Achieving Infor multi-site reporting with Phocas BI and Financials

Mid-market distributors need scale to be profitable which often means running multiple locations and warehouses. But many companies admit multi-site functionality can be both a powerful advantage and a significant challenge. Organizations operating across multiple sites often struggle with disconnected systems, manual data consolidation and siloed financial reporting.

The challenges of multi-site set-ups

Multi-site ERP environments are designed to support individual sites, each with its own operational data. This includes purchase orders, accounts payable, accounts receivable, general ledger, transfer orders, customer orders and more. While this modular structure allows for tailored control at the site level, it creates challenges in consolidating data across financial entities, particularly when generating financial statements or managing inter-company metrics.

Each site may operate with its own parameters and datasets, which makes it difficult to gain one view of business performance. Cross-referencing multi-site items becomes especially challenging when trying to align serial numbers, line item pricing and product availability across disparate systems. This fragmentation often leads to inefficiencies in tracking inventory and customer fulfilment accurately.

The need to manage separate charts of accounts, account numbers and replication categories further complicates efforts to produce consistent and reliable financial statements. On top of this, variations in exchange rates, operating costs and internal validation rules can hinder efforts to standardize reporting, making enterprise-wide transparency and automation difficult to achieve without the right tools in place.

Traditional ERP reporting modules often fall short in delivering holistic, consolidated views across a multi-site environment.

Enter Phocas for Infor multi-site reporting

Phocas BI and FP&A for Infor is an indispensable platform or layer above Infor ERP systems. With automation, replication, and centralized dashboards, Phocas enables users to consolidate the information across multi-site functions.

Phocas pulls data from master sites and individual sites, streamlining financial reporting and eliminating the need for manual data entry and Excel workarounds. The platform helps Infor companies reconcile accounts receivable and produce consolidated financial statements. Phocas aligns site-specific data from your ERP into cohesive reports and forecasts also supporting inter-company eliminations and consolidation.

Master data and site-level analysis

Phocas helps maintain master data consistency across all sites. Whether you're tracking multi-site items or comparing site groups, it simplifies visibility into operations at both macro and micro levels. Users can easily drill into site A performance versus another site, examine price trends across modules, or analyze order entry behavior through a single intuitive interface.

Replication and automation

Through tight integration with Infor, Phocas allows for replication of data across multi-site structures. This includes seamless syncing of line item data, prefixes, site ID-linked transactions and replication categories. This security and attention to detail ensures consistency and transparency. Automation further reduces reliance on manual processing, whether you're syncing SQL data sources or pushing reports to your internal team or through to customers.

LWK Enterprises gains clarity with Phocas + Infor

Ryan Bugai, president of LWK Enterprises, shares a compelling example of how Phocas transformed their Infor CloudSuite Distribution reporting landscape.

“We have six subsidiary companies that sell heavy-duty truck and trailer parts, and we are on Infor CloudSuite Distribution,” says Bugai. “Since we've added Phocas BI and Financial Statements, we feel we have control of our business as well as control of the data.”

The team at LWK faced familiar challenges: disconnected modules, complex order entry across sites and the tedious task of managing surplus inventory. But with Phocas, they achieved key efficiencies:

• Faster Returns: “We actually did more annual returns than we’ve ever done and in half the time,” notes Bugai. By examining purchase orders and sales histories, buyers could identify surplus inventory trends and act faster.

• Mobile Reporting: “I can get reports from my phone… I can get more information, deeper information, faster than I could ever get before.”

• Empowered Teams: “We rolled out Phocas to leadership and managers, and even some of our buyers. It helps them look at trends, cash flow analysis and sales.”

This centralized access to additional information whether at the master site level or within a specific financial entity has changed how LWK makes business decisions.

“Being able to see all the different touch points of our business at our fingertips has been tremendously helpful for us to grow our business.”

Benefits of Phocas + Infor for multi-site enterprises

Organizations running Infor SyteLine or Infor CloudSuite Industrial can expect a range of benefits by integrating with Phocas BI and FP&A.

Combine disparate data from individual sites into a single source of truth. Whether you’re tracking order line performance, site-level profitability, or accounts payable cycles, Phocas delivers actionable insights.

Build robust financial statements without jumping through hoops. No more endless Excel sheets or hand-calculated exchange rate conversions. Phocas automates and validates financial reporting across your multi-site or multi entity business

Sales teams can analyze customer order behavior across site groups, uncover trends in multi-site items and optimize stock availability. At the same time, operations can track serial numbers, manage inter-site logistics and align sales and inventory strategies.

Phocas and Infor form a powerful alliance for organizations operating in a multi-site environment. With real-time replication, automated data entry and centralized reporting dashboards, Phocas removes the guesswork from enterprise performance management. Whether you're a CFO managing multiple financial entities, a buyer analyzing purchase orders, or a sales manager reviewing order line data, Phocas gives you the clarity to move forward confidently.