Anonymised case study based on my own work as an IT and ERP manager. The organisation is not named and no savings figures are claimed.
The situation
An established multi-unit business ran its operations on an ERP plus a long tail of spreadsheets. The ERP held the records, but approvals, follow-ups and management reporting happened around it: in email threads, phone calls and manually merged sheets. Leaders received reports late, and different teams quoted different numbers for the same thing.
The approach
1. Map the process before touching the system. Each workflow (purchase requests, approvals, dispatch, billing follow-ups) was mapped as it actually ran, including the workarounds. Many problems turned out to be unclear ownership rather than missing software.
2. Fix the master data. Duplicate and inconsistent masters for items, customers and vendors were cleaned and given owners, because no report can be better than its source data.
3. Use the ERP that exists. Before buying anything, existing ERP features such as approval levels, mandatory fields and standard reports were configured to replace side spreadsheets.
4. Automate the hand-offs. Repetitive steps such as reminders for pending approvals, scheduled report extracts and exception lists were automated, so people dealt with exceptions instead of chasing routine items.
5. One MIS, agreed definitions. Management reports were rebuilt from a single source with written definitions for each KPI, so meetings discussed decisions rather than whose numbers were right.
6. Train and document. Each change shipped with a short SOP and a walkthrough for the people using it.
The outcome
Approvals and follow-ups moved into the system of record, recurring reports arrived on a schedule from one source, and teams worked from shared definitions.
FAQ
Should we replace our ERP? Usually not first; map the workflow and use existing features before changing systems.
Where does automation help most? In hand-offs, reminders and exception lists.
I take on a small number of advisory and hands-on systems engagements each quarter. Connect at virender.in.