I am trying to find out if there are any Tier 1 auto suppliers out there running Baan LN using EDI or implementing with Autoconnect.

Currently three automotive suppliers are implementing ERP LN FP6 together with AutoConnect. Next to them there are a couple of ERP LN FP6 automotive suppliers using the BEMIS interface.

Is AutoConnect a new Infor product or a rebranded one?

AutoConnect is a bundle of four components. TFS and EXS are responsible for the EDI message handling and transformation from and to BODs (standardized XML files). SRM is a brandnew component and responsible for Schedule and Cumulatives handling. EXM is the tool to print labels, waybills, etc. EXM is an existing component and has been BOD enabled.

Can you run LN without AutoConnect successfully? We have been waiting months to get a list of maps/customers that are part of the package. We already have all of our mapping and are able to do it in-house with TLE. It would be a giant step backward to give that up and have to rely on Info when we need changes or add new customers. I can't see any justification to pay for AutoConnect when we already paid for other solutions.

We migrated from Baan IV NAS0 to LN FP6 and are also looking into autoconnect as a means of getting rid of the customizations we currently have.

In order to produce the environment we needed, we had Infor Write a bundle of customizations that would support our needs. We process all EDI directly into LN and all Mapping is done using Inovis TLE Enterprise.

Although the customizations get in the way, they are working for now.

NelsonR

Hello, So glad to see your post. Would you be willing to talk to me about your LN experience? We are also heavily customized and use TLE for our maps. We have received many conflicting answers to our questions from Infor about Autoconnect and if it is actually usable at this stage.

My number is (517) 642-6221, I work at Hi-Lex Controls and we are a tier 1 auto supplier. Looking forward to talking to you, June Rook

Hi June

I'd be happy to talk.

In the meantime, you can check our website (hypro.com) so that you can get an idea as who we are.

Roy

Can anyone Translate?

Message from bighiva is spam.

Mr Nelson,
I'm also interested in what customizations were required to make FP6 work with EDI and schedules. We are just a few months from go live and we're finding that we will need to make contracts mandatory in order to bring the system. It appears that LN has not brought over all of the functionality from the supply chain extension, but it's difficult to find out what is missing. Any chance we could do a conference call?
Thanks
John Gaither

I would love to be part of the call if it takes place. We are not as far along but know we need to get off IVc4. Currently we are a Tier 1 auto supplier and do all of our mapping in-house. We have been told that with Autoconnect you must rely on Infor for all mapping and we really do not want to go that route so we will need customizations to make it work for us. We also need to have CUMs which I have heard no longer exists in LN. June Rook

I have heard already a lot of assumptions in the baanboard about the automotive capabilities of ERP LN. Fact is that we added a lot of automotive functionality to ERP LN via Feature Pack 6. CUMs are a substantial part of ERP LN on both sides, Sales and Purchase. Theoretically ERP LN FP6 can be used stand alone as a supplier solution. For EDI the inhouse Format BEMIS can be used. Those, who would like to use a more mature automotive solution, should use ERP LN together with AutoConnect. AutoConnect adds the following components and features: EXM (Export Manager) as the tool to print labels, waybills, transport orders and whatever types of shipment documents are needed. TFS (Transformation Services) transforms each and every EDI standard message (like EDIFACT, X12, VDA) to an XML inhouse format, that can be inbounded by ERP LN. SRM (Sales Order Release Management), which takes care about schedule and CUM handling. Hope this information helps a bit.

Sorry Guy's for the delay in getting back. It's been busy here.

Anyway, I've been Live for a year now on LN FP6. It did take a lot of customization to get it to work in our Supply Chain World. We were running Baan IV Nas0.

Let's agree on a date and time where we can talk.

I'll be happy to talk about the issues we had.



Roy Nelson
CIO
HyPro Inc.
royn@hypro.com

I'd like to do a conference call next week sometime. Can we try for Wed or thursday to give others time to jump in?
Thanks
John Gaither

I have both Wednesday and Thursday Available.

Let's try for Wednesday 1:30 PM Central Time.

Roy

Wednesday 1:30 PM Central Time works. Depending on how many want to be on the call, we can dial out to them. I don't have a webex account or capability to setup a conference call. Anyone?

Thanks
John Gaither

We can do a Net Meeting Request here thrugh HyPro. The only issue with that is that the dial in number will not be a toll free number.

If this is ok, we can setup a Meeting Request and post the link here.

Roy

That sounds great!
thanks
John

OK

We'll sit tight to see if anyone has another idea.

If not, I'll post the meeting request here Tuesday Morning.

Roy

I have been told by Infor that they will not allow the customers who purchase AutoConnect to do their own mapping and would need to rely soely on Infor for all mapping - both new customers and changes for existing ones. This is unacceptable to us as we are customer driven and can not wait around for someone to create maps for us. We have also been promised many times to receive a list of all the customer maps/labels out there but never received a follow-up.

I have heard already a lot of assumptions in the baanboard about the automotive capabilities of ERP LN. Fact is that we added a lot of automotive functionality to ERP LN via Feature Pack 6. CUMs are a substantial part of ERP LN on both sides, Sales and Purchase. Theoretically ERP LN FP6 can be used stand alone as a supplier solution. For EDI the inhouse Format BEMIS can be used. Those, who would like to use a more mature automotive solution, should use ERP LN together with AutoConnect. AutoConnect adds the following components and features: EXM (Export Manager) as the tool to print labels, waybills, transport orders and whatever types of shipment documents are needed. TFS (Transformation Services) transforms each and every EDI standard message (like EDIFACT, X12, VDA) to an XML inhouse format, that can be inbounded by ERP LN. SRM (Sales Order Release Management), which takes care about schedule and CUM handling. Hope this information helps a bit.

Anyone interested can send me their Name and email address and I will set up the call for Next Wednesday at 1:30 pm est.

I'll be setting up the GoToMeeting for tomorrows call this afternoon and post it.
If anyone is not in the US, I will need to specify the country.

For now, I'll set it up for US.

Roy

1. Please join my meeting Wednesday 1:30 PM Central Time

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/join/389905522

2. Join the conference call:

Dial +1 (636) 277-0138
Access Code: 389-905-522
Audio PIN: Shown after joining the meeting

Meeting ID: 389-905-522

GoToMeeting®
Online Meetings Made Easy™

I have been told by Infor that they will not allow the customers who purchase AutoConnect to do their own mapping and would need to rely soely on Infor for all mapping - both new customers and changes for existing ones. This is unacceptable to us as we are customer driven and can not wait around for someone to create maps for us. We have also been promised many times to receive a list of all the customer maps/labels out there but never received a follow-up.

Hello,

this is a misunderstanding. It has been one of the main goals of the new automotive solution for ERP LN to provide more flexibility to our customers. We know that this is required to respond to OEM requirements in a timely manner and to leverage expertise which many of our customers have around EDI mapping. So with AutoConnect you have multiple options on how to get the EDI mapping you need: you can develop them yourself by using open tools based on XML stylesheets, you can buy trading partners from Infor (incl. EDI mappings, print/label templates and process setups) or you can get additional stylesheets through Infor service ICS (if they are not available in standard). If you would like to review these options in detail I would be more than happy to give you an overview by a WebEx session.

Regards, Michael Spaeth (Infor Development).

Hi-Lex and maybe a couple of other companies would love to set up a web-ex to clear up all of our misconceptions.

I am under the belief that all I could do in AutoConnect is pass the data using something developed in Microsoft style sheets through to my own translator.

When can we set something up? Can we talk to someone with actual hands-on knowledge of the product?

Hello all,

just would like to give you a short update on some latest developments around the current Automotive solution for ERP LN:

We did succesfully test/certify with Volkswagen in Europe for OFTP/2 during a workshop held at Wolfsburg. So this protocoll is available in standard to our ERP LN Automotive customers and soon will be implemented with other Automotive products as well. Next protocoll we are currently working on with our partners is AS/2.

If you are interested to learn more about it please let me know.

Regards

Michael Spaeth
:cool: