When it comes to system implementation, micromanagement can be a good thing
Staff -- Manufacturing Business Technology, 12/1/2003 7:00:00 AM
Changes in its market—including increased global competition—forced Ontario Store Fixtures to remake itself. As it streamlined its organization, the Ontario-based maker of mannequins and metal fixtures for store displays realized that its ERP system no longer fit the business.
The legacy system from one of the big three ERP players had numerous features that Ontario never used, and the cost of maintaining it was a strain on Ontario's IT budget. Management assembled a team to find a more appropriate—and more affordable—system. It also gave the team six weeks to get the new system installed.
The team quickly settled on the VISUAL Enterprise suite from Lilly Software, but it hit a bump when the Lilly reseller outlined its proposed implementation schedule. "The consultants helped us come up with a 20-week implementation plan," recalls Shabbir Kapasi, an Ontario IT project manager. "We told them, 'Sorry, we only have six weeks.' "
Not wanting to blow the deal, the reseller let Ontario's team take the lead in scheduling all the tasks required to complete the implementation. The project was launched on March 1, 2003. Ontario's mannequin plant went live on VISUAL Enterprise April 1, and its metal fixtures plant turned the new system on exactly one month later.
Not only had the implementation team swapped out ERP systems, it also had transferred data to the new system, designed new business processes, and trained users in that time frame. Kapasi says the project was completed so quickly because it was "micromanaged" every step of the way.
In daily meetings, the team reviewed each scheduled and on-going task. Nothing was allowed to fall behind schedule. "The hard work and dedication of each team member was the key to our success," Kapasi says. "They accomplished these tasks and at the same time took care of their regular duties. And all of this took place while the company was going through a restructuring. Even the [Lilly resellers], who have seen a lot of implementations, were amazed."
Kapasi says the cost of buying and implementing VISUAL Enterprise was slightly more than the annual maintenance fees for the previous system, and Kapasi believes the Lilly system is a better value because it's better suited to Ontario's business. He even thinks this system will be able to adapt as Ontario continues to change.
"We must continually review our processes and find ways to make them better," says Kapasi. But he thinks it will be a long time before those improvements require adopting a new ERP system.
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