Modern Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are agile and data-driven so, enterprises use them to get a competitive advantage.
They help cloud-based, digital enterprises seamlessly handle their day-to-day operations such as procurement, manufacturing, supply chain management, finances, human capital management, and more.
ERPs are all-in-one solutions for businesses to collect, organize, manage, and analyze data from all areas of their business operations. This means ERPs can help a business expand without investing in other IT solutions.
When businesses look for the best ERP solutions, their go-to systems are Oracle and SAP, the key players in the ERP market.
Besides the key players, Lawson ERP Software ranks as one of the top solutions among software developers charging on a per-user cost basis.
Since its acquisition in 2011 by Infor, Lawson has grown as one of the largest software development companies. Its main ERP products are M3 and S3.
What is Lawson ERP?
Lawson ERP is a software platform that supplies software solutions and services to improve key business processes of companies. It offers resource planning and human capital management tools for multi-size businesses.
Lawson and Infor, together, have been catering to the software needs of large and small enterprises from various industries.
Lawson provides cloud-based and on-premises ERP software deployment. It serves over 4,500 customers with its ERP suites coupled with 4000+ employees placed in various countries across the globe.
Functions of Lawson ERP Software — M3 and S3
Lawson ERP Software solutions are versatile and support various businesses and enterprises of different sizes. The two main product lines of Lawson- Infor M3 and Infor S3- for businesses are discussed below:
Infor M3
The Infor M3 software is designed to help enterprises that make, move, or maintain processes. It is what makes the system M3. It is a cloud-based ERP system that leverages advanced technology to facilitate exceptional user experience (UX) and powerful analytics, supporting multi-company and multi-location needs.
The software includes built-in industry-leading functionalities for fashion, industrial manufacturing, chemical distribution, food, and beverage businesses.
Furthermore, M3 software supports more than 25 languages and over 50 countries, helping them increase productivity by building customized user interfaces accessible through various browsers and devices.
With its embedded analytics content aligned with the industry data, M3 helps make efficient data-driven decisions through dashboards, pre-built reports, KPIs, and other features.
The Lawson M3 provides supply chain planning modules with robust functionality and feature sets for industry-specific needs. They support integration between supply chain management and the M3 ERP system with the help of a single database model.
M3 also incorporates an Analytics module that furnishes analytics and business intelligence (BI) to evaluate and enhance supply chain performance.
Infor M3 allows organizations to integrate it with other Infor or non-Infor-based systems to manage data and workflow regardless of where the data resides. By satisfying customer needs, M3 successfully maintains an optimal customer base.
Infor S3
Infor S3 is the ERP suite of applications for enterprises that staff, source, and serve, so it is called S3. This software solution mainly focuses on solving the problems of retail service, healthcare, public service, and financial service industries.
It is widely used in the Hospital and Healthcare industries in the United States. The organizations using it have about 10000 employees and make around $1000 Million in revenue.
It specifically helps companies manage their financial and supply chain processes.
Some of the companies that use Infor S3 are Community Health Systems, United States, and V-Soft Consulting Group Inc., United States.
Infor Lawson ERP Software Benefits
- Lawson ERP Software is a robust system that offers seamless integration with the enterprise. It is an industry-focused platform that handles a wide range of business operations.
- It is full of essential business feature sets to deliver optimal reports and compliance requirements for unique organizational needs.
- It supports mobile phone technology, crucial for today’s disparate and remote workforces to access an ERP anytime, anywhere.
- Lawson ERP provides cloud-based software that helps businesses eliminate IT costs and scale their enterprise whenever they want.
- It helps with the execution of digital strategies across digital channels through its advanced marketing features.
- It streamlines processes, minimizes costs, and helps achieve efficiency in workflows.
- Lawson’s ERP includes supply chain management that supports all supply chain activities and maximizes a company’s profit.
- With its manufacturing management tool, Lawson ERP reduces overhead production costs and optimizes regulatory operations like traceability, shelf-life, effective planning, and monitoring.
- The finance tool of this software effectively formulates cost-reduction strategies and helps attain an accurate forecast.
- Lawson ERP also offers human capital management tools within the software to eliminate HR costs, remove operational inaccuracies, and shape the entire employee work lifecycle, from recruitment to retirement.
- It gives its users the resource management tools that focus on the industry of an enterprise and support its growth by providing flexible and customized features.
Who Uses Infor Lawson ERP?
The list of US-based companies that use Infor Lawson ERP includes Dollar General Corporation, a retail organization with around 143000 employees and revenue of $27.80 Billion, and the University of Colorado Hospital, a leisure and hospitality business with about 6012 employees and revenue of $25 Billion.
Lawson ERP system was developed for small and middle-sized companies. In collaboration with Infor, Lawson is extending to other large businesses and supporting the needs of enterprises such as fashion and distribution, among others.
Infor Lawson has the potential to manipulate the needs of almost every industry. However, it currently caters specifically to manufacturing, retail, financial services, pharmaceuticals, high-tech, and automotive.
Lawson ERP is also a good fit for mid-market firms with 1000 or 1000+ employees. Some of its well-known customers are J.R. Watkins and Pilot Travel Centers.
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Infor Lawson ERP Implementation
Infor Lawson ERP is a robust system that provides exceptional financial value to many enterprises. With the help of the right consulting team, enterprises can better implement and utilize every inch of the Infor Lawson ERP Software. So, here are the steps that its ERP implementation involves:
- Discovery and Planning
The first step towards implementing Lawson ERP is identifying the needs of an organization. So, it requires a cross-functional team to gather input about the requirements of different departments of an enterprise.
This step also includes discovering the problems an ERP needs to solve. The companies can also plan what kind of ERP they need, whether on-cloud or on-premise systems will suit their needs.
- Design
Once the system requirements are identified, the next phase involves understanding the existing workflows and developing a design for the new software. The design phase also includes creating more efficient workflows and planning how the new system can be utilized.
For developing a design and identifying user requirements, the users must be involved in the process. This helps ensure the users like, welcome, and take full advantage of the new system.
- Development
When enterprises develop explicit design requirements, they can begin the development. It involves configuring the ERP system, and if necessary, customizing it to support the redesigned process.
Moreover, this phase can include Lawson ERP integration with other existing applications in an organization that the ERP cannot replace.
Next, enterprises can install the Lawson ERP system and plan data migration that involves extracting data, transforming it, and loading it into the new system.
- Testing
The system development and testing can be done simultaneously. While testing modules, an enterprise can get the issues fixed and adjusted based on the test results and then retest the system.
Once initial testing of modules is done, it needs rigorous testing of the capabilities of the entire system.
Further, this step can also involve testing migrated data and providing basic training for the end-users to test their ability to use it.
- Deployment
Organizations may deploy the Lawson system as they want. They can deploy all modules concurrently or only the high-prioritized ones and add others later.
Once the system is deployed, the project team must be ready to answer any queries users may have. The team must also ensure quick troubleshooting since the users may take time to understand the system and reach the anticipated productivity level.
- Support and Updates
It is important to support user needs and nurture the system when it is deployed. This helps to keep users happy and ensures the business achieves its desired profit. In this step, the focal area is the user feedback which helps adjust the system accordingly.
As businesses add new features over time, they will need further development and configuration. Moreover, the new staff will also need training on the new system.
As for updating the system, Infor Lawson ERP is cloud-based software, so the vendor will automatically update it for any business using it. Hence, organizations do not need manual updates.
Conclusion
Lawson ERP software has already covered many industries and is developing more solutions to extend its services in other areas.
Its ERP solutions are customized and comprehensive enough to cover almost every business need. From supply chain management to human resource management, it aims to reduce extra costs and provide an optimal user experience.
