Yesterday, I started talking about the huge investment of an ERP system. The biggest point I hope I got across, is that the cost is very high, and if you don’t use effectively, the cost is MUCH higher. I know the service world very well, but I guarantee, it’s the same everywhere. The smaller you are, the more hats you have to wear. This means that you need every advantage you can get to keep things running smoothly. Often, the people down in the trenches aren’t “consulted” when a new computer system is being implemented. They usually get the memo when the consultants start showing up to “configure the system”. This means they often have to live with the best the consultant can give them.
All of these factors are why I started making my own applications for service management. Working in many small to midsize firms, made me quickly realize that 2 people can’t enter in all the data required for a repair and still do their normal “day job”. In general, the service groups are some of the best I have met in terms of getting the job done no matter what. The problem is that often they end up working outside the system, just get everything done. So, now this big expensive system that is supposed to capture all this data is being supplemented by some Excel files, and notebooks in the manager’s office. Try pulling those reports!!!
The best answer I came up with was a way to streamline the process. Make data entry as easy and straightforward as possible. That meant some programming work. I started down the path almost 10 years ago (at least that’s when the first idea started). Granted, there was a lot of ramp up time, learning curves to get past, systems to set up… But about 3 years ago, things got serious. Proximity became the dashboard for the repair depot and field service. Giving the managers a single spot to run the entire shop from, and giving technicians a simplified yet more complete view of their jobs. Renovation did the same thing for the call center and customer service. Creating applications to make lives easier has a much broader impact than I expected. It literally starts giving ROI to that big expensive ERP system. Instead of jumping from transaction to transaction or hiring a temp to transcribe paper into SAP, you get more info than you ever had before and the ERP finally becomes a help, not a hindrance. Am I saying you’ll instantly love SAP with all it’s rigorous checks and painstaking processes? maybe not… but at least you can start recognize some of the value that everyone promised when the purchasing decision was made 🙂
thanks for reading,
As always, thanks for reading and don't forget to check out our SAP Service Management Products at my other company JaveLLin Solutions,Mike