On Your Way to ERP? Figure Out Where You Are Now

As a manufacturer kicks of an ERP selection process, a key part of the project is to determine the “current state” – or where the company is now in terms of business processes.

Most business processes have evolved over time and passed from one person to another with minimal documentation, rather than from a conscious effort to constantly reexamine and improve processes based on their strategic value.

We find that an ERP implementation is the perfect opportunity to dig deep into how the organization currently performs business processes.

That “current state” documentation helps teams determine ways to use best practices built into the ERP system to streamline and improve these processes.

A Top Priority for ERP Projects

At Ultra, we believe the development and maintenance of the “as is” documentation is a top priority as you head into an ERP selection project.

How does this phase work?

Each business process is analyzed. A process flow is developed, and the inputs, processes, and outputs are documented. The process flow becomes an excellent tool to identify waste in a process.

A shared view of the current state lets the entire team recognize any problems that exist. This is often a watershed “ah ha” moment.  Many senior executives might not realize the extend of waste or problem areas, but once a “current state” map defines the processes with visual documentation, those issues see the light of day

We find “as is” documentation goes much better if an independent expert is in the room during the mapping phase.  A team of independent ERP consultants often makes the process much more effective.

Learn More

Documenting the “as is” state is just one phase of an effective ERP project.

To learn more, download a free white paper entitled A Roadmap for Business Performance Improvement.

The paper shares five guidelines for business process improvement planning that will help your company achieve true business performance improvement and ROI.