Does your Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system need
time off? How about the people who are
in charge of keeping it running at an optimal level? The physical systems these software solutions
run on today are very reliable and the industry talks about unplanned
downtime. There is a difference between
downtime and availability. Even the best
systems need to be patched, repaired, and restarted periodically. It just helps to refresh them from time to
time. Not every day, but periodically. Schedule the refreshes so the unplanned down
time is minimized or eliminated.
If you are like me you run full out, full time, and just
keep going doing the very best you can with the resources at your disposal. I do not run marathon races, but I often
wonder if that is what it is like for the runners when the get to “that point”,
somewhere around 19 or 20 miles into the 26 mile race. At that point, whenever it comes, your mind
and body are just running on fumes and you are relying on your training and
endurance to carry you through.
We as people need to recharge, our equipment needs
periodic refreshes. What about our
software? The instructions the equipment
carries out, day-in and day-out. Are
there any variables in what we process daily?
If what we do was exactly the same every time we did it,
then why do we have to be there? Robots
and automation could run the production lines and we could be on vacation all
of the time. There is a reason people
are involved. It sometimes takes a judgment
call to make a decision. Which priority
order is most important? Which customer
comes first? Which order has a higher
value? Which customer does more business
with me during the year? Can I pull from
one order and fulfill another and then replace the inventory before the original
order is due to ship?
The ERP software
itself does not need a vacation, but it does need periodic refreshes.
There are a few industries that change slowly, but most
have to keep up with a constantly changing market, disruptions and changes in
the supply chain, new customers and markets demands.
Customer service
is something that never, ever goes out of style.
Most ERP solution providers have periodic refreshes and
updates. They create new modules and
enhancements. They have user
conferences. They listen to your
needs. They create fixes and updates to
address the constant changes that the evolution of your industry is going
through. Changes that you are going
through right now.
Do you recognize
the changes you are in right now?
When you drive you car on new tires, you feel the road,
you feel in control. Then time
passes. You get involved in other
things. Your concentration is on other
points of interest. Then one day you
realize that it took a little longer to stop, you went a little wider on that
last turn. Then it dawns on you. You thought that everything was the same and
what you found out is that your tires have worn out and they need to be
replaced.
Software is not exactly like tires. Perhaps the equipment it runs on is more
similar. But the same thing
happens. You build a new solution that
handles your customers and process your work load. Your business grows, you have more customers
and suppliers that have different reporting requirements. You add new employees. The business adds disconnected software
modules and ties them together with shoe strings and then one day – you skid
out of control.
Does your ERP
solution need a vacation? How about a
refresh? How about a replacement?
I may not have realized that I needed a vacation last
year, but I do now. I know how to work
hard and I am sure you do too. Are you
running your software or is your software running you? Is your software running out of control?
At Dolvin Consulting
we are here to help you navigate the changes and find solutions to the
challenges that have the greatest impact on your business operations. Contact us today to see
how we can help.
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