The last 24 months have proven to be turbulent and unpredictable for manufacturers, and while the economy improves, nonstop demand variability will remain the new normal. To stay afloat and manage the rapidly changing environment, manufacturers are turning to a new generation of Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) solutions that can do more than cut costs, but must also engineer ways to generate profit.

The daily landscape has shifted for manufacturing companies as they deal with inconsistent demand, unpredictability and high-risk decisions. In order to take full advantage of revenue and margin opportunities in this climate, companies must be able to quickly and accurately align their operations to shifting market signals. A major roadblock in this has been the lack in evolution of traditional S&OP solutions which are reactive in nature, cumbersome and disconnected to the present day climate.

Today marks an important landmark in the battle to enhance profitability for manufacturers with the launch of Infor S&OP version 1.0. Infor S&OP is purpose-built for the needs of manufacturing companies operating during the new reality of constant variability. This solution has been designed to integrate workflows and provide the tools to enable manufacturing teams to quickly make the most profitable choices.

This will revolutionize S&OP to provide companies with a competitive edge while maximizing profit and margin growth for customers regardless of demand variability.  I’m excited to watch first-hand as Infor’s manufacturing customers reap the benefits of this new generation of S&OP solutions.

Posted By Alan Lindsay, senior product manager, SCM, Infor

We've dubbed today's digital age when shoppers can buy anywhere, anytime simply by linking their in-store and online experiences, the New Normal. This new epoch promises to be a hot topic this week at the National Retail Federation’s 100^th annual convention and expo in New York City.

Retailers must create a superior brand experience for consumers across all touchpoints, and we’re doing everything possible to help them succeed. Today we launch Infor CRM Epiphany Shopping Advisor, a module that automatically recommends products and relevant special offers while people shop online based on the products they view, search for and buy.

Shopping Advisor differentiates itself by instantly accessing and using relationship history data stored within a customer's CRM Epiphany profile. Consumers find and buy what they want faster, and retailers benefit from higher sales per click and increased customer loyalty.

Today we also announce our partnership with American Apparel, a leading retailer that needed a flexible global system to integrate time and attendance and schedule store employees’ hours. With Workbrain, American Apparel can better manage its global workforce, ensuring that the right employees, with the right skills are scheduled at the right time to meet customer demand.

Stacey Shulman, American Apparel's vice president of technology, attributes American Apparel's ability to implement Global Time and Attendance in just 15 weeks to the "flexibility and extendibility" of the Workbrain application.

Join us at Infor booth #1378 during the convention to see how we're helping leading retailers retain customer loyalty by delivering the best possible brand experience on and offline. Infor WFM Workbrain and Infor CRM Epiphany Shopping Advisor are both being demoed there.

Posted By John Russo, Senior Director, Product Management, WFM/CRM, Infor

I am very excited to announce that Charles Phillips is joining Infor as our new chief executive officer.  I’ve spent over eight years working with my talented team here building Infor into a $2 billion software market leader. Frankly, I can’t think of anyone better to lead Infor through its next phase of growth than Charles. Charles is a talented, visionary executive; a strong leader with a wealth of industry experience; and most importantly, an executive with a proven record of delivering exceptional results wherever he has worked. Most recently, Charles served as president and director at one of the world’s most successful software companies, Oracle.

Charles has a pretty impressive background. He did an outstanding job during his seven years at Oracle, overseeing revenue growth of nearly 300 percent.  He led the acquisition of several multi-billion dollar companies, including BEA Systems, Hyperion Solutions, and Siebel Systems among others. Before his years at Oracle, Charles was an analyst at Morgan Stanley, on Wall Street, researching technology companies, and he served as a Captain in the United States Marine Corps.

Even though I’m handing over the keys to Charles as our new CEO on December 1, I will remain chairman of Infor and continue to play a critical role in Infor’s strategic development. I want to share few things that will be happening at Infor in the coming months.

• I am proud to announce that we will be adding additional employees in the coming months, increasing our overall number of employees by approximately 8 percent. These will be positions involving direct contact with our customers, and additional development positions. They reflect our continued success and growth in what we all recognize is a challenging economy.

• I am also really excited to let you know that we will ship our next generation of Infor applications in January. Infor ION will provide common workflow, business process monitoring and management, across our applications whether on premise or in the cloud. Stay tuned for details regarding that.

• Finally, regardless of who sits in the CEO position, I want to assure you that we remain  firmly committed to our two core beliefs: the importance of constant innovation and the value of laser focus on our customers.

For those of you interested in getting to know Charles Phillips, take a look at my interview with Charles on YouTube. Just follow this link: http://www.youtube.com/user/inforvideo#p/a/u/0/9o2aPnocMaQ

I can’t tell you what an honor it has been to lead you over the last 8 ½ years. I am very excited about the addition of Charles to our leadership team, and the promising future for Infor. Thank you for all you have done to make Infor the success it is today!

Posted by Jim Schaper, Chairman of Infor

Recently, Infor announced that we have selected Microsoft as our preferred technology and tools provider and Windows Azure as the preferred platform for our next generation of cloud-based applications, Infor24. The announcement wasn’t just a big deal for Infor and its customers. Recently, at the 2010 Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference, Microsoft’s Bob Muglia shared this exciting news live in front of 14,000 WPC10 attendees at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. Then, Microsoft aired this video live on the big screen.

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On June 22, Infor launched an innovative new program, Infor Flex, which offers customers a clear path forward to upgrade to the latest release of their current product or to exchange, on a like-for-like basis, for an alternative Infor solution.

To help introduce this program, we sat down with Dennis Michalis, corporate senior vice president and one of the architects of the Flex program, to get his take on Infor Flex and how it will create new value for customers.

Editor: Why has Infor decided to embark on Infor Flex?

Dennis Michalis: At Infor, our customers are the heart of our business. We’ve demonstrated this commitment by delivering new, innovative capabilities, like Infor MyDay, free to customers with active maintenance plans and the latest, SOA-enabled versions of our products.

We strive to deliver the lowest total cost of ownership and highest value for maintenance of any enterprise software vendor. All of this is fueled by our innovative and unique product strategy, anchored by Infor Open SOA.

We have launched a market-changing program, Infor Flex, which helps our customers more fully realize all of the benefits I just mentioned and reduce the risk of business disruption of upgrading or moving to a new solution.

Flex is a program that fulfills our vision for SOA and delivers industry-leading value and innovation to customers. Infor Flex offers a clear path forward to upgrade to the latest release of their current product or to exchange, on a like-for-like basis, for an alternative Infor solution.

Customers’ expectations have drastically changed. They no longer can afford the time and energy spent on three to four year product implementations and upgrades associated with many of our competitors.

We’ve developed Infor Flex to address these needs by providing our customers with a clear, cost-effective and painless method to upgrade to our latest product innovations.

Editor: Why should a customer consider Infor Flex? What are the benefits?

DM: Infor Flex offers low-risk options for our customers to upgrade to the latest versions of their current software or exchange for a like Infor product. In addition to a fast, reduced-fee implementation methodology, customers also receive special incentive pricing on additional modules, users or complementary solutions, while minimizing license or transaction fees.

Pairing innovation with value, Infor Flex is an easy way for our customers to utilize Infor’s Open SOA framework, providing a cost-effective way for customers to take advantage of SOA-enabled product releases like Infor MyDay and it makes it easier for them to add new functionality in the future.

This allows us to seamlessly deliver new capabilities without disrupting our customers’ business. With Infor Open SOA, our customers don’t need to rip-and-replace their software, like they sometimes need to do with our competitors’ solutions.

Editor: How is Infor creating more value for maintenance than its competition?

DM: Since we first unveiled Open SOA we have consistently delivered on our promise to provide the greatest value for our customers’ maintenance investment. This is why we have one of the industry’s most impressive maintenance retention rates – 93 percent. Infor is a loyal partner to our customers and that is why they remain loyal to Infor.

Our competitors are facing a massive customer backlash as a result of their strict and expensive maintenance policies – and in our opinion, rightfully so. Enterprise software vendors shouldn’t back their customers into a corner with inflexible policies. Infor Flex counters this by delivering significant value for our customers’ maintenance dollars at a lower total cost of ownership and in a more rapid and proficient manner. 

One of the greatest benefits of Infor Flex is that regardless of whether the customer upgrades to the latest release of their current solution or if they choose to move to another solution entirely via Infor Flex Exchange they will not be asked to change their current maintenance fees associated with their current scope of use. In short, on a like-for-like basis whether it is upgrading or exchanging, for qualifying customers, maintenance fees stay the same.

Editor: What is the big deal about Open SOA? How does it apply to me?

DM: Think of it this way: Our customers using Open SOA-enabled solutions today have dramatically reduced the expense and complexity of their infrastructure. How? Take MyDay for example. Customers on the latest Infor Open SOA release have self-downloaded, self-installed and deployed MyDay for free. No fuss. No hassle. No services required. No additional maintenance fees. This eliminates disruption, reduces cost and instantly and seamlessly adds tremendous value to the business.

Editor: What is the difference between Flex Upgrade and Flex Exchange?

DM: Flex Upgrade provides customers with the newest Infor Open SOA-enabled application version of their current product for little or no licensing fees. Infor Flex Exchange allows customers to exchange their current product for a similar Infor application of the same size and scope for a nominal transaction fee.

Editor: Does this mean that Infor is making certain products obsolete?

DM: Absolutely not. Infor stands behind its long standing policy to support all of its customers. Flex is simply a way of helping customers easily move to either the latest release of the solution they currently use or move to a solution that best fits their current needs.

Editor: What kind of timeframe do customers have to participate? Do they have to go through with Infor Flex right now?

DM: Customers do not have to adopt Flex now, or ever. We are not going to force our customers to do anything that isn’t in the best interests of their business. We want to give our customers the freedom to decide when they need an upgrade, so this is completely on their timeline, not ours. Infor Flex is not a forced march, but a program giving customers choices based on their needs. Infor Flex is offered to qualifying customers on a limited time basis; however, Infor reserves the right to extend the program at any time.

Editor: What requirements must customers meet to qualify for Infor Flex?

DM: In order to qualify for Infor flex, customers must have a current maintenance agreement with Infor.

Editor: My relationship is with an Infor channel partner. Can I work with them on Infor Flex?

DM: Channel partners are critical to Infor’s growth and coverage and they absolutely play a part in the Flex program. Feel free to discuss the suitability of Infor Flex for your business with your Infor channel partner.

Editor: Can I exchange a license-based product for a SaaS product?

DM: This would be outside of the like-for-like exchange I mentioned earlier; however, we would certainly work with any customer to develop a mutually-agreeable, cost-effective plan.

Editor: How can I learn if I qualify?

DM: Contact your Infor Sales, Services or Support Account Representative or Channel Partner to learn more about how you qualify and the details of the Infor Flex Program.

This announcement, in whole or part, does not constitute an offer of any kind and may not be incorporated into any contractual agreement with Infor or its subsidiaries and affiliates.  The Infor Flex and Infor Financing programs are available for a limited period and subject to change at any time, with or without notice to you.  Restrictions apply.  This announcement reflects the direction Infor may take with regard to the specific product(s) described herein, all of which is subject to change by Infor in its sole discretion, with or without notice to you.

Last week, Aberdeen Group released its “2009 State of the Market: Mid Year Insights Report,” which lists Infor as the 13th most influential technology company. Naturally, this is a great source of pride for Infor, not only because we moved up five spaces from last year and are the only private company to make the list, but because it demonstrates the success of our customer-centric business strategy.

You see, the list wasn’t generated by Aberdeen analysts; it results from a survey of more than 1,600 business leaders in 36 countries. Those leaders were asked to name the three technology companies that are most influential in their day-to-day business. Aberdeen then put the vendors into order by number of times that each was listed as a response. Those business leaders had Infor closer to the top of their minds than AT&T, Intel, or Adobe, to name a few.

Infor has always striven to be closely connected with its customers and their needs. This is why we continue to have an industry-leading maintenance retention rate of 93%. Being listed by business leaders as influential to their companies is a further testament to our strategy.

This year, we moved up five spots on the list, which I feel is a direct result of the innovative products and programs that we have developed over the past year. At our user conference in October, we unveiled Infor MyDay, which takes ERP to the next level by delivering role-specific data and analytics to users—and we did it at no additional expense to customers on many SOA-enabled versions of our software and active maintenance plans.

On June 22, we announced Infor Flex, a program that redefines value for maintenance by helping our customers get onto the latest version of our products at steep discounts and on their timeframe. At a time when our competitors are being called to task by their customers for trying to raise maintenance rates, we are delivering powerful new components at no additional charge.

It is always a good feeling to be recognized for something that you have done, and that is how we feel about this recognition. Thank you to all of the Infor customers who feel that our solutions are helping to propel your business forward and for keeping us top of mind. We promise to return the compliment by continuing to create products and programs that help you run your business better.

Today, Infor announced Infor Flex, a new program that gives customers a clear, fast and cost effective path to adopt Infor's latest product innovations. Jim Schaper, Infor's Chairman and CEO, provides a short introduction to Infor Flex in this video. Below the video is an overview presentation. 

Infor Flex Overview Presentation

Here's a quick overview that gives more details on the program (click the projector icon to see it in full screen mode). You can also visit the website for more information. As always, your feedback is welcomed in the comment section.

Today, Infor launched a new financing program for all of our customers. To help introduce this program, we sat down with our own Kevin Samuelson, senior vice president, mergers & acquisitions and integration, to get his take on Infor Financing and how it will create new value for customers.

Editor: Why offer financing now?

Kevin Samuelson: At the risk of oversimplifying my answer…because our customers have asked us for it. Given the importance of preserving cash in the current environment, there is considerable advantage for customers in rolling-out new technology initiatives and business strategies in a way that lets them fund these programs over time. Many companies are using the downturn to put programs into place that will enable them to emerge as stronger, more competitive organizations—and our software is a large part of that.

Editor: When does it make sense for a company to consider financing?

KS: Customers should consider finance options for each purchase. Everyone’s feeling the effects of budget constraints and more aggressive cash management. With financing, customers preserve cash for other investments, while avoiding large up-front payments for the software they need today. Financing helps our customers turn capital expenses into operational expenses—a key factor in managing cash flow.

Editor: How can customers benefit from financing?

KS: Through Infor Financing, customers can immediately move forward with business initiatives that will improve their bottom line—without depleting their cash reserves or impacting working capital.

Editor: What types of payment options and other packages will be offered?

KS: Our standard payment programs are for 24 and 36 months; however, we also have the flexibility to offer extended payment terms for large transactions.

Editor: How long will Infor offer 0% financing?

KS: The zero percent financing program, which lets customers lock-in interest-free monthly payments for a period of 24 months, will be available until September 2009. As we get closer to that date we may consider extending the 0% program.

Editor: Is there a minimum deal size, or other “fine print?”

KS: Infor Financing is available for all customers (direct sales or through our worldwide network of channel partners) who have made at least a $15,000 purchase. Customers can finance software license costs, professional services, and maintenance/support fees. I encourage everyone interested in Infor Financing to visit the Infor Financing website.

Editor: Everyone has heard horror stories of the difficulties in securing loans recently. How difficult is it to qualify for financing?

KS: Infor has a wide range of financing programs for all companies and our goal is to make the financing process as simple as possible. Even if a customer does not qualify for traditional financing or zero percent financing, we can still work with them to establish an appropriate financing plan.

Editor: Are you offering software leasing as well?

KS: No. With our financing program, customers take ownership of their software licenses when they sign the agreements.

Editor: Where is the program offered?

KS: We are starting the financing program in North America and expect to gradually extend the program worldwide over the next year.

Posted by Lauren Banks, Infor Blog