Oct/090
No Decision – May You Forever R.I.P. (Part 1)
Have you ever worked on a project that started off with boundless exuberance and fan fare, yet failed to deliver the anticipated results? Sometimes it’s a result of a head on crash with completely unforeseen events. More often than not however, it is usually more a matter of the project losing inertia for one reason or another. It might be due to the project running out of money or resources, but frequently it is due to the project not having the foundation of a well documented and well justified business case to fall back upon. Common symptoms that can derail a project are things such as competing corporate goals and objectives, and poorly understood or shifting priorities.
I see evidence of the aborted project all the time in my industry. Predominantly, an organization decides one day to replace their existing business management system (referred to as ERP system) and thus rushes headlong down the path of reviewing various business management software packages and providers only to run out of steam a few months later and ultimately make no decision. This results in much wasted time and money for the organization as well as the ERP system providers. How and why does this happen so often?
First of all, the initial decision to replace their system could be based on any number of factors, but it usually stems from deficiencies in their existing system as it relates to being able to perform certain functions. After some period of awareness and discontent, the decision makers give the go-ahead to someone, usually in the accounting or perhaps IT department, to start looking for a replacement ERP system. You might recognize this as the “let’s just do it” syndrome. The lucky recipient of the edict from above, armed with not much more than a short list of functional capabilities that need to be improved, sets off in search of the perfect solution. It doesn’t take long to discover an array of ERP systems (at last count, approximately 350) and multiple providers of these packages.
If the person leading the ERP software review process is lucky, they will find several offerings that appear to address their functional requirements to a greater or lesser degree. It quickly becomes apparent however that the review and selection of a new ERP system is a daunting task filled with lots of risk and uncertainty. As the review process continues, more questions than answers frequently arise, until at some point the project just stalls out due to lack of clear organizational imperatives and mounting gray areas.
As an organization dedicated to helping companies successfully select and implement ERP systems, when the project is aborted like this, we call it “Losing to No Decision”. The ironic thing is that a conscious decision to abort the project rarely occurs, rather it just flat runs out of gas because there is not enough organizational clarity and determination to grapple with the difficult tasks and overcome the speed bumps. As you can imagine, this is ultra frustrating for everyone involved as it wastes time and resources and results in no progress being made against the initial objective.
Fortunately, there is plenty that can be done to avoid this wasted effort. Stay tuned for the next issue as we lay the ground work including step-by-step instructions for ensuring that your project does not become part of the carnage.
Oct/090
What is this OneNote thing?
I am exploring the possibilities of a new button that appeared at some time on my Outlook toolbar. I also noticed that it turned up in my printers list. It is a program called OneNote that comes with Microsoft Office 2007. I kept seeing “Send to OneNote”, so the other day I “Binged” OneNote and started reading. What is it and what can it do? The short answer is: you can use it to get organized. Oh! But I have heard that before!
I have quite a collection of ring binders that organize information for the different segments of my office responsibilities. The information comes from many sources. I print out emails, web pages, Word documents and Excel spreadsheets. I clip the printed pages under the right dividers in the right binders to try to organize all the good stuff that I need to remember, or at least have at my fingertips. There are several problems with this. The information comes at me from many different directions and it keeps changing. I print pages that may get lost before they find their way into the right divider in the binder. I spend time printing, punching, filing and purging. I am computer savvy; I know there has to be a quicker way to organize information that does not constantly consume paper!
I liked what I was reading about OneNote. Not only could I “file” all my usual sources of information in a virtual binder, I could also add audio and video to the collection. I can type my meeting notes directly into OneNote. I can “scribble” notes (as well as type) on the pages I file.
I can drop information from several sources on one page. I can link to-do’s to my Outlook calendar. OK, I will try this for a while, and see if it is as user friendly as the promo says it is. It sounds like it will be quicker and easier than printing the information plus it promises to be more versatile than filing in the regular Windows Explorer folders.
First I needed to figure out the organization strategy. Using the Ring Binder as a model, a Notebook replaces the Ring Binder. A Section replaces a divider. Pages are filed in the Sections. Sections can also be grouped to provide more organization.
This is where it gets better than a Ring Binder. If I save the Notebook in a shared network location, I have the option of using it as a shared workspace where several people can contribute and use it to work on a shared project. There is also a mobile component that allows synchronization with mobile devices.
There are several different template Notebooks and many pages of suggestions and tips on how to use this tool to organize your stuff, so no one has to invent how to organize a Notebook.
So for the past 10 days I have refrained from printing out pages of information (save that tree!), and have selected “Send to OneNote” instead. A OneNote icon appears in the tray at the bottom of my computer screen. I click the icon and OneNote opens up and what I sent to OneNote appears as a page in the “unfiled” Section of OneNote. I right click on the page tab on the right side of the page and select “Move page to” so that I can “file” it in the right Section of the right Notebook. I can easily name (or rename) the page for easy recognition.
I am currently building Notebooks and Sections on the fly as needed as I am learning this new tool. I have found it is really simple to start a new Notebook or add a Section. The next things I want to accomplish include typing meeting notes into OneNote and tying the to-do’s to my Outlook calendar. I also need to explore how Excel files relate to this tool.
And I just realized that if I was typing this directly into OneNote, there is a tab to blog this…..
Diane Essington
Office Manager
ICS Support, Inc.
Oct/094
What Is This Thing Called ERP Anyway?
I suspect that most, if not all of you, have heard the term ERP system. And some of you may even know that the acronym stands for Enterprise Resources Planning. That’s a mouthful that on the surface doesn’t seem to mean much. But since an entire industry has been developed around ERP systems, and since just about every legitimate business has one these days, there must be something to it. Let’s take a look and see if we can unravel the mystery.
Tracing ERP’s Ancestors
To understand where ERP got its birth roots, we need to go back to the 1960’s. That is when an approach called MRP (Material Requirements Planning) was born to handle specific processes for certain types of businesses. You will note that both ERP and MRP had the concept of planning in common. But aside from that, one seemed to focus on material requirements, while the other focused on enterprise resources.
Simply stated, the purpose of an MRP system was to assist manufacturers plan and manage inventory (material requirements) so as to meet demand for end finished goods. In order to do this, it was necessary to know current inventory levels of component parts and raw materials, replenishment schedules, and the total demand being placed on all these items.
While MRP was somewhat effective in meeting its stated objectives, it was also quite limited in reach. In fact, it was a closed loop that dealt with a very finite set of factors. When you consider that a typical manufacturing organization has many functional needs and departments apart from the manufacturing process itself, such as A/P, A/R, G/L, customer service, order entry, forecasting, purchasing etc., there were lots of planning and processing needs not being met by MRP. Consequently, the late 1970’s and early 1980’s saw the birth of Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP II).
You can see with the transition to MRP II, we were no longer focusing on simply material requirements planning, but now had broadened the focus to include all of the manufacturing resources planning utilized in a manufacturing organization. MRP II systems did a reasonably good job of performing the necessary functions associated with buying materials, producing goods, selling the goods, and following the movement of money associated with all of those transactions.
ERP is Born
As time passed in the latter 1980’s and early 1990’s, it was discovered that MRP II was all fine and well if you were a manufacturer. But what if like the majority of businesses in North America today, you were not a manufacturer? In that case another approach was required, and thus ERP (Enterprise Resources Planning) was born. The ERP system set out to expand beyond just manufacturers and encompass the needs of all enterprises regardless of their industry, and the resources required to plan and operate those enterprises.
As ERP systems have evolved over the last couple decades, these systems have embraced and added functional areas such as those shown below.
| Financial Planning | Quality Management |
| Product Engineering | Human Resources |
| R & D | Manufacturing Execution Systems |
| Customer Relationship Management (CRM) | Field Service |
| Supply Chain Management | Logistics and Distribution |
| Marketing | Advanced Planning and Scheduling |
| Sales and Operations Planning | Lean and Full JIT Support |
As you can see from the table above, lots of potential complexity has been heaped upon the ERP system stack. In a highly functional ERP system deployment, the ERP system represents a set of sophisticated tools whose reach is deep and wide, yet tightly integrated across all departments and functions so that there is a single set of high integrity cohesive data available for all users.
The People
Unfortunately, all too often, ERP systems are viewed purely in the context of software functionality. But the real measure of success in terms of an ERP system is the user’s usage experience with the ERP system. Given that, the notion of people is the other very critical element required in the ERP system discussion. To what degree does an ERP system recognize and embrace the importance of people and their roles in an organization? To what degree does it adapt or facilitate varying roles? To what degree does the ERP system empower the people with the right information at the right time in the right place to make and support informed decisions affecting the organizations tactical and strategic needs? It’s only when we have successfully incorporated the all important people component of the equation with the software functionality, that a successful process is identified. The combination of many successful processes constitutes a real ERP system.
ERP Maturity Model
We have just covered the last forty years of ERP product evolution at hyper speed, and even though we have barely skimmed the surface, it is probably plenty deep enough for this discussion. There is one other important concept however that should be considered in an ERP system discussion and that is what is referred to in some circles as the ERP Maturity Model. The ERP Maturity Model is a means of identifying the various levels of sophistication of an ERP system along with the level of value that it brings to an organization. While the number of levels can vary from one model to the next, the typical scenario goes something like this.
| Level | Sophistication and Value |
| 1. Data Management System | Data is collected and organized, but may not be valuable enough to be classified as information. There may be many sets of data at play at any given time. |
| 2. Shared Database & Multiple Software Modules | Data is shared from a single source across multiple functions and/or departments. While all users have access to the same data, they may not have control over the data, and therefore may not place significant value on it. |
| 3. Operational Perspective | There are common rules and procedures used for planning, executing, controlling and reporting actions in the system. Two-way feedback loops exist between the execution elements and the planning elements of the organization. Tactical and operational components are in harmony. |
| 4. Business System | Incorporates all of the elements of the previous level, and in addition includes exceptions for all to see, as well as more strategic planning elements. The organization relies on the system information to guide and direct it toward its goals. |
| 5. Continuous Learning & Knowledge Management | The ERP system contains a significant historical knowledge base of information, trends and requests. The organization embraces the knowledgebase as a catalyst for continuous learning and improvement. Executive level decisions and daily employee level decisions are made and supported based upon the information in the system. |
The purpose of the model is to determine where your organization is on the scale. You may want to ask yourself one or more of the following questions.
- Are you where you thought you were?
- More importantly, are you where you want to be?
- Is there value to be derived for your organization by going to the next level?
- Could major problems be solved or strategic goals achieved by getting to the next level?
Perhaps you liked what you saw after looking in the mirror, and then again maybe you didn’t. If not, then you should know that there are plenty of options avaiable for addressing the concerns. The real question is what action are you going to take to make it happen? As they say, a journey begins with the first step.