As a manufacturer, you know the business environment is getting more complex by the day. It’s tough. Even though you're successfully using Infor ERP for IBM System i, you're still faced with market expectations such as customization and lower costs, as well as changing customer demand. You know that response to demand is critical, yet lengthy batch processing—and the inability to run multiple scenarios—stalls material resource planning (MRP) and other planning feedback, and cripples your ability to meet that demand. To continue competing successfully, you need a visual and graphical planning application designed specifically for your System i platform.

It may sound a dream, but the dream is a reality: Infor Visual Planner for System i, an advanced planning solution for our ERP customers on System i platforms. This module is designed for tight integration with Infor ERP XA, ERP LX, and ERP System21. Want to hear more about this application, which was built by planners for planners? This easy-to-adopt-and-use tool will help with:

• Master level item scheduling—Blend customer orders with forecasts.
• Multi-warehouse demand planning—Include orders from distribution sites and other production sites while planning the supplying warehouse.
• Requirements planning—Plan new supply (production, purchase, and inter-site) orders and changes to existing orders.
• Improved planning—Plan interactively so you can immediately re-plan as changes are made.
• Planned supply order release—Interactively review and release new supply.
• Planned demand transfer—Transfer planned demand to other production sites.

How would you like to improve capacity, deliver on time, effectively plan, and reduce operating costs?  You can do that and more with Visual Planner for System i, which lets you interactively plan production and purchase orders—simultaneously considering both material and resource/labor requirements—to meet forecasted and actual customer requirements. Why not see for yourself?

We’d like to hear from you. What are you doing to meet demand? Would our tool be of help? Please leave your comments and feedback here.

Posted by Ross Freeman, Product Manager, Infor ERP XA