ERP systems are hungry animals, and they eat information. The new ERP system will capture more information than the old one. Getting the right information into the system, correctly entered by the right people, can be challenging. Amid that challenge, it’s easy to forget that businesses don’t buy ERP systems to put information into them; they buy them to get information out
Yet, “I’m flying blind” is a particularly troubling complaint heard after go-live, because often one of the goals of the system was to improve information. I think the solution is hidden in plain sight.
It’s important to consider information needs and opportunities early in the project and throughout the functional design. In this post, I’ll talk about three levels of information, operational, tactical, and strategic, and how they should be handled in an implementation. Each level is handled differently, but whether it’s operational, tactical, or strategic, “begin with the end in mind” is good advice for ensuring that information needs are met.
Operational information is the information used to transact or operate a business. It could be the information used to make decisions about transactions that need attention, an overdue payment, or a credit extension.
The obvious approach to handling operational information needs is understanding how information in the current process system is produced and used and how that information could be improved. Be sure to consider what I call ‘hidden’ reports, spreadsheets, or other information that people use daily to make decisions that might not be part of a formal system.
Beyond understanding the information available in the current process, ask prompting questions about how decisions are made in transacting business, such as “How do you prioritize your work?” or “Do you find yourself writing notes as you work?” to understand their thought process.
Tactical information refers to the data and insights that mid-level managers use to make decisions that support the company’s goals. While operational information is used to conduct business, tactical information is used to optimize business. Tactical information might include production quality measures, capacity and utilization rates, sales figures, or customer feedback.
Make sure that relevant information is being collected and is easily accessible. This may include tying together information from various sources, such as Customer Relationship (CRM) systems or customer portals, as well as information from the ERP system, such as inventory and production data.
Provide the tools to provide a useful analysis of the data. Look for “monster” spreadsheets that business intelligence systems could replace to identify trends better, provide more accurate information, dashboards, better visualizations, better governance, and shared access, such as access across departments.
Strategic information is used by senior executives to make decisions that affect the long-term direction of the organization, aligning the performance and day-to-day operations with its long-term mission and vision.
This might include key performance indicators (KPIs) related to revenue growth, financial performance (both overall and at a product level), quality, and customer satisfaction. Like tactical information, early in a project, it is important to ensure that information needs are understood, that the information is being collected, and that it is easily accessible. Too many implementations assume that desired information will materialize.