Business Process Improvement
Many organizations reluctantly put up with inefficient and ineffective
systems because they have "bigger fish to fry" and worry
about the costs to change their processes and systems. In some cases,
there is no choice but in other cases organizations don't know what
to do. In both cases, we can help.
New System Required
If you must replace your system, refer to our software
selection services which includes a business process review.
Upgrade Preferred
Organizations are justified in worrying about the costs of replacing
systems. 180 Systems will assist in documenting the approximate
costs and benefits of alternative solutions including tweaking the
existing business process as well as upgrading or extending the
current system. Our approach includes understanding critical success
factors, documenting the "AS-IS" business process, GAP
analysis and business case.
The objective of business process is to support an organization’s
goals. One way to accomplish this is to identify the organization’s
critical success factors. A CSF is what an organization must do
well in order to be successful. For example, a distribution company
may differentiate itself by offering fast delivery. If the business
process supports the CSF, it can be deemed effective. But how effective
is another story. We recommend the use of key performance indicators
(KPI) to measure the extent CSFs are achieved. For example, the
cycle time (the time between order placement and shipment) would
be a good KPI for a CSF of fast delivery. The KPI goal is especially
important when you are implementing a new system or improving business
process. The goal will let you know whether you have been successful
and will act as a motivator throughout the process. After all, BPI
is not just about technology or systems. The best systems or business
processes will fail without motivated people.
AS-IS Business Process
The "AS-IS" business process document can be used in
multiple ways including:
- exposing the strengths and weaknesses of the existing process
and system
- identification of requirements
- as a source for business case
- as a script for demonstrations by vendor(s)
- as a starting point in designing the "TO-BE" business
process
We believe you should not build the "to-be" business
process without the help of the organization responsible for your
ERP or accounting system. Why reinvent the wheel, when your business
partner already has a solution or can easily leverage processes
already embedded in its system?
GAP Analysis
The Gap analysis will compare requirements to the existing system.
The vendor will be asked to provide potential solutions for the
more important gaps as well as demonstrate their solutions.
Business Case
A business case is a tool that supports planning and decision-making
for both operational and investment decisions. Our business cases
include the methods and rationale that were used to quantify benefits
and costs. It shows expected profit impact and/or cash flow consequences
over a period of time for the various alternatives.
For more information, call Michael Burns at 416-485-2200 or contact
us.
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