There Is A Wide Variety Of Business Processes In Different Countries
A business process is a
business process, right? Yes and no. While many processes that do the same thing
are similar, they are not likely to be identical. Take an office products
supplier in Asia. They were directed by their parent firm to implement an ERP
system. The system selected was quite rigid. When the system was analyzed, it
was determined that there were differences in almost all processes supported by
the ERP. As an example, the ERP does not allow products to be shipped to
customers without the proper paperwork and transactions. In this country the
paperwork always follows the shipping since there is a history of trust and
confidence. In the end the ERP could not be installed—but not before over US$ 1
million was wasted!
Impact
If you don’t pay attention to the unique way transactions
are carried out in various countries, then the project may be implementing
solutions that will not fit in the specific country. The results of the project
may never be able to be used. Rather than fight with headquarters, many local
managers will try their best and then eventually give up. They do not want to be
perceived as negative. The project is successful, but the results of the project
fail. Overall, the result is failure.
Prevention
It is necessary to identify which business processes will be
touched by a project. Then you can undertake to have each location conduct an
assessment of the processes in their location. This will surface a number of
problems and issues to be addressed. Do not stay at the level of a general
business process. Instead, get down to the level of specific transactions.
Action
If you find that a business process issue arises, you should
have the specific location examine the other processes that are touched by the
project. You should have someone independent of the team do an assessment of the
business processes as they will be impartial. They may also uncover ways to get
around the problems without changing the project in a major way.
Sections
Syndication
