How To Improve Your Company'S Business Management Software

Transcription

1 ERP / MIS Performance Review: Does Your System Have a Type A, B, C or D Performance Personality? White Paper Series

2 You hear it frequently from many of the best-run companies in the world: Our people are our greatest asset. As such, it is standard for companies to regularly invest in their employees and evaluate their performance against defined objectives. We are all relatively familiar with what is considered best practice in this area; each person is periodically reviewed to measure his or her individual capabilities and contribution, with an eye on areas for potential improvement. Whether an employee assessment rates someone as an A player for outstanding ongoing contribution, a B for good, solid performance, a C for some improvement needed, or a D when it s time for a good talking-to, most companies follow standard practices when it comes to proactively managing their human capital. But what about other assets in your organization, such as your ERP/MIS software when was the last time you assessed its capabilities and performance against the evolving needs of your company? And can leveraging a software system that takes advantage of the latest advancements in technology be an area of potential improvement that has been overlooked? After all, in most companies these software systems are used by nearly every employee, so replacing an underperforming system with one that helps people work more efficiently and accurately can make a significant impact. One might wonder why it is so easy to overlook evaluating a system that touches almost every aspect of operations, every day. The average lifecycle of an ERP/MIS system is more than 10 years. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2010 the median duration of employment in the United States was 4.4 years. This could very well mean that many of the people who were involved in the initial selection of the software a company relies on every day may no longer be working in that company. And very often, whatever is inherited by new employees is not evaluated. People tend to focus on learning the established processes and system keystrokes rather than questioning whether the solution continues to meet their business needs. If it s not broken really, really badly, don t fix it! Unlike a difficult employee, toleration is not uncommon when it comes to an ERP/MIS solution that is underperforming. After the initial implementation of a new software solution, once system procedures are learned and in place, many businesses will continue to operate under

3 the new procedures even after they become old. The only problem is that during the same period of time your market and product mix can change substantially. When the system does not follow suit, inefficiencies creep in slowly (or sometimes quickly) and consume your profit potential. Many business leaders spend time thinking about their operations and stakeholders, such as equipment, employees and clients. Visionaries will also carefully consider the role of software technology and how it can be leveraged to streamline processes, improve customer service, provide visibility into business performance and help gain competitive advantage. At EFI, our Productivity Software team talks about MIS and ERP systems to more printing and packaging companies than any other team of people in the world. What we see in our industry is that people often think of technology like equipment, rather than software; they often have more experience investing in a new press versus an ERP system, and in general it is easier to see the value of new equipment than it is to understand the value of software that ties together and automates business operations. And since many people are not likely to participate in the purchase of a new ERP/MIS more than once or twice in their careers, it is an area that is not only often overlooked, but can also be perceived as uncomfortable enough to be intentionally avoided. We also notice that companies in our industry tend to remain focused on their history and heritage to maintain customer relationships, rather than preparing the technology foundation they will need to meet the increasing expectations of those same customers. On the other hand, customers expect their vendors to use the technology that will service their needs, and their demand for convenience, superior service and competitive prices continues to increase. Customers may also be driven by the demands of their own print buyers, who want to work with vendors who provide quick access to the information they want. For these customers, loyalty and long-term past associations may, at best, become a secondary consideration. So how do you ensure that your software system, like your workforce, is poised to meet your organization s requirements both today and in the future? In order for companies and their employees to truly adapt to changing market and customer demands, system software (just like human capital) should be regularly evaluated, and plans for improvement should be developed. Gap analyses should be done to see if there are functional areas needed by your company that your ERP/MIS solution is unable to address, such as customer self-service or business intelligence. The goal is a state-of-the-art solution that will meet your current and future requirements, from a solid company that will continue to develop and support your workflow, whether it is through upgrades to your existing system, conversion paths to other systems from your existing provider, or a brand new software selection process. The expanded capabilities available in modern software systems, due to the rapid acceleration of technological advances, are often a significant and very welcome surprise to those who have not considered a new solution for even just a few years. Many of the

4 people who are decision makers or influencers in their companies may use technology like iphones and ipads in their personal lives, without considering how new business management software can help leverage those very technologies in their business operations to achieve new benefits such as improved efficiencies, higher rates of new business wins, and happier, more productive employees. A few other areas in which we see companies improve their operations is by leveraging an ERP/MIS solution to: increase capacity without increasing overhead; extend customer service capabilities while lowering departmental costs; and provide real-time, detailed visibility into critical business operations. The most advanced systems also enable companies to perform complex what-if analyses, allowing them to see how changing variables such as materials costs will impact margins, so they can make adjustments to maintain healthy profit margins. Rate Your System Is your current application a Type A, B, C, or D resource for your company? If you haven t evaluated your system software in a while to see how it is performing for your business, here s a short quiz to help you see how your system stacks up. Select the one answer that best describes your processes. 1) In my company, information for most new jobs is collected: [ ] From a hand-written document, , or phone call. (5) [ ] From a spreadsheet, standalone electronic form, or a fill-in-the-form webpage. (10) [ ] From an online specification form with validation and an automated connection to the estimating and order entry system. (20) 2) In my company, when a client wants to learn the current status of a job, they: [ ] Can look up the job on our secure client website where a real-time status (updated automatically) is available 7/24. (20) [ ] Can contact customer service who can respond instantly based on the real-time status available from our ERP/MIS. (15) [ ] Contact sales or customer support who will locate the job, determine the status, and return their call within minutes. (10) [ ] Contact sales or customer support who will locate the job, determine the status, and return their call within 60 minutes. (5) [ ] Contact sales or customer support who will locate the job, determine the status, and return their call within 24 hours. (1)

5 3) In my company, when it comes to decision making, our managers: [ ] Can quickly and easily obtain the information they need. (20) [ ] Will sometimes search for hours or even days through many systems and databases to gather the information they need. (5) [ ] Are challenged to extract the information they need. (1) [ ] Will often make decisions based on experience as they feel that taking the time to search through our database is a waste of time. (1) 4) In my company, we respond to a Request For Estimate: [ ] Within four hours. (20) [ ] Within one working day. (5) [ ] Within two or more working days. (1) 5) In my company, we schedule: [ ] Key work centers in all departments. (10) [ ] Key work centers in select departments. (5) [ ] All work centers. (20) [ ] We don t schedule. Jobs are simply pushed into production as they arrive. (1) 6) In my company, we schedule: [ ] Using a spreadsheet or computer-assisted scheduling system. (10) [ ] Using a tag-based system on a large magnetic or white board. (5) [ ] Using a dynamic or automated scheduling system. (20) 7) In my company, the schedule is updated: [ ] By the scheduler, as equipment operators pick up and return job jackets. (5) [ ] By our shop floor data collection system, as operations are completed. (20) [ ] We do not maintain a scheduling board or electronic schedule. (1)

6 8) In my company, clients and prospects visiting our website can check out our capabilities, request a sales contact, and: [ ] Place a basic order (using a fill-in form or ). (5) [ ] Place an order (with input validation). (15) [ ] Place an order (with input validation), track status, review history, and select items from a catalog. (20) [ ] Call or visit us to place an order; we prefer personalized one-to-one service and do not offer on-line order entry. (1) 9) In my company, job costs are determined: [ ] Through system automation and are available on-demand at any to anyone even during the production of a job. (20) [ ] Are collected on the job ticket and keyed into the system within a couple days of job completion. (5) [ ] Are difficult to identify, since many labor operations and/or material usages are not tracked or are tracked manually. (1) 10) In my company, most customer changes are: [ ] Not tracked or billed, because it is too difficult to track, cost and bill them, and, if we do bill them, we cannot collect on most of them. (1) [ ] Tracked and billed, usually according to estimate. We do not do separate cost tracking on customer alterations. (10) [ ] Tracked and billed. We send customers an change letter that confirms the changes and additional costs, which are tracked for comparison and/or additional billing and automatically added to the invoice. (20) 11) In my company, we manage our inventory: [ ] With physical inventory counts done on a quarterly or annual basis. (5) [ ] With cycle counts on a monthly or quarterly basis. (5) [ ] With shop automated tracking that reports inventory locations, allocations, quantity pulled, quantity consumed and quantity returned. (20).

7 How did your system score? Add up the values for each answer you gave: 150 or higher: Type A! Excellent Business Performance rating. Continue to leverage high-value business intelligence tools. 100 to 149: Type B Strong Business Performance rating. There may still be areas in which you can better leverage information technology to improve your process and profit performance. 50 to 99: Type C Opportunities for improvement exist. Your team may want to explore some of the high value business and workflow improvement tools available today. 1 to 49: Type D Your system is underperforming. It s definitely time to make some improvement plans. In today s increasingly competitive marketplace, your ERP/MIS workflow is literally the backbone that not only helps your company improve operations, but also enables it to maximize the effectiveness of your other assets, such as your equipment and your people. Bonus Question: What is the most important attribute when considering a new or enhanced ERP/MIS solution? [ ] End-to-end integrated capabilities. [ ] Industry fit: product is designed for your industry, and is supported by professionals with industry expertise. [ ] Large installed base of referenceable, industry-specific companies happily using the product. [ ] The company standing behind the product. [ ] All of the above. No points for any answer but All of the above! Contact EFI today for a more in-depth analysis of your company s needs.

8 Beat the competition and profit with EFI s integrated Fiery, VUTEk, Jetrion, Print MIS and Web-to-Print solutions. Visit to learn more. Why EFI? EFI ( helps businesses worldwide bring their visions and goals to life with a scalable, digital product portfolio. Our powerful servers; controllers; RIPs; inkjet printers, and precise color and imaging solutions help companies increase their brand recognition and market reach on signs, buildings, bus wraps, graphic displays and more. Our business automation software helps companies work faster and more cost-effectively. Our office, enterprise and mobile cloud solutions help companies create, access, and communicate impactful information that can win them more business. 303 Velocity Way Foster City, CA Auto-Count, BioVu, BioWare, ColorWise, Command WorkStation, Digital StoreFront, DocBuilder, DocBuilder Pro, DocStream, EDOX, the EFI logo, Electronics For Imaging, Fabrivu, Fiery, the Fiery logo, Inkware, Jetrion, MicroPress, OneFlow, PressVu, Printellect, PrinterSite, PrintFlow, PrintMe, PrintSmith Site, Prograph, RIP-While-Print, UltraVu and VUTEk are registered trademarks of Electronics For Imaging, Inc. in the U.S. and/or certain other countries. BESTColor is a registered trademark of Electronics For Imaging GmbH in the U.S. The APPS logo, AutoCal, Balance, ColorPASS, Dynamic Wedge, EFI, Estimate, Fast-4, Fiery Driven, the Fiery Driven logo, Fiery Link, Fiery Prints, the Fiery Prints logo, Fiery Spark, FreeForm, Hagen, the Jetrion logo, Logic, Pace, Printcafe, the PrintMe logo, PrintSmith, Print to Win, PSI, PSI Flexo, Rastek, the Rastek logo, RIPChips, SendMe, Splash, Spot-On, UltraPress, UltraTex, UV Series 50, VisualCal, the VU Ek logo and WebTools are trademarks of Electronics For Imaging, Inc. in the U.S. and/or certain other countries. Best, the Best logo, Colorproof, PhotoXposure, Remoteproof, and Screenproof are trademarks of Electronics For Imaging GmbH in the U.S. and/or certain other countries. All other terms and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners, and are hereby acknowledged Electronics for Imaging 12/17/12