9 posts tagged “microsoft dynamics ax”

The main focus of our business is offering consultancy and support for Microsoft Dynamics AX and Infor Baan ERP LN. However, because we also offer support for all the IT for a business we are frequently approached to provide pure IT support too. A recent visit to a potential customer put me in mind of one of my favourite books and radio series; The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (I don’t rate the film much though). Among the many wonderful ideas was the ‘Peril Sensitive Sunglasses’. These are designed to help people develop a relaxed attitude to danger. At the first hint of trouble they totally black and thus prevent you from seeing anything that might alarm you.

 I suspect the glasses the potential customer I was visiting was wearing are similar to those that become progressively darker the brighter the sun gets – or in this case darker the greater the danger.

Let me explain. This was quite a successful business that is providing a software product to a niche market. It has obviously performed very well as it has grown quite quickly and has a good number of customers and 40 odd employees. We had been called in to review their support arrangements after they had suffered a small disaster when a server went down. Being a software house full of people who work with computers for a living they managed to scramble through and restore their system but they realised that it wasn’t a core skill and that they should call in external resource to help them rationalise and care for their systems. I think they deserve a lot of credit for this because software houses with rooms full of techies (and I want you to know some of my best friends are techies) would naturally continue to try and do it all themselves. No, they had made the sensible decision to outsource this and concentrate on what they do best – develop software.

Anyway, we turned up on site to see how we could help. After introductions we took a tour around the facility. Whilst our guide was almost wholly focussed on the number of servers and the inconvenience they might cause if they stopped working I was dealing with the fact that there were, firstly, so many servers at all, and secondly that they were in a uniquely vulnerable situation.

The building is two storeys and had, to my mind, very little security. The windows were single glazed and top hinged allowing anyone who gained access to have plenty of space to pass the equipment through the window. Yes, it had an alarm system and CCTV, but all that would allow for is to be able to watch a grainy video on how efficient the burglars were before the police arrived.

Many of the servers were in full view and a simple walk around the building, at night, would have given anybody planning a break-in plenty of time to work out their plan of action.

The servers contained the development software of the company at different stages, and in a couple of cases were actually running a customers live e-commerce site!

The odd thing to me was that it was the first thing that I saw in terms of risk to the business – I felt very uncomfortable that a single break in could put them out of business for a least a week and could put one of their customers out of business too. It would be the sort of event that could actually lead to the business closing down and people losing their jobs.

Importantly, it was something that could be easily improved – simply moving the servers to the first floor, out of sight, would take the temptation away from any opportunistic thieves. I pointed out that this was perhaps the greatest danger that they faced right now and that losing a server to a technical fault would have a lesser impact.

It was as though the owner of the business had just taken off his ‘peril sensitive sunglasses’ and could suddenly see the risk he was running – it was just that it had sort of crept up on him.

Anyway, we proposed a number of ideas and solutions that would solve the problem anyway through our managed services, co-location and virtualisation offerings and in the meantime we have simply moved all the servers out of sight.

Because they got to where they were through steady growth and adding new servers here or there they just hadn’t seen the danger creeping up on them. I’d recommend on a regular basis that you take off your peril sensitive sunglasses and see what is creeping up on you.

I love Microsoft Excel. I remember clearly the first time I came across an electronic spreadsheet application (for the record it was Smartsuite) and being blown away with the possibilities it offered. The ability to use macro’s and automate various tasks allowed for the creating of ‘mini-programs’ that would remove the mundane paper filling in the office and make data available for analysis.

Not long later I was taught, after much badgering of the IT department, how to create and download files from the ‘Master Business System’ which I could then import into the spreadsheet to then slice and dice and produce my own sets of figures for my management meetings.

At the time I was, at least for the business I was working in, quite a pioneer and I was very much lauded for producing reports that not only looked good but had information that was timely and accurate. No waiting for the production of reports overnight from the IT department on dot matrix printers with faded ribbons and fan-fold paper for me!

In truth this activity was responsible for my later selection to a project to implement a new ‘Master Business System’ – something that was called ‘ERP’.

Nowadays, as part of a company that implements ERP, both Microsoft Dynamics AX (formally known as Axapta) and Infor ERP LN (formally known as Baan, iBaan, SSA Baan, Triton etc, etc), I see a number of companies who have developed terrific spreadsheets with incredible macros and code that actually seem to be so essential to the business that, in the event of their loss, the business would be in serious trouble without them.

And herein lies the problem. In most cases the spreadsheets have been developed by people within the business who have used their talents and taught themselves to become spreadsheet Gurus.

Once these people move on (as I did) the ‘applications’ (in effect the business system) are essentially unsupported. The business has a choice; work out how and what the spreadsheet does, or employ someone from outside to do this, or start again.  An important aside here is that often these spreadsheets are not even backed up properly and reside on the authors PC introducing further risk.

A more robust answer is to implement a business system that doesn’t require all the spreadsheets to make the business work – such as ERP.

Or… actually look at what your current business system offers and make sure you are not ignoring what it could do for you therefore replacing the functionality of the spreadsheets. For instance some report enhancements or utilisation of modules that perhaps you currently don’t use.

Importantly, I would urge you to look at your business right now and see if you are in this situation – and if you are take some action before you find yourself facing an emergency.

I have a number of friends and relatives who, when they ask what I do for a living, I reply “Computers”.  This is a catch all answer that normally elicits one of two responses. Firstly, “Oh, that’s interesting, how are the kids?” and secondly, “I’m looking to buy a computer for home, what do you recommend?”  To avoid getting involved in helping someone make a decision as to which PC to buy I reply that I only deal in enterprise computing and that the starting price is £100k. That normally finishes the conversation off.

In reality I am in the business of helping manufacturing companies achieve greater value through the application of technology. Mainly through the optimisation and deployment of ERP systems and extended functionality such as shop floor data collection, real time manufacturing machine performance management and the application of automated data collection.

Some people persist and demand to know more about what I actually do and it is always entertaining to watch their eyes glaze over by the time I reach the second sentence. I’m not upset. These friends are from other walks of life such as the caring professions or are personal tax advisors or, dare I admit it, from marketing.

However, I do have a good circle of friends that I have met through my work and they completely understand what I am talking about. I have other friends too who work in the manufacturing industry.  Almost all of them have heard the expression ‘ERP’. They’ve either witnessed it directly (some say suffered), or are aware that the company they work for has an ERP system.

It really is quite a shock then to come across companies in manufacturing industry that are of reasonable size that are completely oblivious to what ERP is all about – and to what extent the business may be affected.

A year or so ago I came across a business that had been acquired by a company based in another country. The head office had sent over a computer with a tier 2 software product on it and told them that this was now the corporate standard and that they must implement it.    

I recently had a further conversation. They decided to implement this system by giving it to the IT manager and telling him to get on with it. No plan, no business case, no budget, no buy-in, no project team, no sponsorship – no hope!

I feel like reporting the senior management to the RSPCITP (The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Information Technology People). There clearly is no understanding of what ERP is about, how complicated it can be, that it is not like Microsoft Word – install and use. It truly is bizarre.

 Anyway, I am now going over to explain to the senior people within the business all about ERP – It’s great. I should be able to talk about it for hours and people will actually listen. I hope.

I think that the corporate objectives of ERP implementations, in multi-site, multi country implementations are being compromised by either the inflexibility or short-sightedness of the corporate IT function.

Let me explain. We are in the business of providing support to manufacturing businesses, primarily here in the UK, for both their Microsoft Axapta/AX and Infor Baan ERP users. We approach those users that we know of through our marketing and we also get a number of calls each week from companies that have these ERP systems.

Where the company is UK based, or has UK based IT, then our conversations with them are often fruitful and we can work together on optimising their systems.

A good number of companies have had their ERP installed via corporate diktat – and I have to say that many of these users are frustrated and unhappy with their critical business system. They often say that they feel the corporate IT doesn’t really care about them and cannot provide the resources to offer training and support but they are not allowed to look at locally based partners who could help them get the most out of their ERP.

I understand the problem and the conflicts. At a corporate level you are trying to attain economies of scale and common business processes and have a blueprint as to how your business works. This can lead to value being released by having less local IT and its associated costs – I’ve been there, I know.

However, the local user, in a different country, feels that the corporate IT function doesn’t understand about the issues and problems facing the users ‘on the ground’. It doesn’t make sense to fly people from corporate IT to the sites around the world to help as it is far too expensive, and resources are probably rather short anyway. But the problem is that corporate won’t allow the use of local companies because they may try and subvert the corporate model.

There is an added complication too. It is likely that the user site is paying a recharge to corporate for the use of the system – they feel that they should be getting a level of service within that fee, which, they think should include on-site training and support. Corporate, on the other hand, can’t build in a recharge to include a certain number of days which may not be used as they will be accused of over charging!

My recommendation would be to allow the local site to have a local budget for training and optimisation that is discretionary spend. Set clear limits as to what can be done locally and, if necessary, vet the local provider. This way corporate will not be perceived as holding the local business back.

Well, I was going to say ‘The Never Ending Project’ but it didn’t sound so good, and it would make a lot of CEO’s and CFO’s shudder at the thought.

However, anyone who has got an ERP system, or is considering implementing one should recognise that the effort of getting the best out of your new business system doesn’t stop a month (or six months!) after ‘go-live’. Sure, there is a shift from the frenetic activity of moving to the new system and training people, not only the basics, but in the advanced or infrequent activities within the software, but for many companies they believe that is the end of their project and they often move the key players in the implementation team either within, or sadly, out of the business.
I’ve yet to see any project where the entire functionality that could be used, is used by the business.
Yet many companies believe that they should stop developing their understanding of their ERP and lose the opportunity to gain a better ROI.

Here at Neustro we are often called in to offer consulting and managed services for Microsoft Dynamics AX and Infor Baan and I find in some instances that the last time the system was ‘developed’, by this I mean functionality that is available is used, is often around the time of the original implementation project. Part of our review process, and the value we bring to our clients, is getting more value from the software they own. I’ve often sat with the directors and managers of companies where they have lamented the fact that they have lost years of opportunity to get additional value out of their ERP system, or worse, where they have invested in alternative solutions not realising that they already had the functionality available to them.

My clear recommendation is that your ERP project shouldn’t stop when it’s implemented – make sure that you have the budget and resolve to optimise its use on an ongoing basis.

If you have undertaken to implement a new ERP system, such as Microsoft Dynamics AX2009, then you will probably understand that you are about to review your business processes and this will potentially touch every part of your organisation.

ERP functionality has grown over the past decade from a focus on manufacturing and finance to encompass most of the activity in a business. It will be important to consider which activities you carry out will be included in your use of the ERP system. Ideally by using a single system with a single database you can enter data only once and therefore avoid duplication and avoid re-keying errors.

An important part of your project should be to identify all the projects within your business and document what they are intending to achieve and how they will achieve it. Whilst in smaller organisations this will be easy, larger businesses will probably need to go through a more formal discovery process.

The purpose of this project activity will be to determine if any existing project will be impacted by the implementation of ERP, for instance interfaces to supplier systems with a procurement project, if the project should be subsumed into the ERP initiative; for example the implementation of a warehouse data collection project or if a project should be suspended or halted indefinitely – the implementation of project management software in a engineer to order environment.

By undertaking this important activity you will ensure that there is no duplication of effort and that the best resources and minds are focussed on the single goal of getting the best out of your ERP system.

If you already have an ERP system in your business, or are contemplating buying one, for instance Microsoft Dynamics AX2009, then I’d recommend an ERP away day. I have seen many companies where the senior management have handed off responsibility of the business system either to middle management or the IT department. The truth is that the same Directors and Owners wouldn’t dream of doing the same for a production machine they had spent a great deal of money on. Yet, for many the ERP system doesn’t even register on the radar.

Your business system is a serious investment and has the opportunity, if used properly to add real value to your business. If you don’t know what it is capable of then you will not be able to take advantage of those opportunities. Even worse, when things are not going right errors can be covered up or lost by blaming ‘the system’.

I’m not suggesting for one moment that you should learn every functional detail of the system – I propose that you should understand what the modules do, and what modules you are not using, but possibly could. This will furnish you with the knowledge to challenge your people to make better use of your systems investment and also help you resolve disputes regarding what the system is capable of.

If you already have an ERP system, ask your support partner or vendor to come and talk to you about its capabilities. Make it clear it’s not about buying more software – you don’t want to give them a day to do an extended sales pitch!

If you are contemplating implementing an ERP system then either seek out an independent consultant or find a partner that promises not to spend the day selling to you. We have now presented several ERP information days, in our ERP Demo Suite, where we run through the functionality that is available in most ERP systems and the response has been universally positive.

An important part of our projects here at Neustro, when implementing ERP such as Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009, is a focus on communications. Internal channels to the stakeholders within a business and external communication to customers and suppliers.

For this blog I’d like to talk about internal communications. Regardless of the size of your project it is good to get a communication plan in place and to ensure that it is appropriate, viable and sustainable. In kick-off communications try to ensure that you explain the purpose of the project without using too much jargon. Also make sure that the importance of the ERP project is put across well – yes it can change the way you do business and it can be challenging. But don’t fall into hyperbole and over-blow the projects importance. The business still has to run and serve its customers today: that’s the most important thing.

Try and ensure that the communication plan is sensible in terms of your ability to deliver it – don’t let it consume too much valuable time or resources. Even though it’s marketing, it’s marketing to an internal market, save the money for high quality output for your external audience. The chances are there will be nervousness about the project within the organisation anyway, spending money on perceived ‘showiness’ won’t endear you to your future users.

And finally make sure that it is sustained. As ERP projects continue and everyone is working hard on actually delivering the solution the communication plan can often fall by the wayside. Turning up from the ‘forgotten project’ with a go-live plan only two weeks away will make people more nervous than necessary if they perceive you haven’t been ‘in touch’ with the business for many months.

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.