FIMS vs. IFS Applications vs. Infor CloudSuite ERP

I believe a company starting out with a whole new database may take advantage of MicroEdge GIFTS. However, GIFTS would not work well for an organization which is transferring their old data onto the platform. GIFTS does not update well as time passes and data would most likely be lost and/or corrupted. I have not worked with the newest GIFTS online, so I do not know if that process would be smooth or not, but from what my coworkers told me upon hire, it seems GIFTS was very difficult to customize online. When attempting to use GIFTS online, our organization was told that we'd have to pay an invoice of several thousand dollars to change three words in a paragraph on the online system. Lastly, and most importantly, we found MicroEdge's customer service to be nearly impossible to reach, rude, and never helpful when help was sought out. Organizations which would need help with the program should not expect to be serviced in a timely or helpful manner.

Incentivized

Not every Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System does not cover all the industry verticals and all the functionalities and requirements for a specific industry as built-in features. Although IFS Applications does not completely cover all the requirements and all the industry verticals, it can be implemented for any industrial company with minimum configurations and customization, which is very good when implementing an ERP system. Since it supports web and mobile versions of the application as well, the users ind it easy to use.

Incentivized

Manufacturing: Infor M3 is designed specifically for manufacturers and provides robust production planning and supply chain management features. The software can help optimize production processes, improve inventory management, and automate purchasing and order fulfillment.Distribution: Infor M3 offers advanced supply chain management capabilities, including inventory management and order tracking, making it an ideal solution for distribution companies.Large Organizations: Infor M3 is a scalable solution that can accommodate the needs of large organizations with complex supply chain and production requirements. The software's modular design allows organizations to customize their implementation to their specific needs.Global Operations: Infor M3 provides multi-language and multi-currency support, making it a suitable solution for organizations with global operations.

• GIFTS Classics does a very good job of processing transactions. You can track workflow and enter/change important information along the lifecycle.
• My favorite feature is the ability to select almost any field within the database and organize how it will be viewed, either within the system or when exported to Excel. You can relabel the column headers, sort, switch the order, stack fields, and capture all the information that will help in both processing and decision making.
• I find the ability to create a wide range of templates that can then be generated and stored through the document manager tool to provide great efficiency and reduce opportunity for error.

Incentivized

• Accounting
• Finance
• Complex Inventory

• The accounting function of Infor ERP is designed very well and it is easy to use. From journal entries to generating a trial balance it only takes a few clicks to get what you need.
• The job tracking process within Infor ERP is easy to understand. You can view the progress of each job a number of different ways and this helps users know how close each job is to the finish line at any time.
• It is very easy to run month end processes that ensure all costs are accurate and then be ready for the next accounting period.

Incentivized

• GIFTS system had many inherent bugs
• Difficult to search for information in GIFTS
• Customer support was difficult to reach
• When reached, customer service was rude and unhelpful
• GIFTS system could not put addresses in alphabetical order by country
• Upon updates, GIFTS system would crash and data would become corrupted
• GIFTS often would freeze and crash when exporting information to Excel
• GIFTS would not allow for the deletion of certain program codes even when user had full administrative privileges

Incentivized

• Project Budget control other than Procurement
• Customer Advance settlement process should be Manual rather then Auto Adjustment
• IFS GSO Support should be more proactive

• You need an IT person in order to customize reports, overcome system locks, etc. But, usually having an IT guy in house is a good thing as well.
• There isn't auto lock future that would sign put users if they don't use the program for extended time.
• Missing auto warning messages when you're about to run a big amount of data.
• A continuous improvement (Lean) section with employee suggestions (ideas) ability would be great.
• Updates for latest technological improvements usually come late.

Incentivized

Other than the inherent pain of a new implementation, it's a great platform and Infor is a great partner to work with. Every system has problems, our are no worse than any other platform. Maybe even a little better, nothing to make us want to change platforms any time in the near future

Incentivized

In overall, the companies get many advantages, where we can forget most of the things which can be considered for room for improvement. The user interface is good. It supports mobile versions an has several mobile applications for specific areas with Android, IOS and Windows versions. It allows several deployment options such as remote hosting, IFS Cloud hosting and on-premise hosting of the servers. IFS Applications can be easily and safely integrated with other systems.

Incentivized

This is a highly configurable product. Where all available support provided by [Information] is very good and exceeds our expectations! The investment in this product by Infor continues to be significant and is showing results! Infor is going a long way and is here to stay! No doubt about that!

Incentivized

I typically receive a response to an inquiry within an hour or two, if not sooner. Most tech support people are knowledgeable about our problems, and if not, they will escalate to the proper person.

Incentivized

We have been unable to get answers to our questions, solutions to our problems, and they don't seem interested in working in the construction industry.

The support is satisfactory, given the large user base of the product. We had no issues to meet our reporting deadlines with Lawson. The organizational support team internally are well trained and hence only on exceptional basis issues are escalated to Lawson support team. We had no negative experience so far with the support of Lawson.

Incentivized

It is really a matter of priority. I can see situations where GIFTS Classic is a very strong option! Once an organization determines its priorities then it should definitely consider GIFTS to see how well it compares with mission critical functionality.

Incentivized

Microsoft AX, QAD (in continuation of our previous ERP), Sage X3 was an out of the box ERP that was part of initial RFP. We have chosen IFS based on the compromise between costs & budget, functionality, technical features, and feedback from similar customers that gave their feedback. The project manager team and qualification level of technical or consultant teams were differentiating factors too. Finally IFS application was named in the Gartner’s mid-market ERP Magic Quadrant, along with SAP, and helped us to finalize our choice

Incentivized

We previously used Microsoft Navision and considered SAP, NetSuite and Sage in our selection process. Infor CloudSuite ERP was not a one size fits all solution like many of the others. Infor CloudSuite ERP has 3 cloud ERP for Distribution, Manufacturing and Service industries. In our case, Infor CloudSuite ERP also have a specific tract for food and beverage.

Incentivized

• Good reporting (by program area, geographic area, payments, and backgrounds) for close to 250 grants per year
• Due to familiarity of program (MicroEdge), not too difficult to convert to new program of Blackbaud Grantmaking

Incentivized

• Positive impact in terms of global process alignment.
• Positive impact in terms of a single system of truth and reporting.

Incentivized

• We've been a customer since the early 80's. Avoiding conversion has saved us an incalculable amount of money. Fortunately, Lawson has kept up enough to keep meeting our needs.
• Having a self-service portal saves us internal FTEs in Human Resources and Accounting. Benefits enrollment alone likely saves us one Benefits Coordinator FTE alone.

Incentivized