Two Next-gen technology approches for ERP

In an effort to rid the term ERP even SAP is digressing away from the term they are credited of creating.  New IDC research shows that SMB organizations do not have the agility to compensate for their quickly changing business environments a main ERP problem from the old monolithic suites. 


The next-gen ERP products being created as we speak are addressing these concerns and are being adopted by customers with less vendor interaction after the sale.  These next-gen platforms allows organizations quickly create new processes, reconfigure and tweak existing processes that may have changed.  


By speaking with our customers lately, one of things they are looking for is the ability for the system to include agility based on business practices.  This has gained more prominence in the last several months as SaaS vendors , applications and services become more available. 


There are several approaches to take when evaluating agility in software applications.  Mentioned below are a couple that you may find useful. 

• PaaS - Platform as a Service - this allows you to build your ERP by creating a common SOA  platform that allows you to add applications built on that platform by either the same vendor or several different vendors.  Usually integration is a little more difficult but with vendors using the preset API's provided by the platform creators makes it it a little more simple to employ.  An issue that may become apparent using this approach is the different vendors that support each task or module is there a common support practices strategy ?   Examples of this are Force.com, Amazon, Zoho.com etc. 

• SOA by vendor - this usually consists of a vendor providing the platform and configuring its software as you require.  This is the more common approach now as vendors have started to deploy this methodology as well.   Most vendors provide you with the modules and functionality you require and as you need more from them to enhance functionality they "turn on" the rest of what is required.  This provides a little easier implementation path and allows the organization a quicker approach to utilize the new functionality when switched on.

We are also looking for feedback on what the new term that describes the entire enterprise software environment within a company moving away from the term ERP ?  Any thoughts can be emailed to info@eval-source.com

Increase ERP implementation success rates - using change management

So now you have decided to purchase enterprise software and have made the selection of what software you are to purchase how can you increase the chances of making your implementation a success ?  You have done the basics correctly by including the staff, soliciting feedback and gone through an extensive selection procedure.  What are the next steps in ensuring your organization will use the software and realize its full benefits ? 


An often overlooked factor that organizations do not place enough importance on is the change management strategy within the organization.  It is key for the organization to educate its employees on the impact of the new software and how it will impact the organization and then individuals.  The change management strategy should reside at the top of the organization and should perpetuate downwards.  As part of the change management strategy, includes executive buy-in.  This will demonstrate leadership and confidence within the organization. Employees will have a better outlook and forward looking picture which provides stability and should increase productivity. 


Employees at all levels should be educated as to how their job will change and the tools that will enable them to become more productive and contribute to the organization even more.  Not only are individual tasks taught but transactions are completed, handed off to other departments, accessibility of real-time information, the overall flow, where in the process improvements can occur,  are all things that should be included in the change management strategy.


These are points that should help you define and execute a change management strategy which will help increase your Enterprise software success.  This overlooked piece of the implementation puzzle can either make or break your software project.  So increase your chances and incorporate this piece within your implementation roadmap procedures.       

Lessons learned from Airbus A380

As we continue to live in an ever changing world and a more global economy emerges companies are now forced to examine how to global trade.  As organizations continue to source from abroad inventory control and visibility has taken more precedence than ever before.  Near-shore, offshore and outsourced services have caused organizations find ways to control and reduce costs.


If your procurement occurs abroad and so does the manufacturing it is imperative that the right hand know what the left hand is doing.  A solution that supports your business practices of checking supplier quality standards, adherence to regulatory compliance,  adherence to service level agreements, current volume of inventory in the chain, current expected quantity are all factors that require very close vendor collaboration to run smoothly.  Then there is the transportation component and calculations of lead times, customs clearances to deal with, port storage and finally transportation to your warehouse or point of sale locations. 


Organizations are not leveraging technology enough to simplify these processes and make the big picture easier.  A simple web-enabled portal that allows for collaboration between for suppliers can easily be created and leveraged.  As lessons learned from the Airbus project of the A380 the technology didn't fail, it was a people-centric process that failed.  All  the information was available however, non stringent standards such as different versions of supplier softwares being installed on different supplier sites(causing incompatible file types and unnecessary delays), people not checking the portal for new specification changes to materials, tolerances, sizes etc. are factors that could have been avoided if the technology was properly used.  The cause and effect in this scenario was really multiplied because if one manufacturer was delayed this impacted the deadline throughout the chain causing the delay to compound throughout the supply chain and manufacturing process.  


When a portal for trade management is used a central repository can be created, viewed and managed effectively.  Updated specifications, new tolerances and other possible delays can be managed to control the process and adapt to the new deadline which will save time in the end.  If a specification were to change, other dependent manufacturers that had to complete the previous part or add something to to complete that part can be adjusted for by possibly preparing pieces that can be made in parallel or possibly to prepare the material for production to save time when receiving the product.       


In the case of Airbus the individual project managers by each part they were responsible failed to understand how the existing information can be used and how it was used caused delays.  Parts suppliers that changed specs failed to report them using the design software and consequently other dependent processes were caught off guard and were forced to accommodate the changes which led to time delays and project overruns. 


Organizations need to ensure at least one PM is in charge of keeping the big picture together and one that understands the local impacts that are manifested globally throughout the system.  All parts of the project plan must be completed, validated and finally executed.  

RFI only does not make an evaluation

In our series of continuing impartial software evaluation coverage, we are pleased to introduce part four of the enterprise software selection best practices, tips and how to's about evaluating and selecting enterprise software. Our three previous posts helps establish a methodology, what to look for and what not to do and beware of the gotcha's.   

Our last three posts on Monday mornings for enterprise software evaluation and selection were:

1. How to increase ERP success  - http://tinyurl.com/yc2m2ud  
2. Outsourced evaluation - Risks and Benefits - http://tinyurl.com/yz37toa
3. Beware of Sytem Integrators Doing Evaluations - http://tinyurl.com/ydak9qj

Within an evaluation process the creation of the RFI although an intricate piece of the evaluation is NOT the only part of the evaluation.  An RFI is also not just a checklist on what your company needs now and future needs.  This only addresses if the vendor is capable of such functionality and important parts such as maintenance, industry expertise, implementation methodology and strategic fit from vendors are often overlooked as crucial elements in the entire software evaluation process. There are several other parts that require the same amount of consideration within the evaluation process that accounts for the rest of the process.  By considering the other portions are given the the same consideration can ensure software selection success.   

Many organizations often fall into the trap of issuing an RFI and that becomes the entire evaluation and selection itself.  The danger of this action is that your selection is based on features and functions only.  Another danger for this approach is the that software evaluation is complicated enough and does not need to be further clouded by unnecessary  and complimentary functionality that often exaggerates the scope of the project and does not solve the original business issue.   As software vendors have come to scratch on common functionality over the years just by selecting an older vendor over a newer vendor may skew your results for evaluating enterprise software.  Comparing features and functions for thousands of individual criterion only complicates the process and usually ends in disaster as the business issue is not readily solved, the reason you are looking to purchase software. 

Vendors that are known for brand recognition are often  selected without a formal evaluation process being executed or someone within the company has used this software elsewhere which introduces political, IT and operational biases. Executives that used the software previously, or the selection is made on  IT's limited experience with one specific software and they are not aware of the entire marketplace which disrupts the evaluation process and does not necessarily solve the reason you were looking to implement the software in the first place. If IT were to leave and the selection was made based upon and RFI recommendation only the organization is left holding the bag and looking for ways to maximize its investment. 

It's imperative that a formal method just for software evaluation be present, and executed not just using the RFI. Vendor demos can be skewed towards the functionality and features only and the real reasons for implementing the software maybe missed.  Also check our website as to how the Smart RFI can simplify this process, save time and money. 

Boeing 787 - Supply Chain ripple effect

Tuesday appearing to be the maiden flight for the new Boeing super aircraft, weather permitting, how ill this change supply chains and innovate manufacturing processes ?   


The new 787 is scheduled for approximately 20% to be Titanium.  Will this extra demand for newer parts also drive manufacturing innovation as surely there will be alloy based parts.   Will the titanium market be able to respond to the increased demand for titanium, how will this influence the titanium prices and will there be enough manufacturers that produce the finished alloys and titanium components needed.  This is all considering the maiden voyage is a success, which I hope it is. 


Will companies innovate with new processes and technologies that will influence the market and eventually drive down cost of these components.  Will supplier quality be upheld and will other aerospace and defense vendors and suppliers work together to better the industry as this could ripple down to even consumer goods.  Other vendors that make buses, trains, automobiles etc. may also benefit from these space age metal technologies and the new supplier knowledge gained from aircraft suppliers, which may cross over to the mainstream a lot quicker than previous years. 


With all the hype and speculation going on about the components of the new parts will other competitors also mimic Boeing specs and continue to ripple through the supply chain with new parts, alloys and technologies will have multiplier effect on suppliers that support Boeing production for its planes.  This may just be the beginning to a new wave of innovation for manufacturing, alloy creation and other benefits that can be gained from such stringently controlled specifications. 

Content Management Systems - All grown up and plenty of places to go

So now your organization has started social media interaction, have acquired many third party applications that interface to your ERP system, how can you manage all this extraneous data?  The problem that this causes for an organization is the unstructured data that this produces.  There are several implications for unstructured data being storage, indexing, tagging, ability to reuse and access data with email are problems an organization will continue to face even more so with the proliferation of social media within the organization. 

Organizations have always had a difficult time to capture the unstructured data contained within email and other forms of informal office communications.  Often valuable information, links, ideas, thought leadership, proprietary company information is shared with no real way to leverage this goldmine of information that is created.  This problem also extends throughout the organization stemming from product design to all the way through the supply chain.  The lack of internal data capture extends to outside the enterprise when social media is invoked. 

Systems that capture data such as PLM systems have started to evolve as the backbone to organizational storage.  The link of storing data and the ability to reuse it has caused some PLM vendors to incorporate content management and PLM functionality. This provides a basis for meta data tagging, indexing, storage, ability to leverage existing intellectual property and reusing company data that should be reusable. 


Enter one evolution of content management system.  These systems can not only store data effectively but store it as usable chunks that can be indexed and readily accessible for many purposes.   These content management systems can be thought of as another weapon to harness business performance.  As these applications spread and start to merge with other applications we are seeing a new evolution of PLM and CMS to start to include social media.  By including this functionality here it may alleviate some concerns about capturing data, customer feedback etc.  It is pretty easy to see as more of these applications evolve and include greater features and functions they are encroaching on the ERP itself.  Ideally, this would be integrated into your ERP and the SOA that acts as the platform would allow the applications to speak freely without interruption.  By providing platform consistency should also allow the UI to be more user friendly and more readily accessible to allow use of all information stored within the system.

Be cautious of system integrators doing software evaluation.

In our continuing series of software evaluation best practices, tips and tricks, today in week three we explore the pitfalls of having a systems integrator doing your software evaluation. 

 

So now that you have decided to evaluate an enterprise software application what now, where to start, what are the steps, what time frame should this take, what is the budget to an evaluation are all questions that should be examined.  When acquiring a potential system that can cost upto 8 figures it only makes sense to make the best decision possible by bringing in experts.  A best practice approach for selecting enterprise software is about the 10% range of the overall implementation cost to be budgeted for the evaluation portion itself.  A small price to pay on something that will shape your company’s competitive nature and affect the way you do business.

System integrators are great as the name suggest for integrating systems and the professional services around implementation.  Consumers should ask themselves, what is their (the systems integrator's) business model, how do these integrators make money, who are they partnered with and are they truly impartial.   Large SI’s are often affiliated with larger software companies and often suggest the packages they are associated with.

 

Although many Si’s have very bright SME’s specific to one line of business they are usually lacking a big picture knowledge for the overall business strategy and how an ERM can solve what the company is looking for.  To that end, big software packages are recommended and are not necessarily the correct fit both strategically and organizationally.  If a company cannot align itself with a proper sized vendor that can accommodate, understand and provide value for the application usually it is not a good fit for the software selected and what was trying to be accomplished.   This often results in too big of a solution for the company.  The company is held victim by not realizing the scope, cost and resource strain that will unduly be put upon the organization if this scenario is carried out. 

By reselling certain software especially the larger tier 1 applications the evaluation tends to favor a certain bias towards aspects of validity and functionality and value towards the software being resold.   Usually a fully documented, tested, structured approach with actual tangible results is often not present as they are not properly quantified.

Software evaluation is an actual skillset that provides the big picture overview with the intent, to find what best suits the client needs.  An evaluator should not sell software nor implement software, that way no biases can exist within the evaluation process.   This best practices approach dramatically increases the customer’s chance of selecting the correct software to solve their business issues.  A company where its core business is enterprise software evaluation will usually be a better choice as the consultants doing the evaluation will have the best interest of the customer at heart when assisting in finding the correct software.   Normally, companies that evaluate enterprise software only are often more familiar with the market and can offer many more viable options to the customer without other compensatory factors that may affect the outcome of the evaluation.   Because of the their market knowledge impartial software evaluators can help you architect your ERM and business platform strategy as they might also be familiar with complimentary software that extends functionality and that are tightly integrated to what you currently will select or that you may already have.  

Remember that software companies don’t want you to be unhappy as they are also looking for happy customers that fit them and can become reference sites for future prospects.  If a software is selected that is not the best fit the horror stories may prove more costly to their reputation as a vendor as word spreads about another unsuccessful implementation.