Business — Banking — Management — Marketing & Sales

There have been few fully successful SAP, BAAN or other ERP implementation projects in Ukraine. The main risks and mistakes for such projects is the fact that business processes, document flows, management procedures and management thinking need to be changed during the process of ERP implementation in a relatively short period of time. Ukrainian companies are quite often simply not ready for such changes.

Companies also underestimate the volume of work which needs to be done by the management team. Often there is a perception that an integrated system would act simply as «plug-and-play» software.

A typical attitude is to opt for «big bang» implementation. Other mistakes include making no provision for simultaneous use of the old and new system, not providing enough training for new users, choosing a period of high business activity for implementation and deciding to implement several crucial business modules at once. All these risky decisions result from a lack of experience with integrated systems.

Sometimes companies opt for «in-house» development of software for a fully integrated system. This is perceived as a cheaper solution. Risks associated with such an option are the same with additional problems associated with insufficient coordination between software programmers and IT-specialists, on one side, and the management team on the other.

Implementation of an ERP system implies a need to reengineer business processes, document flow and management processes in a short time. This task is not always addressed.

Step by step improvement of current MIS & EIS

Considering the similarities in the companies and bearing in mind the high cost, risks and duration of implementation of integrated MIS software, the Project team developed a specific approach. We believe this approach to be relevant for most large Ukrainian companies.

The central focus of our approach consists of providing quick solutions for MIS needs of the company- solutions which have potential for future development. These solutions add new functionality to existing information systems and give companies an understanding of the potential role of an integrated MIS in business management.

Progressive step-by-step implementation

Speedy implementation of management tools has several important and positive impacts on the company and provides the following results:

— Managers better understand and develop their needs for information and techniques;

— It further develops management skills;

— It creates understanding of the role of MIS in enterprise management and, thus, forms a basis for any future ERP system;

— It gives fast and tangible results with limited cost;

— It improves the skills of IT staff and their understanding of management needs.

The core of our approach is a step-by-step introduction of management solutions which have potential for future development.

Tools for top management

The Project developed the following solutions aimed at improving information for top management:

— Panel of Key Indicators;

— Budgeting Tool;

— Order Tracing Tool;

— Quotation Tool.

Any other tool that is important for a company may be implemented similarly.

Some support on operational level

In order to implement the management tools, it is quite often necessary to improve the systems at operational level. This is in order to automate the use of these tools as much as possible.

This support may cover several areas:

— Hardware, networking and systems architecture;

— Basis accounting system with implementation of a popular 1C software;

— Integration of different information systems within the company;

— Document flows and workgroup management on the basis of Intranet technology etc.

Benefits of the proposed approach

— Implementation of management tools is not expensive. The company improves it’s current system and uses previous investments in IT effectively;

— Managers achieve their expectation from MIS, as they receive important for decision making information in proper time;

-Staff get better understanding of MIS benefits;

— Company may move to new ERP system without losing management.

Tagged as: MIS