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EPR has the potential to speed processes up considerably. No longer does the data have to be transferred between systems. It all resides on the one system. In a flash the exact usage of parts in manufacturing can be compared to the incoming sales and projections previously made. The efficient utilization of both human and machine resources can be optimized.
However the practice of ERP has been much more challenging than expected. Putting in an EPR system for a major corporation has frequently cost hundreds of millions of dollars, both in software costs and especially in consultant’s fees and integration costs. It turns out that the data that most companies have about their processes is out of data and inaccurate. The old saying garbage in, garbage out applies here. If you want to monitor and control every aspect of your operations with bad data, then you are on a course to failure. Stories abound of whole departments running systems in parallel with the new EPR software and backdating modifications to data to make theory match reality.
Having experienced and capable ERP professionals in place to guide the roll out and early usage of the system is paramount. Training for the users and making it impossible to not use the system as intended will rapidly show up areas that need attention. What seems so obvious to a software developer can be totally unclear to a user. The “curse of knowledge” comes into play here. If you know how it is meant to work then it is impossible to unknow that. Watch out for this when you are checking if a system is usable by the people who need to use it day to day. Therefore, get some naïve users to try out the system and resist the temptation to take over and show them what to do or do it yourself. You will be amazed how they are unable to appreciate your slick design, how they don’t know what your intuitive icons really mean.
In reality there are some absolutely critical areas in a business where smooth flawless operation makes the difference for the whole organization. Make these key system points work almost perfectly and everything else can keep up. The EPR system has the potential to facilitate these key areas and if emphasis is placed on making sure that modeling and data is spot on for them, then massive improvements in overall organizational performance is possible. Being able to know the level of office supplies in the maintainance department instantly is unlikely to offer this sort of improvement!
Category: SoftwareERP – Enterprise Resource Planning – Some Personal Insights was written by:Author:Frank ReedAdded: Tue, 17 Jul 2007 02:13:20 -0400 This Article Has Been Read 264 times View all Frank Reed's articlesAbout the Author: Frank Reed owns and operates http://www.mymassagelessons.com Massage Lessons |
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