Teknos

Decades of experience within the IT and related fields, specialising in service delivery within the production industry arena, and preferring to be active at the sharp-end identifying solutions and solving problems both for today's and tomorrow's users. Currently “Application Lead Supply Chain Solutions for the global paints and coatings company Teknos Group in Finland and operational manager for IFSiders IFS User Group Finland. Minna Ingram is also an IFS Champion, an acknowledged prestigious global advocate for IFS solutions.

 In an interview, Minna Ingram, ERP application manager at Teknos, discusses the challenges faced by an ERP application manager.

What are the roles and responsibilities of the ERP applications manager of Teknos?

Global responsibility for ERP system management user availability and support, active with business unit ERP application development. Key involvement with system upgrades and country-rollout programmes. Co-ordinating role with group IT on related issues affecting global ERP system users and applications, including ERP application infrastructure and networks.

What are the challenges organisations face while employing ERPs to manage global business activities?

Important to keep the processes focussed and tightly managed, utilising the opportunity to possibly see over existing business operating processes for (where possible and with management buy-in) slight managed change if necessary, so that less-efficient processes are not transferred to the new system.

Issues can be faced by having the wrong people involved in handling the project management of ERP, perhaps due to a perceived status or hierarchy issue so that a less invested person is handling matters which may not even have the knowledge, power or even interest to introduce or effect change; plus the people involved may not have the time, or the focus to necessarily work on the project, which does need and deserve the time, focus, commitment and often power and commitment to get change.

Poor management, both within the project and supporting the project, can also create major problems, even severely handicapping the project and affecting its success or creating significant financial handicaps. Caution is made about ‘too many cooks spoiling the broth' and allowing too many people wanting to make special user case exceptions for their business case or geographical user case instead of focussing on a harmonised business case approach for the better needs of the business going forward, especially when taking a new ERP system in, or taking advantage of a new major release/platform change.

Poor definition and groundwork from the beginning and a lack of internal knowledge about how the business and its processes work, whether from the ERP implementation team or even from the internal assets assisting the project, can create major handicaps for the project and such issues need to be addressed, and ERP project team members must be sufficiently strong and empowered to identify and address these issues without fear of being over-ruled or being lost in the company’s hierarchy.

It is important throughout the entire process to get complete 'buy-in' for the ERP project -- acquired with transparency -- for all potential users of the system at all levels within the company so that they can see that the system is not a threat to their own place within the company in any shape or form, as this will encourage their cooperation with the project, encourage their own thoughts to help its development, encourage their possible use in the future and also possibly get them to consider and highlight issues that the ERP implementation team and management may not have considered. Users can be the project's own worst enemy and the best ally at the same time, and it is a resource that should be carefully nurtured and encouraged to grow, develop and prosper along with the project-at-large

What are some of the emerging industry trends and technology that influence your efforts as the ERP application manager of a chemical manufacturing company?

Strict regulation and bureaucracy of information due to the global chemical industry/dangerous goods that must be sent with each product (often within the build of materials) and often translated dependent on customer needs, so ERP can make the process a lot easier/foolproof when made from the ‘point-of-sale to point-of[1]delivery’.

A fast-changing regulatory marketplace within a global company may require prompt reaction, and this can create great complexities and internal stresses, and the utilisation of a well-resourced ERP system can greatly reduce this impact and provide even competitive and legal advantages if so implemented.

NFC tracking could allow end-to-end tracking, if required, from the production of goods from the placement of an order by a customer through to delivery, including data transfer even to a customer's intranet/extranet site and onward to their own customer’s public site in a seamless site via information exchange. This can also be extended into many other areas within the production chain, from batch traceability to product safety and quality control, offering benefits both to the subscribing company and customer [and its customer/users] alike.

Artificial intelligence is an inevitable future that will have an impact within ERP, as with every business sphere, whether it emerges as hype or potential benefit, and elements will no doubt be felt within areas such as business forecasting, raw material requirement planning, and warehousing logistics management.

What is your advice for other senior leaders and CXOs, and managers on navigating the complexities of ERP?

Involve junior colleagues actively where possible, especially as they can have fresh knowledge within a special focus area compared to their senior colleagues, and they are keen to grow into a greater role if they are given the chance and opportunity to do so. This also gives the company a greater asset and additional flexibility in terms of support, greater employee resources within an increasingly competitive employee marketplace, and hopefully increased employee satisfaction and job retention.