ensure that the new system is fully operational and that any issues are quickly addressed. It’s also important to have a plan in place to handle any unforeseen issues or challenges that may arise during this phase.
  7. Monitor and optimize After the transition is complete, it’s important to continue monitoring the new system to ensure that it’s meeting your organization’s needs. This may involve tracking system performance, identifying areas for improvement, and making changes to optimize the system. By continually monitoring and optimizing the system, you can ensure that you’re getting the most out of Infor Cloudsuite and supporting your organization’s ongoing success.

In conclusion, moving from Lawson on-premise to Infor Cloudsuite can be a complex process, but by following these steps and working closely with your IT team and vendor, you can ensure a successful transition. By choosing a cloud-based ERP solution like Infor Cloudsuite, you can benefit from improved functionality, scalability, and cost-effectiveness, supporting your organization’s growth and success in the years to come.

 

E&A Scheer Selects Infor to Optimize Processes

E&A Scheer recently had a successful go-live of the Infor CloudSuite Food & Beverage solution. The rum company will use the solution to optimize internal processes. The future-proof solution offers the Dutch rum company improvements for distribution and recipe management in combination with greater insight into the supply chain. Per the press release, E&A Scheer was looking for a partner with standardized cloud solutions for sector-specific challenges. After a thorough evaluation, Infor was selected because of its extensive food & beverage functionalities, such as planning & scheduling, recipe management and inventory management. In addition, the cloud expertise and team composition from Infor played an important role in the decision.

 

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10 Small Business Tech Trends Defining 2023

Every day more and more technology is introduced or revamped, continuously shaping the way we run our businesses. Small businesses especially see the competitive edge when using digital tools such as customer relationship management (CRM) software, unique marking platforms, and integrated accounting and financial programs. Sales expert David Appel shares an article on BuiltIn.com of the latest small business tech trends that can help small businesses stay ahead of their competition.

  1. Applied AI and Machine Learning. “Small businesses can use AI and ML to forecast customer demand, ensuring they always have optimal stock levels. They can also offer personalized customer experiences based on past interactions and behavior.”
  2. Edge Computing and Distributed Infrastructure. “Edge computing is often paired with distributed cloud infrastructure, giving small businesses the ability to manage edge devices from a single control pane and ensure consistency. Users can control each edge device locally, improving security and data privacy for small businesses. This will make sure you’re compliant with privacy regulations and strengthen cybersecurity.”
  3. Software 2.0: Low-Code Programming. “Software 2.0 involves using machine learning tools that rely on neural networks for software development no-code and low-code tools utilize machine learning, letting you customize your existing code and automate manual tasks, saving time and increasing efficiency. It will also enable the rapid scaling of AI-driven applications. This ensures your tech stack meets your current and future business needs.”
  4. Hybrid Work Engagement and Retention. “Technology that supports hybrid working lets small businesses recruit talent from afar. Collaborative tech allows teams to work together and facilitate human connections in a remote world. Plus, you can increase employee engagement and retention by offering flexible working.”
  5. Hyperautomation and Super Apps. “Hyperautomation involves identifying, assessing and automating as many processes as possible. As robots and software become more intelligent, automation will continue to grow. This will reduce time-to-market and free employees from repetitive manual tasks. Meanwhile, super apps, platforms that combine separate apps into a single interface,  streamline processes and boost efficiency. A good example is IPO accounting software. An Initial Public Offering (IPO) is a great way to raise capital for your small business. But it also presents a lot of extra work for you and your finance team.”
  6. Clean Energy and Sustainable Tech. “Investing in sustainable tech is a must for small businesses looking to secure long-term growth. More people are environmentally conscious, so companies that fail to adopt genuine green practices will struggle to attract customers and remain competitive. Clean technology will also support high-performance computing (HPC) and other technologies that maximize efficiency and reduce time-to-market.”
  7. Metaverse. “The metaverse is still in its infancy, but metaverse tech like virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are already growing in popularity. This tech could revolutionize how businesses interact with and sell to their customers. AR and VR could see remote employees interacting with colleagues in a shared virtual environment. Small businesses could use this type of technology for training. Plus, digital twins (a virtual model of a physical object) could help with spatial and process planning.”
  8. Zero-Trust Cybersecurity and Architecture. “In response to the growing risk of cyber attacks, many businesses are adopting zero-trust cybersecurity architecture that focuses on verification and access control. Zero-trust technology includes multi-factor authentication (MFA), security assertion markup language (SAML) and other access management tools. Small businesses are at particular risk of cyberattacks, but zero-trust cybersecurity can significantly reduce that risk. It also reduces security and compliance costs and increases consumer confidence in your business.”
  9. Responsible Datafication. “This trend refers to how companies can use data to improve products and services and better serve their customers. Datafication must be done responsibly, though, especially when it comes to customer data. You don’t want to fall foul of data protection regulations like CCPA or GDPR. Analyzing data can help you pinpoint areas for improvement and make better business decisions. It can also help you identify opportunities to target new customers or create new revenue streams.”
  10. Embedded Finance and Blockchain. “Embedded finance lets companies offer financial services without building the corresponding financial infrastructure. You can also offer customers a more streamlined experience, which will boost their satisfaction. What’s more, blockchain offers businesses strong security and transparency. Plus, it increases efficiency through automation while eliminating the need for third-party verification.”

Technology is important for all businesses big and small to stay competitive. Future-proofing a small business, Appel notes, starts with looking at your existing processes and the potential benefits of these technologies, as well as making sure your tech stack is compatible with them so you can easily integrate them in the future

 

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Searching on user information via the Infor Security Services (ISS)

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Search results are incorrect for user/resource information via the Infor Security Services (ISS).

However, the user search is correct in Lawson Security Administrator (LSA) tool and Infor Rich Client (IRC).

Search results in ISS are returned from a search index, not directly from LDAP as is the case with LSA or the GEN database as is the case with IRC. The search index may not be updated if changes are made outside of ISS. Changes made directly in IRC will NOT update the search index.

To resolve the issue, you need to rebuild the search index that ISS uses using ssoconfig.

Open Lawson Interface Desktop (LID) and connect to the Lawson System Foundation (LSF) server or from a command line with environment variables set:

Type ssoconfig -c and press enter

Enter your password for ssoconfig

Choose the option for Manage Search Index and press enter.

Choose the option for Build Resources Full Index and press enter.

This part can take a while, how long depends on the number of resource, identity, and service records in LDAP. You can monitor the progress of the rebuild in the LAWDIR/system/security_search.log

Wait for the menu options to come back and then choose Build Monitoring Full index.

When the menu comes back to where you can choose the build options again the rebuild has completed and you can try your search in ISS again.

Either way you rebuild the index, you can verify that the rebuild is complete by verifying the following in the LAWDIR/system/security_search.log:

Tue Mar 13 22:47:01.006 CDT 2018 – default-434727101: Done indexing identities

Tue Mar 13 22:47:01.007 CDT 2018 – default-434727101: Closing index…

Tue Mar 13 22:47:01.037 CDT 2018 – default-434727101: Activating index…

Tue Mar 13 22:47:01.038 CDT 2018 – default-434727101: Index activated

Tue Mar 13 22:47:04.073 CDT 2018 – default-434727101: Finished indexing

 

Clarins UK Sets Foundation for Growth with Infor

Infor recently announced that premium skincare brand Clarins UK has deployed Infor WMS warehouse management system, powered by AWS (Amazon Web Services). Per the press release, Infor WMS will help with delivering increased visibility, improved traceability and inventory accuracy, and will enhance order management and dynamic picking, for optimum productivity. Additionally, with a remit to establish a scalable infrastructure for the future, and improve both traceability and accuracy of customer orders, Clarins needed to move away from its previous legacy warehouse management system. Infor’s multi-tenant cloud-based WMS was selected with support from Supply Chain Consulting Group. The decision was based on the solution’s best-in-class capabilities, and prebuilt processes to enable a fast deployment, as well as scale for the future.

 

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ISS: How to research and resolve IDENTITY record failures in the sync

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For errors related to the failed IDENTITY records from an ISS sync follow these steps:

Determine which system, Lawson System Foundation (LSF) or Landmark (LMK), the identity record failed in:

After finding the exception in the log, scroll up in the log until you see a message such as this:

Getting resource from INFORBCLM01.INFORBC.COM;9906;9907;LANDMARK

or

Getting resource from INFORBCLS01.INFORBC.COM;6626;6627;LSS

or

Processing record #4,996 of LSF

or

Processing record #4,986 of LANDMARK

Messages that reference LSS or LSF indicate the issue is in LSF and the record should be reviewed in that system. Messages that reference LANDMARK indicate the issue is in LMK and the record should be reviewed in that system.

 

Cybersecurity Fails and How to Prevent Them

Living in this digital age where our personal and professional lives mainly revolve online opens up so much vulnerability and risks for our privacy. Online predators are beyond skilled and unforgiving. That’s why it’s important to build a strong cybersecurity structure. Keri Pearlson, executive director of cybersecurity at the MIT Sloan School of Management, believes that enterprise leaders must shift their focus from protection to resilience. “We need to assume the bad guys are going to be in our systems, find new ways to hack us, and continually innovate to reach their goals,” she explains. It’s important to know how your cybersecurity infrastructure works, especially at an enterprise level. Technology Journalist & Author John Edwards shares an article on InformationWeek.com depicting common cybersecurity fails and how to prevent them from becoming a larger issue.

Coordinating Vulnerability. “Only by acknowledging and sharing the vulnerabilities and mistakes that lead to breaches can security be improved for all organizations. One way to embrace transparency is by adopting a vulnerability disclosure program (VDP) that provides a plan for how vulnerabilities should be reported. “At its core, it’s a ‘see something, say something’ policy,” says Kayla Underkoffler, lead security technologist at security services firm HackerOne. “This helps organizations coordinate with security researchers through clear guidelines and avoid premature or accidental publication of vulnerabilities that may still pose risks to an organization.”

Operations and Risk. “Alisa Chestler, chair of the data protection, privacy, and cybersecurity team at law firm Baker Donelson, urges organizations to stop viewing security planning as a strictly cyber issue. Chestler recommends creating a strong governance program, one that requires regularly scheduled management team meetings devoted solely to security issues.

One of the biggest barriers to implementing a working governance program is enterprise culture, particularly resistance from less-informed management team members. Chestler believes that winning management support for strong security governance can be achieved through persistent knowledge sharing. Continuing to present news about current cybersecurity events is one way to move management to understand how critical their role is in the continued effort to reduce risks to the organization, especially to new threats as they evolve, she recommends.”

Overconfidence Kills. “Perhaps the biggest cybersecurity mistake an organization can make is becoming overconfident in its ability to respond successfully to today’s sophisticated, wide-ranging attacks. ‘Threat actors are constantly evolving their tactics and techniques to circumvent defenses,’ explains Phil Quitugua, a director at technology research and advisory firm ISG. Keeping pace with the threat landscape and performing regular assessments should be table stakes for enterprise cybersecurity. ‘A continuous improvement approach to cybersecurity is key to avoiding overconfidence,’ Quitugua says. Additionally, validating that security controls are behaving as expected should be a never-ending process.”

 

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Sonepar Czech Republic to Make Significant Distribution Process Efficiencies with Infor Cloud Solution

Infor recently announced that Sonepar Czech Republic, a distributor of electrical installation products, solutions and services, will use Infor CloudSuite Distribution Enterprise – the comprehensive cloud solution designed specifically for distribution companies. With this new solution, the company expects to realize significant savings and benefits in the area of distribution. Per the press release, The Infor CloudSuite Distribution Enterprise solution, powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS), will support Sonepar’s business processes from purchasing to selling, demand planning and forecasting, storage and transportation, customer relationship management and a number of other processes. According to the customer’s estimates, once operational, there should be a 15% reduction in storage and transport costs and a 20% increase in productivity. Moreover, Infor will make it possible to improve warehouse, transport and accounting management, speed up the response to changes in demand and increase customer satisfaction with bid proposals and delivery times.

 

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How to resolve Lawson XM Error – No XM User exists with User Principal Name

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Lawson XM errors are never good, but can easily be resolved. For example, you make come across this Lawson XM error: “No  XM User exists with User Principal Name (UPN)” (see screen shot below)

This error can easily be resolved by checking the settings for specific permissions.

In LSF ISS you must make sure that the SSOP identity user matches the Second user Identity (IFS) in XM SAT. These parameters allow users to log in to Mingle XM via SSOP and allows users to log in to SAT. Once you confirm these permission settings, you shouldn’t have the error again.

 

Iren to Automate Logistics and Optimise Inventory with Infor

Infor recently announced that Iren, a multi-utility group, is deploying Infor WMS (Infor Warehouse Management System) to help automate the logistics processes for its business units whilst optimizing inventory. Per the press release, Iren will entrust the technological transformation project to Lutech Group for the Infor WMS deployment and for the design and development of its innovative Pick & Go process; and to Spindox for its Ublique© Decision Intelligence platform. This project started in September 2021, with the go-live goal at the end of 2023. By the end of this year, Iren expects improvements in inventory accuracy, use of physical spaces, traceability of goods, optimization of management, and reordering policies. Further, the value of Infor WMS will be matched by the proven ability of Lutech and Spindox to govern complex, interdisciplinary, and innovative initiatives.

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