One of the running jokes about ERP is that the business always thinks that the last software package was better than the current software package, even when everyone hated the last software package. After the initial honeymoon period of a new software implementation, it’s pretty common for staff to start to focus on the system flaws and what it does …
Over the last ten years we’ve seen a trend where businesses pick “best of breed” (BoB) software to meet process needs rather than trying to do everything in their ERP software. This is a great path to follow, as a BoB package will often provide the best software solution for a specific process. However, it only becomes truly optimal if …
The end of the year can be a frustrating time for your IT project. You know you still have so much you want to achieve but you, or the team, are running out of time. It can also be disheartening if you’ve spent the year trying to get a project going, but you feel like you haven’t made enough progress. …
Have you ever worked on a business change project that provoked very intense or out-of-character reactions in other staff? Someone who was a normally calm, rational, team member may have suddenly become aggressive in meetings, or someone previously quite helpful or vocal would silently retreat to a corner during project discussions. Fundamentally, this team member wasn’t happy with the change and they were …
Generating paper forms has become one of the most frequent, recurring actions in modern offices. We print everything – emails, reports, invoices, spreadsheet data, letters, customer correspondence – the idea of the printed copy being that we have tangible, physical representation that an action has occurred, or confirmation that a task needs to take place. In many circumstances, a hard …
The last twenty years has seen the rise of business ERP and management systems. Software management systems that previously were financially out of reach for many businesses, are now seen as a reasonable, worthwhile investment. In addition, the initial very short list of available options available has now developed into a myriad of new software systems, each often allowing for …
Software vendors… you love them, but you hate them. A lot of customers tend to have a vendor “war story” and unfortunately, often let it bias their relationship with their vendor. Customers can have long memories when it comes to vendor issues and the “small upgrade incident of 2010”, often escalates as it gets re-told over the years. We often …
Almost everyone I talk to in the Service Industries is looking for the ideal Field Service Mobility solution for their business. However, when I ask them what that means, their definitions of Field Service Mobility vary greatly. Some see Mobility as the equivalent of a paper service docket on an iPad; others see Mobility as the ability to capture photo …
Recently we’ve been working on two projects that involved outsourcing. One involved outsourcing of operational staff while the other involved outsourcing of IT services. Coincidence? Probably not. We all know how much the world has changed economically and that we will most likely never go back to the glorious boom times of pre-GFC. A lot of businesses are realising that …
I was talking to a Business Manager recently about the change aspects of his IT project. We discussed the issues he might have around translation of existing business processes into the new IT system, as well as the cultural impact those changes might bring. I gave him some suggestions regarding methods of managing the change in the business and he …
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