Case studies · Manufacturing · 2011
Mapping value chain processes before an SAP implementation at a manufacturer
A manufacturing company mapped its value chain processes before implementing SAP, so it could reach the ERP configuration with clear, agreed-upon processes.
- value chain processes mapped before implementation
- SAP
The challenge
Implementing SAP is one of the most expensive and far-reaching decisions a manufacturing company makes. Many implementations run into trouble for the same reason: the team reaches the ERP configuration without a clear picture of how the company works today or how it should work afterward.
The risks of starting without a process map are well known:
The current way of working, with its duplicate steps and exceptions, gets copied into the ERP instead of improved.
Departments discover mid-implementation that they have different versions of the same process.
ERP consultants end up making configuration choices that are really business decisions.
People don't see their work reflected in the new system, and adoption stalls.
This manufacturing company was about to implement SAP and chose not to leave its processes to chance. It wanted to arrive prepared: with its value chain processes documented, reviewed, and agreed upon by the departments that run them.
The solution
AVILA®'s Business Consulting Unit carried out the mapping of the value chain processes ahead of SAP. The value chain brings together the processes that turn customer demand into a product delivered and paid for, and it's where an ERP has the greatest impact.
The work was organized in steps:
Process inventory. Which processes make up the value chain, who owns each one, and how they connect.
Fieldwork with each department. Sessions with the people who run each process, to document how it really works, not just what the manual says.
Diagrams and descriptions. Each process with its inputs, outputs, owners, rules, and decision points.
Improvement opportunities. Duplicate steps, waiting times, and controls worth fixing before they're built into the ERP.
Validation. Review and sign-off with the process owners, to hand the implementation a baseline the company has accepted.
With the process map in hand, SAP configuration decisions are made on agreed-upon processes, and the company stays in charge of its own change.
If your organization is getting ready for an ERP, see process mapping and redesign and ERP, CRM, and MRP selection.