Infor unveils major industry ERP update

Infor has announced the latest release of its bi-annual update for its different industry CloudSuites. At the same time, it also revealed some platforms and updates to horizontal solutions. The new bi-annual update will allow the development teams to deliver meaningful updates twice a year that organisations can plan to take advantage of. It seems likely that Infor will continue to roll out minor, mainly maintenance releases, in between these major updates. Cloud vendors have been promising continuous updates as a major advantage of cloud technology. The reality is that organisations need to plan change management and continuous updates are rarely taken advantage of comprehensively.

Soma Somasundaram, Infor President & CTO, said, “The innovations that we are delivering with our October release will enable customers to boost agility, leverage data-driven insights for improved decision-making, and get access to industry-specific solutions out of the box. They are designed to help customers automate business processes, achieve business results faster and pave the way for business transformation.”  

Infor recently announced a new RPA solution as part of Infor Enterprise Automation. This release confirms the integration of RPA across the Infor platform and suite of Infor applications. Below are some of the other improvements that Infor has made across its CloudSuites. Several updates are common across several applications.

Distributed Manufacturing

Common updates across its distributed manufacturing solutions include:

• Configurable product workspace: Within the Infor configurable product workspace, customer service representatives can customize products from a single screen. The screen displays pricing and tracking information for each quote. It links directly to relevant sales orders for consolidated information all in one place.
• Material overage management: The feature integrates with Infor PLM, enabling engineers to identify the impact of any part changes on the manufacturing process.

The following updates are included with CloudSuite Industrial and CloudSuite Aerospace and Defence:

• EA content library: A catalogue of prebuilt content or automation flows using any combination of EA technologies – RPA+IDP, BaaS, AI, iPaaS.
• Picklist Proof of Delivery: Using Infor Enterprise Automation (EA), a new capability automates the picklist digital document capture. Processing and management for customer service inquiries to improve productivity by at least 85% and shorten time to resolution.
• Invoice Processing & Matching: Another Infor EA app that captures and matches vendor invoices and creates vendor payments to improve productivity by at least 72% and shorten days to pay. Any exception errors are routed and corrected by a human.

Infor CloudSuite Automotive

The updates to Infor CloudSuite Automotive are grouped into three categories: control costs and drive profitability, increase supply chain resilience and optimise manufacturing productivity.

The improvements include:

• Self-billing for aftermarket and services business (based on sales orders): As automotive OEMs and suppliers expand their aftermarket businesses, this new capability helps customers better understand their finances and simplifies invoicing and payment management for smoother orders.
• Trading partner compliance: A new trading partner compliance tool compiles supplier details (such as costs, quantities, billing, and related paperwork) into ready-to-send messages. Manufacturers can then share these via EDI for validation. The tool helps manufacturers confirm that suppliers are compliant with contracts and regulations.
• Streamlining shipments: A new tool for planning and prioritizing shipments enables timely deliveries to priority customers. The planning tool also includes support for alternative packaging. Other updates improve the compliance and efficiency of shipping processes.

CloudSuite Industrial Manufacturing

The updates to Infor CloudSuite Industrial are grouped into three categories: Boost profitability, build agile supply chains and enhance customer value.

The improvements include:

• Enterprise Collaboration Portal: The new Enterprise Portal gives sub-contractors the ability to review, accept, or decline orders and request payment. Manufacturers can collaborate with sub-contractors through the portal, which provides documentation support and communication audit trails.

CloudSuite Aerospace & Defense

The updates to Infor CloudSuite Aerospace & Defense are grouped into three categories: Improve governance and compliance, innovate continuously and improve quality and reliability.

The improvements include:

• FedRAMP Audit Compliance: Maintain continuous FedRAMP US Government contractor compliance with Aerospace & Defense CloudSuite audit integrations.
• Factory Track Shop Floor: Factory track reduces operator clicks, errors, and screens while improving data capture efficiency on the factory floor. Operator context determines available choices/actions on the screen and improves supervisor controls with real-time visibility.

Process Manufacturing & Distribution

Common updates across its process manufacturing solutions include:

• Supplier Portal: A self-service digital collaboration tool that provides a place where documents such as manufacturing specifications, order confirmation, advanced shipping notices, and transport notifications are shared to reduce issues. This update is found in CloudSuite Distribution and CloudSuite Food & Beverage.

• Capacity Planning Workbench: The new graphic visualization functionality of Capacity Planning Workbench enables users to take action while optimizing production from shift to shift. This update is found in CloudSuite Distribution and CloudSuite Food & Beverage.

CloudSuite Distribution

The updates to Infor CloudSuite Distribution are grouped into three categories: Control costs with advanced supply chain management, improve visibility and capacity for profitable growth and keep pace with customer expectations.

The improvements include:

• Product Attribution Service: Enables unique attributes and attribute groups to be assigned to products in Infor CloudSuite Distribution. The eCommerce experience is further improved with new sort, filter, and search functionality, improving customers’ ability to capture and store product data.
• Product 360: A new dashboard that provides KPI and data analytics in a single screen, the enhanced dashboard improves the visibility of product-specific details on a single screen.
• Product Certificate Management: Assists distributors by receiving relevant compliance documents from suppliers and then ensuring they are delivered to customers as required.

• M3 customer lifecycle management dashboards: Infor’s CLM dashboards provide enhanced cross-business visibility with a comprehensive 360 view of customers and prospect activities, including opportunities, quotations, and sales.

CloudSuite Fashion

The updates to Infor CloudSuite Fashion are grouped into three categories: Adapt to trends, scale to grow, create control, drive profitability and smarter, more sustainable product innovation.

The improvements include:

• Infor Nexus: Infor Nexus provides further supply chain visibility, including ‘plan to ship,’ carrier routes, automated advanced shipping notices, and invoice processing.
• Sustainable design integration: Helps customers meet sustainability targets and manage their carbon footprint by allowing customers to measure their product’s environmental impact on CO₂ emissions as they develop new collections and styles.
• Infor PLM for Fashion: Make smarter, more sustainable decisions with the product lifecycle management (PLM) capability in CloudSuite Fashion and includes many enhancements.
• Merchandise and Assortment Planning Partnership: Enables smart planning and speeds up deployment with pre-configured, customizable templates. In partnership with Foresight Retail, Infor’s CloudSuite Fashion provides smarter assortment and merchandise planning by managing financial planning, assortment planning, forecasting, inventory allocation, and replenishment support in one platform.

Cloudsuite Food & Beverage

The updates to Infor CloudSuite Food & Beverage are grouped into three categories: Avoid risk & simplify compliance processes, increase yield – product quality & improved output, and optimize supply chains & operations.

The improvements include:

• EA Content Library for Rapid Value Realization: A catalogue of prebuilt content or automation flows using any combination of EA technologies – RPA+IDP, BaaS, AI, iPaaS.
• Picklist Proof of Delivery: Using Infor Enterprise Automation (EA), a new capability automates the picklist digital document capture, processing and management for customer service inquiries to improve productivity by at least 85% and shorten time to resolution.
• Invoice Processing & Matching: Another Infor EA app that captures and matches vendor invoices and creates vendor payments to improve productivity by at least 72% and shorten days to pay. Any exception errors are routed and corrected by a human.
• Infor MES integration CloudSuite Food & Beverage: Infor MES (Manufacturing Execution System) helps food & beverage manufacturers take control of the production process by providing consolidated insights that help them optimize and automate every step possible on the shop floor.
• MES quality assurance widget: Will integrate consistent quality testing into the production process.
• Extensibility for regulatory compliance: New extension points build customized logic via XtendM3 to confirm put-away location, improving safety regulation compliance.
• e-Signature and e-Record: Improved compliance (FDA 21 CFR Part 11) and audit assistance with electronic records. Increase user productivity with a simplified signing process and capture the complete set of data from multiple tables in a transaction.

Service Industry CloudSuites

Common updates across the services industry CloudSuites include:

• Blockchain Career Credential Verification: Infor’s Blockchain Career Credential Verification automates credential and personal information verification. Reducing labour costs for phone call verification processes, onboarding time, and time-to-hire. Candidates can control which verifiable credentials they share.

Infor CloudSuite Healthcare

The updates to Infor CloudSuite Healthcare are grouped into three categories: Build resilient operations and supply chains, redesign work, optimize care delivery and retain and recruit frontline talent.

The improvements include:

• Automated Nurse-Patient Assignment: Healthcare customers with Infor Clinical Science integrated with their Electronic Health Record (EHR) can use patient care data to automatically balance staff workloads. With Infor’s Workforce Management (WFM) capabilities, nurse managers can automate patient-to-caregiver assignments. Based on unique patient workloads, bed proximity, and continuity of care.
• OIG Compliance: After adopting Infor Healthcare, customers can select safe vendors in less than three minutes – 90% faster than pre-implementation – enabling more efficient delivery of compliant, best-in-class care. Using Infor OS and Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Infor Healthcare now automates the critical steps to validate vendors that are not flagged for exclusion by the US—Office of Inspector General (OIG).

Infor CloudSuite Public Sector

The updates to Infor CloudSuite Public Sector are grouped into three categories: Implement uniform processes to scale change, modernize operations with innovative services and nurture the next generation of leaders.

The improvements include:

• Centralized report catalogue: Updates to Infor Financials & Supply Management (FSM) and Infor HR Talent (HRT) make reports available in one location. To reduce complexity and increase onboarding and training optimization from new administrators and leaders.
• Reimagined workspaces for buyers and contract managers: New standard workspaces are available in the workspace catalogue. Specifically optimized for the unique needs of buyers and contract managers. New standard Workspaces are available in the Portal Workspace catalogue. Bringing together all employee + manager self-service functions across HRT, FSM and WFM.
• ADP compliance integration: Introducing new standard third-party API-based integration for ADP Compliance Services. Compliance integration eliminates complex custom file-based interfaces built using IPA and other tools that GPS must support.
• Shift Billboard Analytics: Updates to HCM provide supervisors, managers and leaders out-of-the-box data insights. To understand how the Shift Billboard is leveraged to fill open shifts within their organization.

Enterprise Times: What does this mean

While Infor does not seem to have updated every CloudSuite with this release, or at least the documentation on its site, it is an impressive update. The full release notes were not available to Enterprise Times. But there is sure to be a far greater set of improvements across the CloudSuites than the highlights above. The key to understanding the benefits of these is a thorough reading of the release notes. Not only will customers realise that the solution now solves even more pain points. But some of the bug fixes may eliminate some of the frustration that users can encounter.

Customers are enthusiastic about the release. Gerro Dijkstra, IT Academy Director at Nutreco, a global leader in nutritional solutions and services for the aquaculture and animal nutrition industry and Infor CloudSuite Food & Beverage customer said, “Infor is the heartbeat of our business. The Infor solution has helped us increase the efficiency of our factories around the world, so we can deliver the right recipes at the right time to our customers. New Infor capabilities such as RPA, AI and machine learning will help us automate processes and reduce complexity in the business.”