Customizable

Pros

The thing I like most about this software is that there is no black box. With enough digging, you can always figure out how things are working. This also means that you can modify almost anything in this software. It is also extremely powerful to create your own user "applications" within it. It is great to work with.

Cons

From a development standpoint, the learning curve is steep. Many things you have to figure out on your own so it definitely depends on trial and error. But the good thing about that is that once you have figured it out you won't forget it.

CloudSuite Industrial (SyteLine) Review

We are able to track financials, costs of manufacturing and purchasing, as well as keep track and do great reporting where necessary!

Pros

This software is the core of our business. We use it for all aspects from customer creation, order entry, to manufacturing and A/P. I like the fact that it is multifaceted in that way. We use it to the fullest benefit possible in my opinion. When add-on applications are purchased we can use them in a way that seem seamless to users using the product.

Cons

The thing I like least about SyteLine in our environment is the speed. We are on a version that is not the fastest. It is also a huge undertaking to upgrade to a newer version when necessary. Because we use it so widely where I work, it requires many resources and time!

Really good software for Design to order / Manufacture to order equipment companies

Overall, this is really good software for a mid-size company. I have worked at 5 companies that have used this software, from a small consumer goods company to a large vehicle manufacturing company. The software does what it is supposed to do and generally works well. When running multi-sites, it is important that the databases are set up the same for all sites so that information can be transferred between sites to reduce the amount of work required. Occasionally people will not put in the correct parameters (or none at all) when generating reports or paperwork and the system just runs, generating for all items in the system. Safety checks (ie that allowed the administrator to set limits on what will run at one time) would be really helpful to prevent the system from running wide open and creating a lot of data that needs to be purged or re-entered.

Pros

Lots of features, designed for the metal processing industry, able to handle lots of complexity, easy to create custom reports and to make customisations to suit the company requirements.

Cons

Not as flexible as it could be. We have had a number of issues where we have had to dramatically change our processes to suite SyteLine instead of being able to get SyteLine to handle our processes as they are without having to spend a lot of money on add-ons. Some processes require a lot of manual processes (ie accounts payable), especially when dealing with multiple currencies.

Not for Rapid Production facilities or Users with a large shipping base (Admin of 9.01.01)

I can see the potential for manufacturers that build widgets with 6-8 week leads, but for anyone that builds any product and ships out the door in 10 days or less, stay away. There are a lot of cool things we can't utilize because of our business model, but that's on us. Rather the CFO who set us up to fail (he's no longer here). If you have the program development power and really want to take full control of Production Job moves and material transactions. The Data collection tables are a gods send. If your in this boat a lot of the other challenges you will face with CSI can easily be over come. It does require someone with strong programming skills and an understanding of table structures for custom reporting, and advanced form design though. CSI uses pages called forms and when opening a form from within another form it creates what is called a linked form. If you modify the linked form or it's corresponding grid, it will mess up the form completely. This is where some users get tripped up, they'll modify a grid to make the most used information at the beginning, but when they go back to that form it's broken. CSI requires the form to be modified with out being linked to another form. this is a big complaint. Infor can't make up their mind when it comes to reporting, with the newest version all reports are built in mongoose, but before that it was SSRS, and before that is was SSRS, and Crystal reporting, and before that just crystal reporting.

Pros

The Data Collections feature is by far the best experience. This module let us build our own job / job material transaction module outside of CSI. we populate the tables with the required data, and CSI does the rest. Contrary to other options I find the accounting side built really well (minus reporting) this sucks everywhere), They do have a custom built Office integration module, which makes detailed accounting analysis and customer report building so simple and easy, this makes up for poor reporting design. Our Controller is really happy with the accounting side minus stock reporting.

Cons

Reporting out right sucks. System Administration requires a lot of hours of trial and error. Not all tables update or stay current automatically. an example would be Qty's allocated to Production. This number in the inventory screen can reflect outdated information and requires an utility to be ran to bring the information up to date. There is no guide as to what fields need to have a utility run, and each field that requires this has it's own utility to correct it. There are 5 we have set to auto run daily just for inventory and time phased. Error messages are vague at best, the help index is outdated or doesn't give you all the details, or definitions for terms or fields. Patches are really updates. If there is a known issue you encounter, you need to be really carefully about the patch required to fix it. They don't use patching as a means to correct the issue you have, but as a means to patch and enhance other modules as well. There are a lot of bugs in the web platform for 9.01 we do not have access to upload documents when creating notes, this is a known bug but requires a full tool set update on the mongoose framework, which would require us to update to a never version of CSI as well. Customer and Vendor Item Cross References are poorly designed. It makes doing mass updates at contract renewals impossible. I have to pragmatically update the cross references and new expiration dates.

Digital Transformation with Infor CloudSuite Industrial (Syteline) ERP

SyteLine allow us to provide an abundance of manufacturing efficiency enhancements. Excellent product!

Pros

Moldes Medellin Ltda, a division of Ross International, uses a parametric approach to standardize, digitalize and automatically centralize Product Design data from the CAD and Quality Control Records in the SyteLine SQL Database building a very powerful and very well structured database to later automate and simplify: Design Parameters Validation, Scheduling, BOM, Pricing, CNC and CMM Programming, pre-felling Shop Floor Forms, processing Quality Control Data and automatically produce and distribute (via email) SPC reports to customers. It is a digital transformation that brought unprecedented levels of efficiency, but also changed our mindset, fostered further automation and created a virtuous cycle of improvements, that now might bring new business opportunities and sources of revenue.

Cons

I can't really think of anything negative related to SyteLine.

CSI Helps Us Achieve Our Goals

We are able to have real-time inventory and financial tracking that was not possible before. The flexibility of the events system allows us to handle any problem or need our users propose.

Pros

I like the ease of personalization and the flexibility of the software out of the box.

Cons

Sometimes Infor releases software before it's really ready for production use.

Working with SyteLine

Daily we realise that the system can do more for us. Allows us to peal back the layers so we can get rid of all different databases we have built up over many years.

Pros

The software is general logical, it fits together and does the job. Options, generally there is more than one way of doing thing. Lots of us make and buy large box's and sell small ones. the software lets you find a path to do this the way you want too.

Cons

It highlights the wholes in your data, generally most problems come down to problems with users and data. Patches and fix's, lots of small ones that and that need testing of lots of areas, would it work having a quarterly group update?

CSI Power

This programmed has greatly increased our efficiency in creating jobs and tracking though our shop. there is still plenty of potential left to tap even after 7 years of having the program!

Pros

Using a database can be extremely complicated but CSI has streamlined the operations so it is easy to use and easy to teach.

Cons

Moving things on the job side is extremely difficult to do. You have to delete the job to move it. Moving things to different operations without unlinking would be extremely helpful.

Gets the job done

I wish it had the option to integrate with our CRM system to get a better idea of sales for specific customers.

Pros

Customizable for specific business functions Allows for PDF outputs within the software Security levels help to keep employees working within their designated sectors

Cons

Interface could use an update System can be slow at times depending on how many users (sales reports may take all day)

Time to Upgrade

Currently using version 9, interested to see what we can do to upgrade. Current functionality is limited to our finished goods, need to integrate with ingredients, WIP, and packaging.

Pros

Cloud based

Cons

Expensive

Long time User

Pros

The extensibility provided by the Mongoose toolset allows us to add simple and even complex functionality with zero impact on patching and upgrading. The included functionality is broad, and fits our metal fabrication business very well. The ability to filter data on forms gives the users quick access to just the dataset they need, avoiding IT requests. We really like the Dataview tool for displaying and exporting data without going through the extra steps for running traditional reports. The APS planning engine is terrific.

Cons

We have an on premise installation, and performance at remote sites across the WAN is slower than the site closest to the data center. The built in Financial Reporting tool is very basic. A/P and A/R could use some additional functionality.

Sold as Effective Software but Falls Short

I've implemented ERP systems in highly functioning environments and used other systems on a regular basis, so I consider myself competent in understanding what I would consider basic quality. This review in part originates from frustration that my company and I face but also in hopes that a reader out there can learn more of the struggles we encountered with this ERP system. I can't imagine a situation in which this software would provide an improvement for a business even remotely similar to ours. Often, people want to eliminate an old ERP system thinking that there's something better, but in my experience, newer doesn't often translate to better. The grass is always greener on the other side.

Pros

It's nice that the average user can pull data without too much training, and even turn them into dashboards that usually work. The UI also looks modern and is generally aesthetically pleasing. One of their consultants that helped us set it up was incredibly smart - but I think that helped mask what a poor deal we were getting with this software.

Cons

It's the slowest ERP system I've used by far - they recommended we upgrade our server, but we later discovered that that was not the cause, the slowness was purely in the design. Simple tasks like deleting a job order can result in dozens of popup windows that provide useless information. Order information, available on a one screen view in SAP, may be spread out over up to 5 different forms that are slow and cumbersome to navigate between (just clicking on a different module results in a delay). Their provided warehouse management system is an abomination that is so cumbersome and non-intuitive that we've gone back to doing everything by paper (not Syteline generated paper of course - any update would cost thousands and be null when they roll out the next update). Infor Syteline was not designed to cooperate with a configurator, but they sold it to us linked to one anyway. As a result, many of the modules we paid for are useless or counterproductive. The amount of transactions we are now required to do is a logarithmic increase from what it was with our previous system - to the point that we've added headcount to merely satisfy the system without doing anything real time to reap the benefit. They sold us an error detection feature - but this feature identifies an error and places a small popup on a screen (which our operators will not often notice because they scan so often) but allow the user to continue anyway. In general, there are no other features that I'm aware of that perform error detection in manufacturing like a normal, acceptable ERP system should. There are situations where Infor will automatically generate an incorrect lot - causing variances, thus requiring us to be extra diligent with every transaction. They sold that we would be easily able to retrieve drawings, but later found that there were substantial IT hurdles to jump over to make it available, and when it was, it required so many clicks that none of our operators would voluntarily review the drawings. There are 3 places to store documents, all of which are slow, and it's difficult to drive consistency because each has a necessary place in certain modules. There is a very steep learning curve because many of the modules are not arranged in an intuitive way and often have names that are not helpful to the general workforce that uses it (eg "Unposted Job Transactions"). In some cases, it will allow you to start making updates to something, and when you try to save it, tell you that you can't save it because the record is deadlocked or something. Then, when you try to delete your work or undo what you did to start over, it won't allow you to do that either, requiring you to force close the system. Most forms have a form view on the right and a data view of all of the records on the left - the data view side tends to hide the most valuable information far to the right, which requires sometimes minutes of scrolling. You can reset your column locations to make these more accessible, but it's periodically reset. To add a cherry on top, every week or so, one of my modules will garble and make a majority of the data hidden and the buttons inaccessible. This requires IT to intervene, for many employees, on a regular basis, to combat this ridiculous glitch.

CSI Review

I have had a great experience with Infor. My Infor representative calls me on a regular basis to see if I need anything or if I have any problems that she can help with.

Pros

One of the items that I like most about the software is that it is user friendly. I also love the education part of the Infor package

Cons

I am almost forced to customize because my team has specific needs. While I understand no software can meet all the needs of thousands of users, it is cumbersome when you have customizations when you upgrade.

Excellent choice for our company. Manufacturing. Cloud.

Our transition to CSI was surprisingly easy from a User perspective. Users are able to access data without the need for a SQL professional to write a query/report. Decisions can be made more quickly. We easily implemented bar code scanning for materials management.

Pros

Ease of use and ability to quickly export data. Form personalization is incredibly valuable and allows me to make the forms work best for our needs. The Infor implementation team was terrific and we were able to go live on time and below budget. We are able to manage the system without an in-house technical resource.

Cons

System performance via the cloud is not always as fast as we're used to with an on-prem system. The web client does not have the functionality of the click once "app." The pick, pack and ship process is cumbersome and could be more efficient.

Syteline (CSI) for us

We are moving all aspects of the business from manual processes to functions within Syteline

Pros

The overall product delivers in all aspects of the business and can be used without significant customization

Cons

(regarding our implementation only) - since we are on an older release (but moving to CSI10 shortly), the 8.x releases are somewhat confusing in the UX and somewhat slower in terms of performance. We expect both of these shortcomings to be resolved in the near term after moving to CSI10W

One robust ERP

Good ERP, not great. The production planning needs a little tweak, but overall good. But be aware, you need tons of time just to get started. With so many features and configurations, not only the setup is slow, but also user training is quite a pain, maybe more than other ERPs (except for SAP).

Pros

Great for production, sales and inventory management

Cons

Not so good for finance, accounting or managing resources (people or machines).

Causes as much work as it saves

Overall it works but to be efficient you need to automate transactions. Once everything is set up and the processes are in place it is OK

Pros

Workbenches make it easier to perform some functions but won't fit all company processes. Updates add needed functions

Cons

slow and requires a lot of transactions to do even simple things

Our experience has been good!

It a software package that we can use to run our business processes on! Ship orders, manufture orders, etc.

Pros

A pro about this software is that it is the perfect size software package for our company. We enjoy it

Cons

A con is that it does not scale Wide Area Network with the correct speed. It doesn't appear to halve a good warehouse module.

Infor CloudSuite Industrial

CSI has allowed us to consolidate business processes throughout our entire organization.

Pros

The Configure Price Quote tools are excellent! They provide all the functionality required for our customers to configure specific, unique products to their specifications.

Cons

The development environment has taken some time to become familiar with. It is different from the legacy systems previously used. Once understood, it has become more a powerful tool for us.

CSI Summary

Pros

CSI has the majority of features needed by my company and is able to be customized to meet our specific needs and preferences.

Cons

The supporting documentation does not provide enough details to perform installation tasks without the need for help from a partner or support.

CSI does what it promises

We've used it for years and it works. Support is excellent. Its our most vital software. we would shut down without it

Pros

Lots of capability. Looks good. Can easily customize for users.

Cons

Speed perceived by some users as slow. users cannot create own reports

Buyer Beware: Chose your Infor Reseller Wisely!

Infor might have a decent product but their support is as mentioned above pathetic. Furthermore they led us to a reseller (SENSITIVE CONTENT HIDDEN) who was completely incompetent with the specific software we needed (CSI Syteline / CPQ). I can write a novel about their shortcomings but here is the bottom line - they are a company that bills by the hour, NOT by progress. They DO NOT CARE about your success. My advise to anyone entertaining purchasing any piece of software as important as an ERP: Be sure to thoroughly vet the reseller that you'll be doing business with and make sure that they are willing to bill you by success and not by the hour. That means that you need to break down the entire implementation process into separate goals. Once a goal is complete and working then they can bill you.

Pros

Modern clean interface and was presented to us that it could resolve all of our issues that our current ERP had. (No one told us that a series of costly enhancements were required)

Cons

The amount of enhancements required to make the software work. The enhancements all add up and furthermore good luck when it comes time to upgrade. The support that you get from Infor directly is pathetic. Example: A fix was implemented in our system to address a major lag issue however the fix broke the paychecks printing module which lead to 3 plus weeks of Info technicians diagnosing the issue without ever fixing it.

ESS Team Saves the Day and the Data

The Syteline ERP team at Essential Software Solutions (ESS) in Vancouver, BC, saved the day - and our data. On Wednesday, we shut the Syteline server down for maintenance. It didn't come back up. With a corrupt virtual machine, we had to restore from backup. Jim Cho and the ESS Syteline team were called and made themselves available to ensure the restore worked and the SQL transactions were updated smoothly. ESS worked many hours into the evening testing to make sure all was OK for Rulmeca on Thursday morning. With help from ESS, our data loss was minimal. Couldn't have asked for better service. If the Syteline server had stayed down, we would have had no access to orders and made no progress on our manufacturing schedule. This would have required us to manually re-enter all data from Thursday related to orders, purchasing and manufacturing . Thanks, ESS!

A lot of training

Pros

Flexible to customize- many were needed for my field and theres rarely something that cant be accomplished

Cons

A lot of training has to go into implementation. Not very intuitive. Extremely overwhelming, even well past implementation.

INFOR Inventory Management

Pros

INFOR is very user-friendly and reminders you if you missed a step or information if you mistype.

Cons

It does not report cycle count variances in real time... It must be figured out manually and adjusted.

infor - erp

Add-ons are great.

Pros

My company was able to integrate more efficient processes with the use of Infor and implementation was smooth.

Cons

The only thing I can say my company did not like is the time to logon. Takes longer than most applications.

Such a bad investment for our SME company

Only a normal benefit you get from buying a cheap software such as accounting, purchasing, and sales administration. While the point we invest in this kind of product are for productivity and efficiency.

Pros

Marketing is good, maybe it might be good for mass production company, but for job order based company, the function, flexibility and etc it doesn't work

Cons

Software has not running in live situation almost 1-2 years training, adjustment, problem solving, and etc. With this software price, its been the worst investment that our company made.

Infor ERP, great for most businesses

Pros

I really like where Infor has taken their ERP product. It relatively easy to implement, configure, customize, etc. Generally speaking it is not too complicated to integrate bar code scanners, etc. In other words, the software is not the bottle neck for the implementation process, it is the end client's processes. The Infor cloud product is also pretty good

Cons

As with any ERP software, you need some implementation help otherwise the project will go nowhere. Do your homework!

Very Complicated

Pros

Very versatile software intended for warehousing and inventory type sales. There are many add-ons available.

Cons

This software is not well suited for use in the service industry. There are many issues when it comes to invoicing and generating statements.

Old and outdated MRP system

I would not suggest this to any business.

Pros

SQL based, is based to run a large multi tiered company. Does have good user control but is very difficult to implement. Will require a full time person just to manage the IT requirements.

Cons

Very poor customer support through solution providers, overpriced setup and very difficult to tailor to fit business needs.

Complete manufacturing business solutions

We use Infor for inventory management, accounting, forecasting and many other things.

Pros

There are countless features, everything from accounting to inventory management. Its easy to use and user friendly once you are trained

Cons

It can bog down at times causing delays in production and frustration in the workplace. Tends to be slow at least once per day

I am an accountant with 45 years of experience which started by doing everyting with nothing but a pen, pencil and a calculator. Almost 2 years into this horrible excuse of accounting software I have ever used.

DO NOT EVER BUY THIS SOFTWARE.... ONE OF THEIR FOUNDERS WAS HERE AND SAW THAT A FORM ONLY SHOWED 10 LINES WHEN THERE ARE 500 AND 3/4 OF THE SCREEN IS JUST WHITE. THAT IS RAMPID ON ALMOST EVERY FORM. WASTED SPACE, TOO MANY POP UP WINDOWS YOU MUST CLICK ON "OK" WE LAUGH ABOUT HOW YOU HAVE TO FIX THE FIX THAT YOU WANTED TO FIX THE ORIGINAL ERROR. NOT ONE PERSON OUT OF 50 HAS ANYTHING GOOD TO SAY ABOUT THE SOFTWARE. IT IS SO STUPID THAT IS DOES SOME OF THE THINGS THAT IT DOES. I COULD GO ON AND ON AND ON.

Pros

you can download some lists like AR Posted Transaction Detail into an excel spreadsheet. That's all that I can think

Cons

it was not designed by an accountant, 4 pop ups to click ok just to post a journal entry. I hate everyday I have to come to work and mess with this hideous software.

Syteline ERP

Syteline is my companies ERP system. It works good, but could use updating. It can be a clunky system at times.

Infor Accounting

I just recently started using it so I have limited knowledge of the product. But what I have used, I do like and think it is easy to navigate through. It is intuitive on the functionality. I am sure as I learn more I will be very happy with the product and the output.

User interface is not intuitive and quirky. The software is very slow to save or search anything.

Pros

It accomplishes the task of centralizing time and material cost for a project.

Cons

Terrible user interface and quirky behavior. It is also very slow. It has added significant time to accomplish the simple task of generating a PO

A cloud-based modern enterprise experience

Pros

Cloud based complete ERP rich of vertical solutions for almost every business area. Strong ERP history and competence of the supplier

Cons

The solution is not a market leader; it market share is compressed from the most-known solution, but try it !!