Several 3rd party places offer better documentation than what comes with BPCS
Check out these BPCS manuals from UPI ... you can view sample pages, table
of contents etc.
http://www.unbeatenpathintl.com/bpcsmanuals.html
In my experience UPI manuals are great for guiding the users and management
in getting the job done, managing the application, providing these persons
already know something about the subject in the first place, be it
accounting, inventory, planning, quality, etc. If you come into this
devoid of knowing anything about the manufacturing application, some of the
manuals are not good enough, you also need to attend some kind of class in
the subject, to learn about accounting, inventory, product structure,
material costing scheduling, or whatever manufacturing real world application.
So if you have a basic understanding of Material Planning and Capacity
Planning, then the UPI manuals are great at telling you what you can do
with those applications, but since they are based on an actual class that
UPI gives in the subject, maybe you need to attend that class, to get at
the innards of the applications & get answers to specific questions related
to your company's needs.
In addition to UPI manuals being a starting point primarily for people who
already know something about the application in theory, they are not great
for trouble-shooting when something goes wrong in people's use of the
application. For that you need either a tech support contract, and there
are many 3rd party places that compete with Infor to do BPCS tech support,
or you need a more detailed reference manual for BPCS such as:
http://www.dssolutionsinc.com/OverviewManual.asp
This manual is great for figuring out the nuts and bolts of BPCS.
It is not so great for teaching the theory of what the BPCS applications
seek to accomplish, or the pros & cons of alternative solutions offered
within BPCS.
Most companies get that done either by hiring people who are experienced in
the theory, such as graduates of APICS classes, or by turning to 3rd party
consulting firms that specialize in the implementation of ERP applications
such as BPCS.
DS also has sample pages on their web site, including Master Production
Scheduling and Capacity Planning
http://www.dssolutionsinc.com/Concepts.pdf
There has been past discussion on BPCS-L about the pros & cons of
alternative sources of BPCS documentation, including comments by happy
users of some of these products. I suggest you visit
http://archive.midrange.com/bpcs-l. and search for "BPCS manual."
I have not updated my site in eons, so not all links valid any more, but
you may find something else useful at
http://radio.weblogs.com/0107846/stories/2002/11/08/bpcsDocSources.html
-
Al Macintyre
Programmer, Operations, Data Forensics, Computer Janitor
:
Hi all, we're running the Manufacturing Modules in BPCS and I need to
investigate what Laboratory Management System is all about. The BPCS DOC
documentation gives me detail regarding the screens etc. and not what the
module is actually all about. Where can I find documentation or does
anyone out there have detail.
I'm also investigating to modules for Infor's ERP Lx - Capacity Planning &
Master Production Scheduling. I need detail of what it can do and not -
not any Sales talk.
Regards,
Kobie Jooste - Manager: ERP Systems
kobie.jooste@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Tel: +2711 758 5387 | Cell: +2779 884 0161 | Fax: +2711 388 5927
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