FASTENER SOFTWARE

Most people decide to change systems because they want to improve their operations. However, when they put in the new system, they miss some part of the old system.

It is important that you learn and understand the new system before you insist that it do things your old way. It is often the case that the differences are just what you need. You just don’t know it yet.

In some cases, the new system will provide much more information and control, but it requires more discipline and accurate data entry. The old system would let you get away with anything, but no one trusted the information because people were “going around” the system to get their work done more easily.

You can’t have it both ways. Either you put the information in consistently and correctly or you have bad data. Bad data is sometimes worse than no data at all.

When you are looking at new systems, be sure to find out how easy it is to get the information into the system, not just how fancy it looks when it is already there. Some system that have great reporting are very convoluted and difficult to use, so the information doesn’t get put in correctly. When it comes to ERP systems, everything counts.

It seems hard to believe, but we have actually had clients purchase systems, install all the hardware and have their people trained, and then not follow through to implement the system. They tell us that they just don’t have the time to do it.

When this happens, we are left wondering how we could have made them more successful.  No one really likes change and some people resist it more than others. The fact is, there is virtually nothing that we could do. It is the responsability of the owners and managers of the company to enforce the discipline needed to complete the implementation.

Some people are just procrastinators. Other people are just “too busy” to take the time to implement the system, while still others, don’t have enough control over their employees to insist that they change to the new system.  The ironic thing is that the people that are “too busy” are usually too busy doing exactly the things that the new system would eliminate.

Sometimes it is a little like going to the Dentist. It might be a little painful to take the action, but it makes things so much better after it’s done.

When implementing a new computer system, I recommend a method called Sample Company Implementation.  This method is much more efficient than the old “Dual System” conversion methods, since you only enter actual transactions in one system at a time.  It also takes all the pressure off the people involved in the conversion, since they learn the new system in a “Sample Company” where any mistake that they make will have no bad effect on anything.  Once the transactions are entered you can run the various reports in the new system to see where the information shows up and to verify the accuracy of the process.  During this time, you should decide which of the reports you will run on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.

In order to accomplish this, you should create two “companies” in your system.  One is the “Live” company and the other is a “Sample” company.  This method consists of the following steps:

1. Load Master Files in Live Company
2. Copy the Master Files into the Sample Company
3. Enter small batches of Transactions in the Sample Company
4. Check Results and make Adjustments as Necessary
5. Select a “Go Live” date.  Follow the Instructions in the Preparing to Go Live Guide.
6. Enter or Upload the Beginning Balances and Historical Information as available.
7. On “Go Live” date, Begin Entering All Transactions into the Live Company

1.         Load Master Files in Live Company

Master Files consist of the Customer Master File, Vendor Master File, General Ledger Account File, etc.  Most of these files can be transferred from data that is in your existing system.   During the Sample Company implementation period, you do all of your actual daily work in your old system.

NOTE: Once the Master files are loaded, they must be maintained on a current basis, e.g. If you add a new Customer, Product or Vendor, etc., each of these will have to be added to your Old System (where you are doing your daily work) and to The new system Live Company.  This will ensure that the transaction data, that gets entered or transferred later, matches up with the proper Customers or Vendors and Inventory Items.

2.         Copy the Master Files into the Sample Company

Once the Master Files are updated in your Live Company, you should perform a procedure to copy these files into the Sample Company, so that at that moment, the data in the Live Company and the Sample Company match exactly.  As you begin your Transaction Training, the data in the Sample Company becomes different than that in the Live Company, since no transaction data is entered into the Live Company during the initial training process.

NOTE:  Do not enter Sample Transactions into the Live Company.

3. Enter Small Batches of Transactions Into Sample Company

During the Sample Company process, you will select certain actual Purchase Orders, Sales orders, Purchase Order Receipts, Invoices, etc. to enter into the Sample Company Database.  The purpose of entering this information will be to become familiar with the procedures used in the new system.

This is also the time to establish your company specific procedures.  The new systems are quite flexible and it should be able to adapt to most of your existing procedures.  In many cases though, it will be to your advantage to change some of your procedures to take advantage of the enhanced technology offered by the new system.

NOTE:  Do not enter Live Transactions into the Sample Company.  You can  periodically copy the Live Company Database over the Sample Company Database; this “wipes out” all the Master File and Transaction data that has been entered into the Sample Company.  It is replaced with the Live Company Data that should include the latest additions to your Master Files.

4.         Check Results and Make Adjustments as Necessary

During this time, you should print all of your business forms to be sure that the information appears on them in the layout that you require.  Do not enter any more transactions than you need to enter to understand the process and have a reasonable amount of practice.  Entering large quantities of transactions will be a waste of time.

During this time, you should also print the PO Receipts Journals, Invoice Journals, Scheduling and Expediting Reports, Inventory Reports, etc. so that you become familiar with where the data will be found in the new system.

5.        Select a “Go Live” date.

The “Go Live” date should be the first of a month.  It is often convenient if this can be a month that starts on a Monday or Tuesday.  Sometimes people will “cut off’ the old month a day early in order to take care of all the odds and ends that come up during this important time.

6.         Enter or Upload the Beginning Balances and Historical Information as Available

As you near the “Go Live” date you should review your Purchase Orders and your Sales Orders.  Any Purchase Orders or Sales Orders that will not be Received/Shipped prior to your “Go Live” date should be entered into the new system.  They don’t need to be entered into your old system.  In our case, we do not transfer these from existing data, so whether or not we are converting data for your Beginning Balances and History, these will still be entered.

NOTE: Once the Open Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable and Inventory Balances are entered, print the Aging Reports and the Inventory Report and compare them to the equivalent reports in the old system.  It is very important that you get started on the right foot.

7. On “Go Live” date, Begin Entering All Transactions into the Live Company

Starting with your “Go Live” date, all information will be entered into the new system.  You will not enter any more information into the old system.  It is obsolete.  This way you never have to do double work and you will assure a smooth transition to

The new system with a minimum of disruption of your business.

Management commitment is more than just making the decision. Delegating all the responsibility sends a message that the system isn’t important to you.  Peter Drucker says “Performance always improves where management’s attention is obviously directed”.  There is no better example of this premise than a new system implementation.  Take the time to regularly meet with your System Administrator and key management people.  Talk to the people that are entering the transactions into the system.  Inspect and learn.  You can lead your team to a more efficient and profitable company.

Buying a software solution is not like buying a desk.  You don’t just buy it, set it in place and that is the end of your relationship with the vendor.  You are signing up for a long term highly interactive relationship.  If you choose a vendor that doesn’t have the experience to help you implement your system, you will end up having to help them.  They won’t understand your business so you will have to teach them how things are done.  You must teach them so that they can set the system up to properly help you. This takes time and resources.  New computer companies fail at an astounding rate because the principals underestimate, under fund or under prepare for these huge responsibilities.  It’s safer to buy from an experienced vendor with a good reputation in your industry.

Don’t skimp on training hours. Some statistics say that many companies use only 20% of their computer’s capabilities.  That is a huge waste of resources.  It is almost always a result of inadequate training.  The system is a big investment, take it seriously and devote the time and money required to get proper training.

Some ideas that may help:

1. Establish regular training hours.

2. Assign a “Training Manager” to coordinate the training for the various departments and keep track of when they were trained.

3. Establish specific training goals and deadlines and stick to them.

4. Test trainees to see if they are learning what they need to know.

A  well organized and supervised training program will provide a huge payoff. It will help with initial implementation and ongoing use of the system.

In order to effectively install a new software system, you must have one of your employees dedicated to and responsible for the implementation.  This System Administrator doesn’t have to be a computer person (in fact it is often better if the person isn’t a techie).  The person should have broad understanding of your business and how work gets done there.  This person should not be a new hire.  The person also should have the ear of the President and should have authority to make cross departmental decisions.  When you put in an integrated system, everyone’s work affects everyone else’s work.  Someone has to mediate any disputes that might come up.

Technology is moving forward at a rapid pace.  One example of this is the wide variety of portable devices that can be used.   These laptop computers, smart phones, PDA’s and other devices can connect seamlessly to the corporate network.   In some remote places no wireless communication is available.  Don’t buy a system based on remote connectivity that is not supported in your market area.  By the time it becomes available, your wireless equipment may well be obsolete. Another example is buying all the equipment for your wireless warehouse because the salesperson has a special price if you buy it now. It may be six months or a year or more before you are ready to implement it. The wireless warehouse equipment might be out of date by then. Buy technology when you need it for a specific business purpose. Have an implementation plan and a schedule before you buy it.

Any feature that is on your Must Have list that is not in the software “out of the box” would be cause to eliminate that software from your search.  Developing new applications is expensive and time consuming.  If the missing feature is on one of the other two lists, you need to decide how important it is to you.  If you would really like to have it, get a firm quote and be sure that you know how future support (program updates, training, etc.) is going to be handled on the modification.  If it is going to be based on hourly billing, it could add substantial cost to the implementation.

You may remember how things were done when you were back in the factory, the warehouse or on the order desk, but things may well have changed since then.  Bring in all the key people that will have to make the system work.  Get their “buy in”.  They are the ones that will have to make it successful.  They will be able to give you specific feedback about the usefulness of the software design.  You can’t do it on your own.