Infor Requiring Some Lawson users to Do a licensing Audit

hello,

I have been doing some reading and research and have discovered some interesting information.  As many of you know, with the purchase of Lawson by Infor, there have been and will continue to be some changes.

These changes will be both positive and negative.  The positive changes will be that Infor wants to incorporate more functionality and flexibility  into the Lawson ERP system.  On the other hand, they are also doing some things which can be annoying, to the say the least, to the application users.

it seems that Infor wants to have all existing Lawson users do a new licensing audit.  They provide a script to run and then ask you to let them have more access.  There are some over at the lawsonguru who are complaining that these scripts themselves are not functioning properly.

Nothing worse than running a program to help your program that doesn't work right.  This only goes to show how complex the enterprise resource planning system is.  While these types of things can be frustrating, they are to be expected.  The Lawson system is highly complex and needs constant administration.  The trouble is this is often overwhelming for the users.

I try to be cautious about this, but this circumstance does sort of shine a light on the need for consultants, doesn't it?  It's nice when you've got someone around who can not only guide you through these situations but can even offers alternatives to scripts that don't work, license issues and the like.

Hang in there, everyone, although this change from Lawson to Infor Lawson is going to have its share of issues, we can get through it.  There are many resources available to us all, be it in-house System Administrators, Third party consultants such as my own company, online resources like Lawson forums and websites, and who knows what else will be coming soon.  But for those of you who are users of the systems, just remember there is always a solutions to your problems. 

A little helpful info

I hope everyone has had a productive week and is enjoying the weekend.

I wanted to put up a quick link to a site that has helped me out a bit.  I have a friend who gives me SEO advice now and then and it seems that creating back links to your website is one of the most important things you can do.

I was turned onto this link exchange site and have found it useful and helpful.  they provide a lot of websites to link to and they also continually check to make sure all exchanged links are active.  it's worth checking out, I think:

http://www.linkmarket.com

Our new Lawson & Kronos ERP system website is nearly complete!

Hello everyone! I just wanted to post a quick update on our Lawson and kronos ERP system consulting website. As you can see below, we have announced a new website and are looking for suggestions. Once completed, we'll announce it here and invite you all to come and take a look and join our new newsletter. Aside from showcasing our consulting and training services, our new site will be a resource for ERP software users and will continue to grow in that capacity. We hope to regularly add new features and tools. As Always, if you would like to see something, or have a question or suggestion, please feel free to comment here or visit our current website and contact us.

A little interesting info you might enjoy on Infor Lawson

Another Update on Alleged Patent Infringement

Leave a Comment Posted by John Henley on July 2, 2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Back in 2011, Lawson responded to an Alleged Patent Infringement by replacing Requisition Self-Service (RSS) with Requisition Center (RQC). In the meantime, Lawson has been acquired by Infor, but the patent case still lingers.
Here’s an update. Some of you might have received this notice from Infor, and are unsure how this might impact your organization. The usual disclaimers apply: No, I’m not an attorney, nor do I play one on television. Here’s my interpretation.
The court has modified the finding against Lawson/Infor by removing the RSS-only configuration; since the bulk of customers have upgraded to RQC, it no longer applies. This leaves any customers using either punchout, or EDI in conjunction with punchout (essentially, punchout functionality was the original basis of this alleged patent infringement). Those customers are at risk of not being supported—for any Lawson product—if they have punchout or EDI installed on the server.
And yes, I have had customers who were refused support in this configuration even though the case had nothing to do with procurement.  The case is turned over to the client’s account rep to figure out what products need to be replaced in order to comply with the court order.

Increasing our value to all Lawson and kronos ERP users

Hello everyone,

As we're now at the end of another week, I was thinking about value and what we're all looking for.  The reason we created this blog was so that it would become an invaluable resource to all Lawson and kronos ERP software users out there.

In order to meet this goal, we are taking several proactive steps.  First, we're in the process of redoing our website to be more informative and offer more tools and options to our current and future clients.

Additionally, we're brainstorming with several consultants, those who have been in the field and who have lots of ideas on current customer needs, wants and ways to help them.  in this vein, we'd like to ask all of you to interact with us here.

Post comments, ask questions, give suggestions and interact with us on ways we can make this blog and our website a better and more valuable resource for you.  We would greatly appreciate it,we we'll work hard to meet your needs and become a vital part of your Enterprise Resource Planning operations.  Thanks and have a great weekend!

An article we recently published for all business people

How To Sell - 3 Essentials For An Effective Salesperson
By David C. Lucas

Even in this day and age, when the internet has become a powerful and effective marketing tool, the ability to sell yourself and your products and services is still very much a necessary skill. Not only is it vital that you become an effective sales person, you must also know how to spot and hire them as well.

Sales can be a scary topic for some. Many people think that sales, like musical talent or the ability to sculpt is some kind of inborn skill. While there may be some truth to this, you don't have to be a natural to be a good sales person. The real key to sales is repetition and practice. Not unlike music or sculpting, for that matter.

If you are shy, or feel you're not charismatic enough, you can overcome this. You do the uncomfortable until it becomes comfortable. Believe it or not, after a very short time of making cold calls, approaching prospects or networking, you will find that little lump of trepidation in your stomach will vanish. It really doesn't take long. It just takes consistent and persistent effort.

The truth of the matter is, especially for entrepreneurs, you have to be able to sell yourself. In the beginning, when money is tight and you have more time than funs, you must be able to convince others that you are worth their time and money. So in that regard, let's now discuss 3 core essentials for being an effective sales person.

Essential #1: Develop Your prospect List

This is vital in the beginning, but never forget about this. No matter how successful you become, a list of prospects will always be a valuable tool.

There are many ways to create and maintain your prospect lists. In the very beginning, you start with a list of people and companies to whom you already have a connection. And list them all, no matter who. You can always pear down later. The act of thinking of this list and writing down names will jog other names from your memory, so don't' skip anyone, even your family.

From this first list, you will weed out those who will not or cannot be customers. You will then contact the potentials and make your pitch, which we'll go into later. It is from this list that you can often develop a secondary list from referrals of those who hire you or buy from you, as well as from those who are not interested but might know someone who is. Referral lists are very powerful.

Once done, you will now have to seek out potential clients. This is where you can go online and do some research to find companies who are probable customers as well as individuals. There are many ways to do this, and it can be very effective.

At any given moment in time, your list will probably have at least three classifications of prospects. The A list, which are those who are most likely to buy immediately, the B list of those who are somewhat interested but for one reason or another, cannot act now. The final will be the C list. These are cold prospects or those on the fringes. They may even be a No thanks list, but for different reasons, you may want to go back to them later.

Essential #2 - Prospect Farming

This may seem like it belongs in the last tip, but really, this is a separate idea. Because what we're referring to here is how you cultivate your crop of prospects. Once you've gotten that list, your seeds, you must plant them, water them and take care of them.

Sales is not always a one shot deal. In so many cases, especially after you get past the list of your best possibles and their referrals, you have to cold contact people. This means making initial contact with secretaries, receptionists, administrative assistants and so forth.

You may have to do some direct mailing and cold calling. You mail a piece, then call a little while later, perhaps after the second or third time the prospect has received your mail. This creates an awareness in their minds so that when you call, they know who you are and what you represent.

Think of it as peeling an onion. Each layer you remove is one step closer to the sale. This might seem very tedious, but in the process you will build some relationships that can be very helpful. When you finally get to the principle, you may have an advocate in the form of his or her assistant, a fellow employee and so on.

Essential #3 - Offer Value

This one sounds almost too obvious, doesn't it? You might be thinking, 'Well, of course I'm offering something of value." And no doubt your product or service is good, but we need to take it a little further.

Remember that everyone is an individual. And what are individuals concerned with more than anything? Themselves and their prosperity. People buy because they believe it's good for them to. They hire you because you can do them some good.

This is a vital key to sales. When you can show your prospect how working with you will profit them, you will have crossed a huge hurtle. Show them why you, your company, your product or your service is the right choice. Show them how you can make them money, save them money, save them time, and make them look good or feel important. You are what they need and want. If you can demonstrate this, you will be far ahead of the game.

Of course, there are many sales tips. They fill volumes. Tips like make a customer a sales person, mostly by following essential #3. Don't be overly pushy, don't be too passive. Make the prospect feel important. The customer of my customer is my friend. On and on.

With just these three simple tips, you can have a great deal of success in your sales efforts. And use this as a starting point. Go forward and gather as much info as you can. And don't forget to simply ask your prospects or your customers what they think of you and how you sell. Good luck!

In the process of building his Lawson ERP Software consulting firm, David has become a master sales person. He knows how to tune into a potential customer and match solutions to their needs. To see examples of this, please visit his website:
http://www.forte-corp.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_C._Lucas
http://EzineArticles.com/?How-To-Sell---3-Essentials-For-An-Effective-Salesperson&id=7832494

infor Lawson News Report

Infor Completes Acquisition of TDCI, Inc.

NEW YORK - May 16, 2013
Infor, a leading provider of business application software serving more than 70,000 customers, today announced it has completed the acquisition of TDCI, Inc. The acquisition, initially announced April 23, brings leading product configuration management for manufacturers and distributors of customizable products and services into the Infor product portfolio. The expanded capabilities will help companies capture the knowledge of their product experts in easily maintained product models, guide users through selection of the product, features, options, and dimensions that best fit their needs, and generate a wide range of configuration-specific outputs, including images, models, and documents.
The TDCI Product Configuration Management solution includes:

• TDCI Product Configurator - Provides product or other configuration services to a variety of applications including ERP, CRM, and sales solutions.
• TDCI Sales Portal - Provides a web portal for sales people and trading partners to quote and order configured and non-configured products.
• TDCI Flex Suite for the generation of 2D drawings, 3D models, photo-realistic images, and dynamic documents.

TDCI products are already integrated with many leading Infor ERP applications, including Infor LN, Infor SyteLine, Infor XA, and Infor Distribution SX.e. Infor expects to integrate capabilities from TDCI with additional Infor ERP products. The transaction also includes TDCI's MAC-PAC XE, an ERP system for discrete manufacturers.
Financial terms of the proposed transaction are not being disclosed.
About TDCI
TDCI's product configuration management solutions enable manufacturers to transform the buying experience for their customers. The creation of compelling web experiences, quotations, and accurate orders with dynamic bills of materials and routings greatly streamline the marketing to manufacturing processes. This helps manufacturers increase revenues, reduce costs, and differentiate their brands in the marketplace. To learn more about TDCI, please visit www.tdci.com.
About Infor
Infor is fundamentally changing the way information is published and consumed in the enterprise, helping 70,000 customers in 194 countries improve operations, drive growth, and quickly adapt to changes in business demands. Infor offers deep industry-specific applications and suites, engineered for speed, and with an innovative user experience design that is simple, transparent, and elegant. Infor provides flexible deployment options that give customers a choice to run their businesses in the cloud, on-premises, or both. To learn more about Infor, please visit www.infor.com.
Infor customers include:

• 19 of the top 20 aerospace companies
• 12 of the top 13 high tech companies
• 10 of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies
• 23 of the top 50 largest US hospitals
• 43 of the top 50 industrial distributors
• 26 of the top 35 global retailers
• 5 of the top 9 brewers