Scott Bader Standardizes with Infor for Global Cloud Upgrade

Scott Bader, the global chemical company and UK’s first employee-owned business since 1951, has selected Infor CloudSuite Chemicals. Delivered by Infor Consulting Services via a multi-tenant cloud deployment, Infor CloudSuite Chemicals, including the Infor OS platform, will replace an existing Infor M3 ERP solution. With Infor, Scott Bader will be able to standardize a variety of core business functions for users throughout North America, Canada, Europe, Japan, the Middle East, Australia and South Africa. Per the press release, Scott Bader chose Infor due to its commitment to cloud, the chemical industry vertical and the planning and production scheduling functionality of Infor CloudSuite Chemicals. Further, Scott Bader chose a multi-tenant cloud deployment running on Amazon Web Services (AWS) to ensure the business can benefit from continual updates and maintain a standardized software with minimal customizations.

 

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Lawson Business Intelligence Smart Notes – Failed to obtain DB connection from data source

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LBI Smart Notes not working (even intermittently) and the SystemOut log is spamming the error below?

Failed to obtain DB connection from data source ‘SNDB’: java.sql.SQLException: Could not retrieve datasource via JNDI url ‘java:comp/env/jdbc/LawsonSN’

 

Below is an easy fix for this as this is typically caused by differing versions of java.

 

First login to your LBI server and locate the InforLawsonBI Install directory typically found on the secondary drive (D drive in our case)

Go to file path:

..\InforLawsonBI\SmartNotification\Smart Notification.ear\lsnwar<Insert version>.war\WEB-INF\classes

Locate and open the quartz.properties file with Notepad or a text editor of your choice.

Edit the line shown below:

Change it to the following:

Save and reboot the LBI server or restart the IBM Webservices.

That’s it!

Pentland Brands Goes for Supply Chain Gold with Infor

Pentland Brands Limited has adopted the Infor Nexus supply chain platform. The technology will help Pentland Brands improve visibility of inventory, enhancing collaboration with suppliers, automating the vital procure-to-pay process, and accelerating the onboarding of new suppliers and partners. Per the press release, Pentland Brands UK businesses are already live on the platform, with the US-based businesses going live at the end of 2021. Infor Nexus was chosen based on its capability to combine both the physical and financial supply chain processes, helping with real-time supply forecast and order collaboration, digital shipping processes, procure-to-pay process automation, and enhanced visibility. Further, Infor Nexus was also chosen because of its complete integration with Pentland Brands’ enterprise resource planning (ERP) system by helping to synchronize orders generated in the ERP, order change requests, supplier pack lists, advance shipping notices (ASNs), estimated time of arrival (ETA), and payment authorization back to the ERP. This also helps extend the visibility across the Pentland Brands supply chain and reduces supply and capital costs.

 

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Infor Lawson cannot load because the Profile service returned an error: Error occurred while accessing user data

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If one of your users in Lawson Portal or Mingle is receiving this error (or similar), a Lawson Security administrator will have to follow the steps below.

  1. Login to Lawson Administrator Tool
  2. Go to Use Management > User Maintenance
  3. Query the user who is having the issue.
  4. Right-click on their record and choose ‘Edit Lawson Environment Information’.
  5. Make sure the user has a data area set. Edit >> Change after changing.
    1. Alternatively, if the data area is already set, select Edit >> Change. Reminder, if you are using ISS, hit the save icon. (You do not need to actually add or change anything on this form/screen.) This creates the R_USER record in the GEN database.
  6. In Lawson portal (or mingle, selecting the globe icon), if you’re a portal admin, you should see an option to Clear IOS Cache.
  7. Have the user that was encountering the error close all of their web browsers Internet Explorer (IE), Chrome, Edge, etc and then open a new web browser session and log in again.

Note: LSF 9 ONLY – LAUA users: If the user has the attribute CheckLS=No, the user may also need an LAUA Security Class assigned to their Operating System account via LAUA.

 

Good luck!

4 Effective Ways To Infuse Digital Dexterity Into Your Workforce

With every new year, new technology is introduced and the digital age continues to develop. A decade or two ago it was O.K. to be adamant about taking your business into the digital playing field, though today it’s almost a necessity to compete. Granted, not everyone is tech-savvy, though the need for digital dexterity is a must in the modern business environment.

What is digital dexterity, and why does it matter? Dave Schafer at Trello defines the term simply as the ability of your organization and its staff to adapt to changes in technology. Digital dexterity is important to have as it is a powerful competitive advantage for any business in any industry that possesses it. With the best example of the COVID-19 pandemic forcing many businesses and employees to work remotely from home, the shift to this type of technology was either embraced immediately or had many struggle for a long time to adapt properly to these changes. Those who embraced digital dexterity in their organizations were most likely the former. In practice, Schafer points out the organizations that have high digital dexterity tend to have some qualities in common, such as tending to be forward-thinking, take the digital-first approach, have a flexible mindset, willing to adapt, and make data-driven decisions.

Now that you are familiarized with this new buzzword, Schafer shares 4 tips to help foster digital dexterity into your organization.

  1. Locate And Strengthen The “Weak Links” In Your Organization. “Not all of your employees have the same skillset – and that’s a good thing. However, it’s important to make sure everyone is on the same page when it comes to basic tech skills and computer literacy. If people are struggling to adapt, help them by offering training programs, incentives to encourage growth, or by mentoring and teaming up members to help each other with different skillsets.”
  2. Emphasize Organizational Clarity And Transparency. “When employees need to constantly adapt to changing technology, clarity on the purpose of each piece of technology should be paramount. The more confusion present, the less productive workers will be, and more resistance to future changes will brew. One great way to do this is to document your workflows.  This can be a time-consuming process, but the results are often very worthwhile.”
  3. Shift The Focus From How This Benefits The Business To How It Benefits The Individual Employee. “Digital dexterity is a concept that can have transformative impacts on an organization but can seem inconvenient and troublesome to employees on an individual level. One way you can help combat this is to reframe digital dexterity and show your team why it matters to them as individuals. By giving your team a sense of personal investment in the process, you also give them an incentive to dive in and see it through to completion.”
  4. Develop Digital Dexterity “Ambassadors” To Reinforce The Importance And Coach Peers. “Some of your team members are likely much more comfortable in a digital environment and are able to adapt much faster. Leverage these employees! They can become powerful ambassadors and teachers among your other team members.”

The ultimate goal for your organization, Schafer concludes, should be to have digital dexterity ingrained in the company culture. Not only will this be a competitive advantage, but with the current economy and status of the pandemic, can be a time and money-saver if the workforce temporarily shifts once more.

 

Original post by Dave Schafer from Trello.

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Three Tips To Break Into The Tech Industry

As technology continues to develop in this digital age, more people are considering a move into the tech industry. While this high-tech sector is an exciting and ever growing space, the industry is now more than ever very competitive and the job market is saturated. Forbes Councils Member and tech career coach Kyle Elliott shares a very helpful article highlighting a couple things to consider before sending your resume out to every tech company.

  1. Identify your niche within tech. “Consider asking yourself these questions as you begin to carve out your niche in the tech industry:
    • What type of tech company are you targeting (tech hardware, software as a service, financial tech, etc.)?
    • What type of company cultures do you prefer (customer-obsessed, product-led, growth-focused, etc.)?
    • What position level and function area are you considering (director-level roles in project management, senior management roles in product management, management roles in human resources, etc.)?”
  2.  Get crystal clear on your unique value proposition. “You can identify your unique value proposition by reflecting on those areas where you constantly receive praise — at work and in life. This may be through verbal feedback, performance reviews or letters of recommendation.”
  3. Set realistic expectations for your job search. “While it is OK to aim for the biggest names in tech, you may find your job search to be more fruitful if you also consider lesser-known companies and startups. These smaller employers often receive far fewer applications, increasing your chances of receiving an interview offer and landing a job in tech.”

 

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Lawson Portal Error: You are not authorized to view this Page

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This error occurs in Lawson portal version 9.0.1 right when the user logs into Lawson Portal.

 

This is a web server issue when users and group are not allowed access to the directory.

To resolve this error, verify that the <document root>\lawson\portal\admin\usersandgroup\usersandgroups.js file has the correct file permissions.

 

Note: This same issue should no longer occur in v10+

Seven Feathers Casino Resort Partners with Infor Hospitality

One of the Pacific Northwest’s fastest growing destination resorts Seven Feathers Casino Resort has selected Infor Hospitality Management Solution (HMS) for its property management system (PMS) and Infor Sales & Catering with the decision to standardize its technology approach in order to streamline operations and enhance the overall guest experience. Per the press release, Infor was selected because of its customer support, industry-specific advanced functionality, and intuitive, innovative, and user-friendly platform. Infor HMS is a fully integrated property management system with flexibility, security, efficiency and mobile capabilities. Further, the solution utilizes mobile applications for guest check-in and housekeeping, automated and customizable reporting capabilities, and optional offerings related to revenue management, point-of-sale (POS) and business intelligence (BI) tools. Additionally, Infor Sales & Catering offers cloud-based event catering and event management software that can automate the entire booking process from initial inquiry to the final invoice and is designed around the lifecycle stages of an event.

 

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Lawson Mingle Portal error – You are not authorized to access this site

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When logging in on Lawson Mingle (or portal direct), you may receive an error “You are not authorized to access this site” even though your user is all setup with the proper security in Lawson.

The highlighted error indicates that the user has been authenticated but is not authorized to access the application. This indicates that the issue is likely within Infor Federation Services for Infor Ming.le 11.1.x or Security Administration for Infor OS.

 

To resolve, a Lawson administrator with access to Infor Federated services will have to login to IFS.

Select Manage >> Users

Type in the domain\user and click filter

If the user does not come up, click the Add user button

Select your organizations domain (not bootstrap)

Type the users domain\user in the User Filter box and click Load

Select the user, click Apply then Ok

After the users been added, click save next to the add button:

The IFS system should be setup to sync automatically but an issue with auto-sync or possibly a connection to the IFS server may need to be addressed first.

You can click the manual sync and check if there are errors with the auto-sync:

Work with your network or windows team to resolve any connection issues to further resolve auto-sync.

 

Good luck!

The Five Biggest Education And Training Technology Trends In 2022

The education sector has significantly changed over the past few decades. Yet, the push for a more digitized learning environment didn’t get tested until the COVID-19 forced students into remote learning. Now, even as many schools have returned to on campus learning, the “Education  Technology”, or EdTech environment has found a semi-permanent place in the education space. According to Forbes, the value of the educational technology (EdTech) sector is forecast to grow to $680 million by 2027. Much of this, Forbes says, will be due to mobile technology, cloud services and virtual reality creating new possibilities for accessible, immersive learning. International best-selling author, keynote speaker and business expert Bernard Marr shares an article on Forbes highlighting some of the most important EdTech trends affecting the education sector over the next 12 months:

Remote learning. “The coronavirus pandemic forced many schools and colleges to switch to a remote learning model. E-learning offers school-age students the possibility of learning subjects and skills that are not taught locally, while for those in higher education, the benefits include allowing them to more easily fit learning around other commitments such as work or family responsibilities.”

Lifelong learning (subscription services). “The employment landscape today is vastly different from the one our grandparents or even parents were accustomed to. The rapid pace of technological advancement means skills can quickly become outdated, and developing new competencies on an ongoing basis is a vital strategy for career and business success.”

Immersive learning technology – AR and VR. “Extended reality (XR) – which covers virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR), promises to create more immersive and engaging learning opportunities. This is essential in an age when it’s said that attention spans are dropping, and we’re becoming accustomed to absorbing information in ultra-fast, bite-sized, and attention-grabbing chunks.”

AI and automation in the classroom. “Artificial intelligence (AI) will impact every area of human activity during 2022, and education is certainly no exception. The ongoing deployment of software powered by self-learning algorithms, capable of becoming better and better at whatever task it is assigned to, will have far-reaching consequences; as well as automating repetitive aspects of educators’ work such as grading papers, it will be used to provide more personalized forms of education or remote learning.”

Nano-learning. “Nano-learning describes a new EdTech concept where we can get ultra-bite-sized lessons exactly when and where we need them. Under this paradigm, it doesn’t matter if we don’t even remember what we’ve learned for more than 10 minutes because when we need to use the knowledge again, we can simply re-learn it! Nano-learning will undoubtedly grow in popularity during 2022 as it fits with society’s need for ways of passing on knowledge and proficiency that are instantaneous, modular, and even addictive!”

 

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