SCHEDULE BY FUNCTION, NOT SOFTWAREMODULES

Business functions and software modules are not the same. A business
function is just that—something that needs to be done to run the
business effectively. Examples include planning for future capacity
needs; maintaining accurate inventory records, bills of material, and
routings; customer order entry and delivery promising; and so on.
Software modules are pieces of computer software that support
people in the effective execution of business functions. Frequently
we see companies involved in an ERP implementation scheduling
their project around tasks like: “Implement the SOE (Sales Order
Entry) module,” “Implement the ITP (Inventory Transaction Processing)
module,” or “Implement the PDC (Product Data Control)
module.” This is a misguided approach for two reasons: sequence
and message.
Companies that build their project plan around implementing
software modules often do so based on their software vendor’s recommendation.
This sequence may or may not be the best one to follow.
In some cases, it merely slows down the project, which is serious
enough. In others, it can greatly reduce the odds for success.
One such plan recommended the company first install the MRP
module, then the plant floor control module, then the master scheduling
module. Well, that’s backward. MRP can’t work properly without
the master schedule, and plant floor control can’t work properly
without MRP working properly. To follow such a plan would have
not only slowed down the project but also would have substantially
decreased the odds for success.
The second problem concerns the message that’s sent out when the
implementation effort is focused on software modules. Concentrating
on implementing software modules sends exactly the wrong message
to the people in the company. The primary emphasis is on the
48 ERP: M I H
TEAMFLY
wrong thing—the computer. ERP is not a computer system; it’s a
people system made possible by the computer. Implementing it is not
a computer project or a systems project; it’s a management project.
The people in the company are changing the way they manage the
business, so that they can manage it better than they ever could
before.
Keep those ABC’s of implementation firmly in mind: the C item is
the computer; the B item is the data; the A item is the people.