Infor ERP is an enterprise ERP platform focused on the needs of manufacturing and distribution sectors. The product was traditionally offered on-premise, but is now available in a cloud version.
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Microsoft Dynamics AX, discontinued
Score 8.0 out of 10
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Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations (or Dynamics AX) was an ERP product in the Dynamics family. It has been split into separate Dynamics 365 products to provide more flexibility to customers, allowing users to pay only for the functionality they need. Microsoft Dynamics AX will reach end of support in 2021, and end of extended support in 2023. Financial tracking and budgeting features are now found in the newly launched
It is well suited for accountants that know what information they need for accounting transactions and financial reports. It is well suited for manufacturing since the progress from raw materials to finished goods is easy to track and analyze. The software is well suited to handle individual jobs but then roll up reporting for families of products that are similar.
It integrates fully with the other Microsoft software we use daily, and this coordination speeds up our work and gives us the agility to run easily. For example, in a purchase inquiry, the customer, after submitting a request, identifies the teams that should work on the project, and if they need further review by other people, they are added to the process, and everything is managed seamlessly rather than the sales process. Get the result as fast as possible.
Microsoft Dynamics AX's scalability to meet our regional office needs provide flexibility to the team's requirements.
Combined with Citrix Xenapp, the application offers seamless access for users on high latency unreliable network connection to the application.
Application maintenance and updates are easy which makes it possible for us to manage remotely considering the servers are located in a remote Asia site.
Infor ERP is a great stand alone ERP system but add-on software packages are often needed to attain a greater level of detail. Our organization has recently teamed up with ScottTech to implement a warehouse management system called PickPro. PickPro will provide us with up-to-the-minute inventory information driven by the many transactions and movement of material that occurs throughout our processes.
The Human Resource module is not used by our organization as it lacks functionality.
Reports and background tasks/updates often need to be run after-hours as speed is a serious issue and can hinder other parallel users.
MRP can be slow to adapt to changes in actual production or supply chain transactions.
Setting up number sequences seems a trivial matter, but these numbers ID transactions once they are in the ledger and are key--easy to miss this point in the implementation process.
Bank rec being easily automated and able to quickly plug into a bank back end to get data is not the best.
Payment processing can be 'clunky' based on checks, ACH, Wires...as some of these items are not triggered out of the box in AX, bur are easily added --talking ACH and Wires specifically.
Their support has been second to none. Quick to respond, knowledgeable in their help. Whenever our clients have a new need or strategy change, Infor is there to help us implement that for our client in an efficient manner. Cost continues to be a prime mover for our renewal of this product.
Microsoft Dynamics continues to evolve by bringing more functionality to the customer. Also there are several independent software providers that offer a wide range of solutions for vertical markets.
Overall the product does what we need it to do in order for us to function as a company. While there are some concerns over ongoing costs, the belief is, once we have it fully acclimated to our business the cost should settle into alignment with our original expectations. The new features that are consistently being added do add value to the product as they are usually customer request directed.
Some integration and high volume ramping challenges, particularly with BizTalk and SQL Server, but getting sorted out. Outages over time appeared to be more dependent on integration complexity than AX MES.
Some integration and high volume ramping challenges, particularly with BizTalk and SQL Server, but getting sorted out. Outages over time appeared to be more dependent on integration complexity than AX MES.
We always go thru our own IT team first. However, when they don't have the answer Infor support is always ready to resolve any question you would be asking, and they always get back to you promptly.
We use a 3rd-party Microsoft Partner for the system. They are responsive and very knowledgeable. While costs have been mentioned several times in this review they are very aware of costs and have developers who are more economical they use to help offset the level of work required to meet our changes and fix our issues.
It took a lot of work, but Microsoft ultimately did a good job with in-person training, including being onsite in multiple global locations for extended periods.
Our solution deviated from a number of key out-of-the-box standards that were included in Online training. We just used that for introduction to the general functionality.
Some rough spots, but ultimately worked out. The contract didn't appear to be structured to support the level of overlapping facility deployments required to meet timeline commitments. Merging cultures on the program was also challenging. Overall, not an easy implementation by any stretch. Everyone did the best they could.
In my opinion, Infor ERP lacks in a lot of customizable features and navigation through the system. I believe If you are using this for the recruitment process in your organization, the system is very slow to navigate, does not accommodate for high volume of applicants, and you can experience a lot of issues with communication between systems. In my opinion, Infor ERP does not collect or transmit data easily between other systems, even when integrated.
I was not part of the decision making process to select Microsoft Dynamics AX, however, I do know that an exhaustive search was done and many options were considered alongside Microsoft Dynamics AX and I feel that the right decision was made in choosing this solution.
Huge efficiency gains, faster response to customers, far reduced costs from improved effective process management, reduced labor costs - doing more with less
