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ERP Implementation Consultant: 5 Tips for the New Year
Every New Year is a time for reflection. When each year ends, it’s a time for planning on how to start that next year better than the last. As we consider improvement in our personal life, it’s also time to reflect on the business. If you go to the gym, you will know that the most common resolutions of course, pertain to leading healthier lifestyles. In business, it means that you may be being more ways to be fiscally responsible and improving personal relationships. These are the most common challenges and if you can improve on them, then it will result in an increase in profits. While we tend to focus more on our personal lives, we can also apply these resolutions to our work.
Goal setting is always possible and the New Year’s resolutions is a great excuse to make it happen. It can be broken down into a simplified process. It starts with creating a goal and then evaluating your daily processes that directly impact your goal. Businesses should do the same evaluations and reviews of their current state and goals for the year. An honest review of what is working and what needs to be improved is part of the process. Many businesses take this time to do a formal Business Process Assessment by an external consultant. This way an honest and objective analysis is done and a complete plan of action can be formulated.
New Year’s Resolutions when applied to individuals, includes our diet, exercise habits, how we spend our money, how much time we spend with our families, or any other daily actions that impact our personal goals. When we evaluate and analyze what we do and how we do it, it is easy to see where we can make improvements that will help to achieve our goals.
As in our personal goals, it’s easy to relate it to our professional lives and company goals.
ERP Implementation Consultant Reviews 5 Ways to Apply New Year’s Resolutions to Your Personal Life and Your Business
1. Lose Weight – Cut the fat - From an organizational standpoint, this doesn’t have to equate to a reduction in staff. Streamlining processes, reducing redundant tasks and consolidating disparate systems so all data is in one place and there is visibility across the organization, is a great New Year resolution. While there is no scale to measure the “loss”, there are key metrics that can be measured to show results with quicker processes such as monthly financial closings, quicker deliveries, less inventory. The result is not a slimmer you, but a larger profit margin.
2. Eat Healthy – Make better choices - Reducing bad habits and making better decisions, whether it be replacing the candy bar with fresh carrots or replacing excel sheets for a complete ERP system, it is important for both individuals and companies. Choosing healthy habits repeatedly will result in long term results such as a healthy outlook for yourself or your business in the form of longevity and competitive advantage.
3. Exercise More – Stay Active - Creating a routine of positive action is the key to success in health and business. Organizations can increase their workouts by creating new and improved processes, standardizing processes and by motivating the team to stay on track by following the recommended procedures. Keep moving forward, even when you feel like falling back into old and unproductive habits when the going gets tough. New habits take weeks to develop and turn into a routine, whether it be exercise or a new business process.
4. Save Money – Optimize Costs - Spending your money wisely is important for both individuals and businesses. Taking a look at the big picture and conducting a complete assessment will help you succeed financially. With the assessment complete, you will be able to see where you can cut back on spending and save money. Whether you are dropping that extra tv service that you never watch, or are simplifying a process on the shop floor, seeing the big picture will help you to eliminate expenses that are unnecessary.
5. Be More Present – Effective Communication - Whether it is your family, or your colleagues, communication is key to nurturing relationships. In the New Year, many people vow to spend more time having meaningful conversations with their family members. Businesses should also look into this resolution and work on communication among the various business functions. When there is open communication among the departments (Sales, Engineering, Planning, Procurement, Customer Service, etc.), your business will run more efficiently. Spending time and creating processes for better communication will benefit your business in many ways.
There are more similarities that can be derived from the traditional New Year’s Resolutions that many of us make year to year, both personally and professionally. The key to success is to start with a complete evaluation and then determine how you will achieve your goals. In either case, surround yourself with people who support these initiatives and together as a team, hold each other accountable to reach your desired goals. Change is hard, but with determination and hard work, we can all meet our New Year’s resolutions.
A successful ERP implementation includes bringing on the “right” ERP consultant that will be an essential part of your team. Your organization should be given careful consideration, in order to make your project successful and maximize your investment. For additional reading, download the white paper "Achieve Operational Excellence by Making Better Decisions." Contact Barry-Wehmiller International for a business process assessment or for additional information on how to start your Enterprise Resource Planning project.
Other related articles posted by BW-I on ERPVAR
- ERP Implementation Consultant Evaluation: 6 Questions to Ask
- ERP Implementation Consultant Reviews the "Other" Benefits of a New ERP System
B-WI provides enterprise, engineering, manufacturing automation and technology solutions enabling a connected enterprise by leveraging a global team to provide effective scalable solutions. We are dedicated to execution excellence through proven process methodologies and have assisted organizations of all sizes successfully transform their businesses. Our experience and expertise, crosses multiple disciplines and industries and we offer a wide-variety of solutions to fit your company’s specific needs.
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Another version of this blog was previously published on February 1, 2017
Image courtesy of "Dan" from FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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