Posts Tagged "Operational Excellence"

When I was managing the Supply Chain Project team that consolidated the IT systems of 9 hospitals and 23,000 users, the first thing I asked for was to map out business processes.  This would provide all team members with an exact picture of business functionality and also make sure all the technical requirements were included as well. The main reason why IT projects fail are due to inadequate Business Process maps producing poor gap...

Industry 4.0 is the intellectual or process driven method of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses including the self-optimization, self-configuration and self-diagnosis of workers, work, machines and IT. Industry 4.0 will transform Supply Chains including manufacturing into the next wave of Information technology. I’ve written that SAP is embracing this Supply Chain digital transformation...

Using your SAP system to its full potential is a daunting challenge for any company. SAP offers an almost infinite amount of tools to use and it is a challenge to choose the best ones for your company. An even greater challenge is to have users embrace these new tools, understand them and use them effectively. In other words, implementing a new IT tool is one thing; it’s another challenge to create a culture that uses innovation,...

In one of my latest articles – “SAP Supply Chain Monitoring Best Practises” I spoke about a Supply Chain Executive’s winning formula. Included in that winning formula is #2 Maintain strategic focus Define Key Initiatives & Metrics. I would highly recommend re-reading that article as this one builds on it. What astonishes me is how many companies do not use standard SAP reporting to measure key metrics. SAP provides up to 300...

Causality-there is no escape from it, we are forever slaves to it. Our only hope, our only peace, is to understand it. To understand the “why.” “Why” is what separates us from them…”Why” is the only real source of power, without it you are powerless. MEROVINGIAN, The Matrix Reloaded (2003) How did Isadore Sharp Make the Four Seasons Hotel into Fortune magazine’s list “Top Companies to Work...