By Mariyah Saifuddin
While an efficient supply chain can streamline business operations and drive growth, its digital transformation can be challenging. Lisa G. Smith, an industry expert, recently joined host Mustansir Saifuddin on the “Tech-Driven Business” podcast to discuss how enterprises can succeed with SAP transformation projects.
“Great technology can be used to really drive change around how business gets done,” Smith said.
It depends on your teams defining what is important and what information is needed, though. In Smith’s experience, she finds that SAP technology can “streamline, communize, and simplify” processes across the enterprise. Simplifying and standardizing processes across the enterprise is key to maximizing the benefits of SAP.
By asking “why” certain processes differ, companies can identify and eliminate unnecessary variations, leading to increased efficiency and reduced complexity. Success, however, is dependent on implementation teams taking the time to understand the impact of any change on employees, suppliers, and everyone in between.
Multi-pronged approach
Effective change management requires a multi-pronged approach. This includes strong leadership support, clear communication tailored to different audiences, and active involvement of stakeholders throughout the process.
Embracing change is vital for successful SAP implementations, according to Smith. By defining clear business objectives and understanding the “why” behind the transformation, companies can motivate employees and stakeholders to participate actively in the process.
Here are some of the considerations:
How can enterprises measure success of their SAP transformation project?
Smith believes in defining and tracking the right metrics. She suggests thinking about what the objectives for the business are. What is it that your enterprise wants to achieve and accomplish? Some possible objectives include:
- Additional incremental cost savings
- Operational efficiency improvements
- Better compliance and controls
- Faster days to close
- Better forecasting
- Lower inventory levels
Whatever those business objectives are, Smith says, It’s important to use those objectives to determine what success looks like.
Think about the case for change and what is driving the organization to move to the next level, she says. In Smith’s experience, “if people understand the why — that case for change — they’re going to be far more open to considering and actually start to get excited about it.”
Have clear objectives, then determine how you will measure them
Once objectives are established, think about how you will measure them and make it part of your future state design. Examples of clear objectives could be improving on-time sourcing by 20% or lowering raw materials inventory by 10%. How would you measure that?
In other words, think about the format of reporting or the calculation that you will use. It is important to understand this up front in the process, Smith says, because it helps ensure that the software design will drive those outcomes based on those metrics.
With SAP’s AI capabilities and embedded KPIs, reporting brings those metrics to light much more quickly than perhaps in a previous state, Smith says. This applies especially if that previous state was manual or very heavily reliant on programs like Excel, she says.
Prioritize risk mitigation, minimize disruptions to business
Lastly, Smith reminds teams to prioritize risk mitigation and minimize disruptions to business operations. Think about how a phased approach, robust project management, and effective governance play essential roles for a smooth transformation project.
Teams should leverage the quality of built in compliance that exists within SAP as information moves from one process step to the next, Smith says. It’s almost like moving along an assembly line with its systems of quality checks to ensure a successful outcome.
“If I know I need that policy change,” she says, “I better start having the governance or I better have the governance in place to be able to escalate that quickly if it requires certain levels of approval within the organization. And then readying the organization for change.”
Her key takeaway? Embrace technology to allow it to propel your business forward while effectively managing the change impact to ensure a smooth and successful transition.
Interested in more Tech-Driven Business podcasts? You can listen here
About the podcast guest: Lisa Gonzalez Smith
Lisa Gonzalez Smith is a trusted global procurement leader transforming global end-to-end supply chain processes and driving organizational change management.
Gonzalez Smith is a seasoned source to pay executive with over 30 years in global automotive procurement (direct & Indirect) and a proven record of delivering SAP Ariba global programs at Ford Motor Co. on budget and ahead of schedule with state of the art, cloud-based technology.
