5 posts tagged “implementation”

There is no doubt that ERP can bring benefit to manufacturing business. The move from silo mentality to that of a process one, makes people within the business take a fresh view (or so it should) of how they do business.

Back at the end of the 1990’s there was a frenzy as companies rushed to ERP in the hope, initially, of avoiding the millennium bug, and latterly in ensuring that the had fit for purpose business systems for the future. An awful lot of claims were made by all the vendors about how the ERP system could bring visibility to the enterprise – how the CEO would be able to sit at his desk and with the simple click of a mouse get the latest information on how his business was performing. A good number of CEO’s and their colleagues were to be later disappointed not only by the cost overruns of the ERP project and the complexity, but also by the fact that they didn’t get their point and fire business insights.

Why was it such a problem? Firstly it was a great deal more complex than many people imagined (and salesman dared to admit) to implement a new business system – the cultural change is enormous. Secondly, for a lot of businesses the principal activity was manufacturing and most ERP systems really stopped short of the factory floor. By this I mean that they certainly were capable of planning and scheduling production orders in the factory but once released they went into a black hole and didn’t appear again until the work was complete (and in some poorer implementations until days afterwards). Where a product had a short run time this would generally not be a problem, but for more complex items built over a longer period the loss of visibility was critical to the business. Although deemed critical the additional cost of putting in shop floor and machine data collection to these businesses didn’t seem to be worth the effort or money. This was probably down to ERP mission fatigue.

So, unfortunately, there are a large number of people out there that have a dim view of ERP and what it can deliver. If data collection had been budgeted and been part of the project in the first place then, I suspect, there would be a much better view of ERP in manufacturing than there is today.

Whenever we are undertaking an ERP project with a manufacturing client we certainly make them aware of the value of shop floor data collection and ensure that it is included in their business case.

If you are about to run a large ERP implementation project then it is likely you will recruit an internal project implementation team. As I sat down to write this blog I thought I could condense my thoughts on how to pick the best ERP project implementation team into a short, readable blog entry. Then I thought about it a little bit more and decided to detail the type of people you really don’t want on your project team.
This is where the short blog entry turned into a ‘white paper’, though I accept that is not what it truly is….
In my paper I’ve identified 8 candidate profiles that you should avoid when putting your team together. It can be found here at http://www.neustro.com/whitepapers.aspx
Don’t agree with me? Or have I missed a profile? Let me know.

An important part of any ERP implementation project is establishing the ‘As-is’ business processes. This allows an understanding of the way the business runs, documenting the inputs and outputs, and then seeing how it maps to the new ERP system. There is also an opportunity to see if the business process could be done in a better way. Once the new way is designed and documented we have the ‘To-be’ business process.

Any business that has selected an ERP system, such as Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009, will soon realise that there is the opportunity to cut out swathes of paperwork and hours of filing. At first this will make a lot of people nervous as they will not have access to their trusty filing system. For a while they will feel lost when they realise that they cannot go though manual, multi-indexed, paper based records. So it’s important that training for the new system is not only about functionality but also about navigation. Ensure that you give users comfort by showing them where they can find the electronic equivalent of the paperwork they file manually now.

Mapping the ‘As-is’ business process may also reveal some redundancy in the current way of doing things. I recall once taking a business through a particular process that involved 28 different pieces of paper that referenced each other and required multi-part forms and transfer, by handwriting, of information between the forms. Ultimately the forms resided in 22 different filing systems in binders and cabinets. After 2 days I asked the question; "Typically, how often do you refer back to these records in a year?". After a long pause the reply was "I can’t actually remember the last time we did". A further question "What do you do with all this paperwork after 6 months?" (because the daily output was phenomenal and it was clear it wasn’t in the office we were in). This time a rapid reply, "We destroy it". Then, from me "Why are you doing it then?". "Because… ". Silence.

There are many jokes about consultants. When I first became one my email inbox was filled with mails from colleagues that I had previously worked with. However, as an ERP application consultant that actually had to have some knowledge of the product I was installing, I think I was excused the ‘You are going to charge me for telling me what I already know’ accusation.

The one thing I have experienced, that I find most peculiar, is the kudos that the word ‘consultant’ can give to a person. I have had the ‘pleasure’ of working as a consultant, an employee and then a consultant again for the same firm. As a new consultant to the business I was able to contribute to the turnaround of a failing ERP project. I know that my employers at the time, one of the Big 4 consultancies, charged handsomely for my services. On the whole my every word was listened to with great respect and my views and experience of business in general, in addition to my ERP application knowledge, was given a great deal of credence.

The business liked me so much and the things that I had to say that they offered me a job. Clearly I wasn’t a consultant anymore, but rather an employee. And an odd thing began to happen; my opinion became less valued. Even when I reached the dizzy heights of the directorate some people would rather listen to someone they were paying a fee to rather than a salary. In time I decided to move on and return to consulting and an odd thing happened; they used my services and began listening again!

So what is my opinion on this phenomenon? It’s this: consultants and employees input and knowledge should be valued equally. Yes, consultants have valuable experience gained from exposure to many businesses and will have seen best practice in both your industry and other industries too. But the people that really know your business are the people that work for it. If you are running an ERP project make sure you get the right balance on your implementation team.

I remember sitting in a room, probably more then 20 (OK, maybe 25) years ago, and thinking “I’m sure this guy is speaking English, but I don’t understand a great deal of it”. It wasn’t that he had a heavy accent or anything like that but simply that he was talking about ERP – the first time I’d come across it.

Sometimes the chap would have the courtesy to stop using acronyms and would use the full term. In this case I’m not sure it helped. I was left feeling dumber than before.

ERP for instance is short for Enterprise Resource Planning – but until I stopped and finally asked what it meant in detail then I was somewhat in the dark. Other terms that left me nodding sagely to cover up my ignorance were BOM (interpreted as ‘Bomb’), DRP, CRP , MRP, MRP II (two, too, eleven?), route (root?), and so on.

Over time I of course learnt all the acronyms and then the underlying meanings. I always tried to put myself in the shoes of the audience I was addressing by trying to explain the terminology I was using. The feedback I received was always very positive for this approach and I was seen as making the subject accessible.

More recently I am coming into contact as we implement ERP into business with many more ERP and business system savvy people. Often people have been through an ERP implementation project or have used ERP in their previous jobs. This sometimes presents a problem with new projects in that you often get a mix of the two – users who know what you are talking about and those who are hearing it for the first time.

How do I address this? In a number of ways; I will hold an ERP terms and theory workshop with the ‘newbies’ prior to the project proper and I’ll let them have access to our glossary of terms at to allow them to at least get a head start.

I always try to remember that though I am now a seasoned ERP Professional it wasn’t always so.