One lesson the pandemic has taught us is that companies must be agile if they are to remain competitive in an ever-changing business landscape. Embracing digital transformation is key to this agility.
Mark Wilson, CEO of Syspro EMEA&I
Modernising legacy systems no longer fit for purpose is what digital transformation is all about. For manufacturers, this transformation will help streamline processes to reduce time to market, which cuts costs and waste while boosting efficiency and productivity. Clearly, these changes are what keep businesses adaptable, efficient, and future proofed.
Change is a process though; one that needs to be managed and properly planned for. One of the main obstacles in change management often boils down to hasty rollouts focused solely on installing the technology. Change management has many moving parts: tech requirements aside, you also need to consider shuffling organisational structures and re-examining role requirements, say field experts Prosci.
The first step in change management is defining the outcome you want to see. This should be based on an analysis of operation-wide data from your current system. Having this level of insight gives a clear picture of how and where you should pivot to achieve your end goal.
Certainly, technology shouldn’t be the focus, however, it can be leveraged to help you remove any friction throughout the change transition. A smart digitised system that gives you line of sight across your entire operation should be your first investment.
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software fits the bill. An ERP system intelligently automates how a company records and manages its data and, as the single source of truth on this data, it can support your change management plan in many ways.
* Enabling informed decision making – An ERP is a centralised location for company-wide data, providing end-to-end visibility across all business processes. With greater visibility across the entire organisation, business owners have all the information they need to make well-informed decisions. Change management efforts driven by informed executives have a greater chance of success than those driven simply by an urgent need to digitise the company. It fosters a proactive over reactive approach to change management, which keeps your business agile.
* Providing real-time insights – Comprehensive business intelligence is a cornerstone of effective change management. ERP software provides data transparency, with access to accurate reports on this data. With these insights at your fingertips, projections, trends, business anomalies and more become clearer. This clarity, in turn, will lead to more proactive planning for changes that will have the most impact.
* Automating data tasks – Data redundancies and inaccuracies are immediately identified by ERP software. What’s more, this verified data from every department is integrated into a consolidated database that is accessible within a protected space. Having an ERP to maintain the accuracy and security of your company’s internal data gives you the peace of mind you need to action your change management plan without worrying about breaches or loss of data. An intelligent system that automates the data side of things allows you to focus on staff engagement with change and training on new processes.
For companies looking to implement change initiatives on their journey to digital transformation, an ERP solution is the best starting point. This tech will see you through the initial change-related teething problems and is adaptable and flexible enough to grow with your business after changes have been implemented, to keep you on track with your end goal.
ERP software is not only the gateway to your digitisation; it can also help you better map out well-informed plans, streamlining the change management process and even revealing new opportunities for future growth.