I’ve been observing friends and colleague’s behavior during the COVID-19 social distancing and one of the things that I and many of my friends are doing is Spring-cleaning our homes, our e-mails, and our laptops. So it struck me, why not “Spring-clean” our SYSPRO data and systems?
We all know how important our data is to our business and many of us use analytics to turn our data into information on which we can make important decisions and future plans.
But, when last did you take a close look at your data?
How healthy is your data?
Maybe this is a good time to clean out your data and get rid of redundant information – dispose of old stock items; remove customers who have not bought from you in years; or even purge suppliers who are no longer in business.
How accurate is the information in your system?
Are your price lists and discounts up-to-date? When last did you run a BOM implosion and did it give you the results you expected? Do you consistently get a large difference between expected and actual costs in WIP? How well are your suppliers performing – do they deliver what they promised, when they promised and the quality you ordered at the price quoted? How well are you servicing your customers?
Are you using the full power of your ERP to data cleanse?
Maybe if you are enjoying a quieter time, while working at home it would be a good opportunity to extract a few reports from your system and work through some of these elements. The benefits will be a cleaner, more accurate, up-to-date system that can operate efficiently. By ensuring accuracy of the BOM, waste is reduced and replenishment more exact. In addition to those using their data to perform Analytics, your decisions will be based on current, relevant information only.
How streamlined and efficient are your processes?
A different area of consideration is to look at optimizing your Business Processes. You can either take this time to do this yourselves, or contract the services of a consultant. Either way, it is important to review each and every Business Process in your organization to establish if you, as an organization, are being as efficient as you possibly can: are there any redundant processes, and are there things you could do differently? Maybe there is an opportunity to digitize some of your processes and the supply of information to your suppliers, customers, or even just internal staff.
Are you getting a good ROI from your ERP?
How much of the ERP that you bought, are you actually utilizing? Maybe you are working according to limitations from an older version when you implemented the system and have not realized there are better ways of performing the same task within your current ERP. Again you could do this yourself by accessing the information about all new features released in each new version/release or call in a consultant to review your usage and adoption. And if you have SYSPRO 7 or 8 you can use this time to work through the new features on the SLC (SYSPRO Learning Channel).
The added benefit of performing these reviews and providing improvements in operational efficiency is enhanced productivity and ultimately bottom-line results.
Here are some other areas of consideration:
- How well is your infrastructure and SQL server performing?
- Are your Inventory levels accurate and enabling you to maintain high service levels? Which are your best-performing products, most valued customers, and top salespeople?
- What plans do you have to implement digital transformation in your organization?
As we are all needing to evolve and adapt to changing circumstances, thankfully, we live in a connected world that, despite social distancing, allows us to maintain business continuity and stay informed, safe and economically productive. Happy “Spring-cleaning”.
