Many ERP, AI, CRM and other business information system investments do not deliver lasting value to the client’s business. They get the job done operationally but they do not facilitate differentiation and competitive advantage. They are not “a strategic weapon” enabling improved profitability, as it was put by one of my clients.
The primary reason for this is that the implementation of these systems is generally not aligned with the strategy of the organization.
Professor Malcolm McDonald of Cranfield School of Management defines strategy as “doing the right things viewed from the customers perspective”. Professor Michael Porter of Harvard University once summarized strategy as “differentiation”. The writer has concluded that strategy is “The Essence of the Organization and How it Thrives” – how it competes, how it adds value to customers such that it grows and thrives – that is, how it drives increased profitability.
Why do I say that most projects are not strategically aligned?
Fact is that most organizations do not have a crisp definition of their strategy that they can align with and also do not have a method of aligning what they do with the strategy IF they have that definition – I can assist with both.
In simple terms strategic alignment involves defining the strategic essence of the organization and then identifying how the system in question will boost the strategic essence to create value. Then tailoring the configuration and implementation to enable these activities.
If this was not done at the start of the project it is possible to retrofit the configuration to the strategy, possibly with some compromises.
To do this convene a working session of your executive team (c-suite) and undertake a structured process, such as my StratSnap© process, to develop a structured definition of the organisations strategy and then develop the roughly seven critical strategic drivers of the system on the organization. Then develop a list of activities that can be undertaken to align the system with the corporate strategy. A project can then be initiated to adjust the configuration to support these drivers in practice.
This may be quite simple or may require some creative work in the data warehouse to remap the data to support the new strategic focus.
In some cases the best solution may be to design a new master structure for the chart of accounts, the item class, product class or other important classifications. There may also be an opportunity to create some bespoke software alongside your core systems to enhance the value in the revised configuration.
The important thing is that this can be done with the current version of your ERP, AI, CRM and other software and does not require an expensive and disruptive upgrade to release the full value of your investment.
I have developed well proven methods of doing this, click on the link below to arrange a no obligation consultation.
I look forward to being of service to your organization.
Dr James A Robertson
https://the-erp-doctor.com
James A Robertson and Associates offer a portfolio of strategic services to enable clients to thrive and be more profitable
We do this by enabling clients to do the right things well in accordance with the definition of Professor Malcolm McDonald of Cranfield School of Management who says that strategy is “doing the right things viewed from the perspective of the customer” and tactics are “doing things right viewed from the perspective of the customer” and that if one “does the right things well one’s organization will thrive!” That is the basis of our logo, assisting clients to do the right things well with their business information systems.
This portfolio comprises:
1. Fast and effective facilitation of collaborative, actionable strategic plans
2. Strategic ERP and business systems troubleshooting and turnaround
3. Strategic tough ERP and other system procurement service
4. Strategic ERP and other system configuration
5. Legally enforceable strategic alternative to a major disruptive and costly ERP system upgrade