Page 54 - MetalForming August 2014

Guidelines for Navigating the ERP Terrain
technology when they don’t have a clear handle on expected costs and ROI.
The Place to Begin
Before an investigation of ERP sys- tems begins, we’ve found that a busi- ness mapping exercise is useful. This approach involves business process map- ping for insight into where waste resides, where bottlenecks occur and where there is a possibility for improvement.
Business process mapping helps elevate the conversation beyond fea- tures and functions and stresses the business case for change. The current state map should include your current state metrics, which becomes a com- ponent in the development of the busi- ness case for change.
By definition, a business process map lays out each of the step-by-step workflow activities for a functional part of a manufacturing organization. For instance, a process map for shipping would include the steps of obtaining the customer order, picking the part,
tracking the address, loading onto trucks, barcode label scanning and shipping paperwork, and any other process unique to a company’s ship- ping function.
Note that a typical manufacturing company will have upwards of 200 to 300 processes. Within each functional area, each step isolates an individual process into a workflow diagram for a clear depiction of a process or series of parallel processes. Within the process step we document what happens in the process step – what was the input to the step, what happens with that input and what is the subsequent output.
Start With a Business-Process Map
Before venturing out onto the ERP terrain, take the time to map your busi- ness processes. Among the benefits of business-process mapping:
• Helps the manufacturer flag, and ultimately eliminate, workflow bottle- necks. These include excessive use of
workarounds, manual data entry, dou- ble data entry, excessive use of Excel or homegrown systems, use of paper files or proprietary solutions and redun- dant record keeping.
• Helps resolve issues when employ- ees in functional areas complain about a cumbersome process.
• Identifies key performance indi- cators (KPIs) in order to deliver insight into business case improvements.
From your current state, your team maps a future-state map that becomes the basis for vendor evalua- tion and implementation design. The KPIs identified with a current state become the final component in the business case for change, and they become the goal line for the imple- mentation project.
Next Steps in Navigation
Having completed the business- mapping exercise, companies can suc- cessfully navigate the ERP landscape when they consider these guidelines:
52 MetalForming/August 2014
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