Posted on by AST LLC Posted in Awards, Culture, Human Resources, Latest News, Office Culture, Top Workplace, Uncategorized — No Comments ↓

Lisle, IL November 5, 2021: AST today announces that it has been named by the Chicago Tribune as a Top Workplace for 2021. This is the third consecutive year that AST has received this recognition. AST this year has also been awarded the Top Workplaces National Culture Excellence Award for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Practices and the Top Workplaces Award for Remote Work by Energage.

These awards further display AST’s commitment to putting its people first. “It is an honor to be awarded three Top Workplaces awards along with the distinction of recognizing AST’s cultural excellence,” states Justin Winter, CEO at AST LLC. “I am incredibly proud of our team for their commitment to the One AST vision. Together we have fostered an inclusive, welcoming, and positive workplace for all employees to grow personally and professionally.

These Top Workplaces awards are testament to that.” AST fosters a culture of inclusivity and innovation at every level of the organization with guiding leadership tenets: Teamwork, Trust, Accountability, Integrity, and Resiliency. All doors are open, and everyone’s ideas matter, giving AST’s people the ability to quickly understand the needs of customers and translate those needs into action.

The results reveal AST’s strengths and reflect its Core Values of Quality, Innovation, and Customer Success. “Our promise is to support an inclusive, inspiring, and innovative culture at every level in the organization. My team and I continuously enhance our people strategy to ensure we meet the needs of the entire AST Team. We will continue to transform AST to the next level, creating the future of how we work,” pledges Teresa Stanula, Vice President of Global Human Resources at AST. Read the full press release here.

About the Top Workplaces Program

Top Workplaces is a nationwide employer recognition program, powered by Energage, that seeks to identify and recognize organizations with a people-first culture. Top Workplaces are defined based on compensation, benefits, work-life balance, coaching, and prospects. With regional and national programs, as well as cultural excellence and industry awards, the Top Workplaces program honors people-driven organizations that ensure a workplace where employees can grow. The Chicago Tribune recognizes Top Workplaces in the Chicago metropolitan area. Top Workplaces are evaluated based on an employee survey created with extensive research and patented analytics.

About Applications Software Technology (AST) LLC

AST is an award-winning, full-service enterprise solution provider, guiding digital transformation for clients in the Government and Commercial Sectors for more than two decades. Clients look to AST for leadership and assistance in transforming their organizations via software solutions, process engineering, and change management. From cloud technology to legacy on-premises applications, AST’s services encompass all aspects of SaaS, PaaS and IaaS. AST also offers flexible Managed Services, supporting the needs of over 200 customers around the globe. 

Posted on by AST LLC Posted in Business Intelligence, Data, Latest News — No Comments ↓

In our previous article, we discussed how Business Intelligence (BI) uses software and services to convert your data into action. Basically, by collecting, organizing, and visualizing the data that your company collects, you can gain valuable insight into your operations and determine how to improve on them. 

At this point, if your organization has decided to go ahead with a business intelligence implementation, there are a number of things you need to consider during the planning process.

The Challenges of Business Intelligence Implementation

There are a few challenges to be aware of when beginning the process of a BI implementation:

1. Quality vs. Quantity of Data

Your business intelligence is only as good as the data it’s built on. Yes, our society has reached a point where we can basically quantify everything, but having such a glut of data can come at a cost.

Two issues arise when it comes to BI data overload. The first is that important data can get buried deep inside of systems, apps, etc. and may not get the attention it deserves. Secondly, many BI systems can end up delivering poor and even inaccurate data that does nothing except waste your company’s precious time and money. 

Before beginning your BI implementation, it’s imperative to identify the proper Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) you want to monitor. Yes, having a lot of data at your disposal is great. But by focusing on the critical metrics you want to track, you will ensure that your BI implementation is a success. This can certainly be expanded upon later.

2. Who Owns the Data?

The second challenge that you will face is determining who owns the data within your organization. What do we mean by data ownership? Well, your finance department will typically own your Chart of Accounts, meaning that they’re accountable for how anyone in your organization will aggregate, present, or use the financial data. Thus, any BI initiative will need to involve them regarding financial data. 

Another example is customer data. Your sales department probably thinks they own this data, but so do accounts receivable—so, there is shared ownership. For sales, they monitor current and prospective customers. For accounts receivable, they monitor paying customers and creditworthiness. As such, you need to correctly classify your customers so that each department knows what components of customer data they are responsible for. 

The final issue with data ownership is determining the relationships between the data. For example, your purchasing department can’t do a whole lot without accounts payable properly defining the vendor’s attributes. It’s important that you understand the relationship between your master data (e.g., chart of accounts, customer, supplier data) and transactional data (data that is captured when a product is purchased, received, sold, or accounted for financially). Making sure that both master and transactional data are high quality will ensure the accuracy of the data you can use to make sound business decisions.  

Connecting BI Data with ERP and Other Applications

With the challenges understood and your team fully on board for a business intelligence implementation, it’s time to connect your BI tool to your ERP and other applications. 

Typically, your ERP will contain key master data for your company. This can include information like your customers, suppliers, chart of accounts, assets, and a variety of other data sets that define how the detailed transactional data will be recorded. 

It’s important to remember that your other systems are usually dependent on this master data. So, for example, for your asset management (EAM) system to work properly, it will need data from an ERP system, such as asset IDs and a chart of accounts, to schedule equipment maintenance and to provide asset data to your BI tool. Another example is how your CRM needs customer information to send sales to the ERP that’s going to be billed. Either the CRM or the ERP could then provide this data to the BI tool. 

With both of these examples, the EAM and CRM typically contain details that are not in your ERP. A BI tool, on the other hand, can bring that data together for proper analysis for these systems and many others. 

Long Term Considerations

Despite your eagerness to get your BI implementation going as soon as possible, there are some long-term considerations that must be made to ensure a quality BI solution. 

First and foremost, it’s important to define the overall governance and oversight of your BI system. Yes, your IT department can own the tool and facilitate the overall process of the implementation, but it’s imperative that the business is the one that knows what the data means and how it should be utilized. 

Secondly, data ownership never ends, and, just like the previous point, your business, not IT department, should take charge of this. BI must be maintained constantly, and it’s important to balance data retention with newly added data. 

Finally—and perhaps most importantly—you should start your implementation small and then thoughtfully build on that. The last thing you want to do is build a “Franken-system” with numerous disconnected parts and teams that are not on the same page. Rome wasn’t built in a day, nor should your comprehensive BI implementation. 

This was the second of a three-part series on Business Intelligence. You can check out the first article here. The third article, which will be available in a couple of weeks, will give insights on how to find the right BI tool and implementation partner for your company. As always, we look forward to your comments and feedback.

This post was originally published by CTR. CTR was acquired by AST in January 2023. 

Posted on by AST LLC Posted in Business Intelligence, Data, Latest News — No Comments ↓

In an increasingly analytics-driven world, it is imperative that businesses conduct their decision-making based on having the right data on hand. This philosophy is commonly referred to as business intelligence (BI), and it has become quite the hot issue as of late. 

An Introduction to Business Intelligence

In short, business intelligence uses software and services to convert data into action. It combines business analytics, data mining tools, data visualization, infrastructure, and best practices that empower a company to make decisions based on—you guessed it—data! Through reports, dashboards, summaries, graphs, charts, maps, and more, business intelligence gives companies detailed knowledge and insight into the state of their operations. 

How do you know if you have business intelligence? If you have a comprehensive view of your company’s data and then can use it to drive positive change, adapt to a dynamic market, and get rid of any inefficiencies, then you have it.

Business Intelligence Concepts

Generally speaking, there are two concepts about Business Intelligence you should understand:

Data consolidation is the process of accessing data in a database, either on-premise or in the cloud, from more than one source so that it can be logically joined together. This could be a copy or a pointer to the data. Think of a data warehouse—which can then be used for analytical processing. 

Data presentation is taking that consolidated data and then showcasing it in various forms, like charts, funnel reports, simple metrics, and so on. From here, business intelligence users can determine key performance indicators (KPIs) which will help them evaluate the progress and success of a certain operation.

What Are the 5 Benefits of Business Intelligence?

1. Faster, Better-Informed Decision Making

With more data comes more factual information about how your business is operating, which gives you the power to make better, more informed decisions at a moment’s notice.

2. On-Demand Insights

Because it is capable of instantly connecting with an array of data, BI software gives you real-time information. This lets you analyze and visualize data to identify trends and point out any operational outliers. 

3. Improved Customer Knowledge and Support

BI software is integral for organizations that wish to understand their customers on a much deeper level. With such knowledge, you can optimize marketing campaigns and customer service to serve current customers better and attract new ones. 

4. Improve Your ROI 

With more data comes better decision-making, and with better decision-making comes a higher return on investment. BI software can help your organization determine where you need to cut costs while also telling you which areas of your business provide a higher ROI. That way, you can focus less on initiatives that don’t make money while putting more energy towards those that do.

5. Predict and Prepare for the Future

It may sound like magic, but proper BI software will not only help you analyze how things are going right now, it can also allow you to effectively plan for the future. With predictive analytics, you can get a firm grasp on where your company is heading and identify new revenue opportunities.

Over the next few weeks, we will be publishing additional episodes on this series covering: 1) How to plan when considering a BI implementation and 2) How to find the right BI tool for you. We look forward to your comments and feedback. 

This post was originally published by CTR.  CTR was acquired by AST in January 2023.  

Posted on by AST LLC Posted in diversity, Human Resources, Latest News, People, Top Workplace, Workplace — No Comments ↓
HRO Awards
HRO Awards

Lisle, IL September 16, 2021: AST today announced that it has been named ‘Most Admired Employer Brand’ in the Technology Industry by HRO Today, recognizing AST’s efforts in promoting its employer brand through innovative digital campaigns and best practices. 

 

HRO Today’s Most Admired Employer Brand Awards were established to honor and acknowledge in imitable achievements in employer branding. The independent research firm evaluates each company’s entry based on various categories, including the scope of the employer brand campaign, the extent to which the Employer Value Proposition (EVP) was designed via research, and the integration of the employer brand into internal or external communications. Nominees are evaluated based on examples of how the employer brand was innovatively articulated. AST and other award nominees faced challenges like never before and rose to the top to guarantee the organizations continued to be employers-of-choice during uncertain times.


“We strive for inclusive excellence as a team. At AST, people are the center of every decision made. My team and I make every effort to enhance our workplace culture by continuously collecting feedback to adapt to our people’s needs and desires inside and outside the workplace. We are committed to creating an engaging and inclusive workplace where our people are valued and encouraged to accelerate their career goals. Being recognized as the Most Admired Brand in the Technology Industry by HRO Today further acknowledges our people-centered culture,” states Teresa Stanula, Vice President of Global Human Resources at AST.

AST fosters a culture of inclusivity and innovation at every level of the organization with guiding leadership tenets of Teamwork, Trust, Accountability, Integrity, and Resiliency. All doors are open and all ideas matter, giving AST’s people the ability to quickly understand its customers’ needs and translate those needs into action. The results reveal AST’s strengths and reflect its Core Values: Quality, Innovation, and Customer Success.

HRO Awards

HRO Awards

“My team and I take great pride in the innovation and, most importantly, our inclusivity for AST’s employer brand. People at every level of the organization are committed to the shared vision of ‘One AST’ – people at the center of everything. To be recognized as the Most Admired Brand in the Technology Industry truly exhibits AST’s commitment to its people,” says Camille Xoxakos, Senior HR Analyst at AST LLC.

About HRO Today

HRO Today is a national program that recognizes companies with the best-aligned HR practices, cultivating competencies for the future, performance-oriented culture, and having a groundbreaking employee engagement strategy.

This national program awards organizations that go above and beyond to promote, strengthen, diversify, and support their cultures. Awards are presented annually in North America across several industries, including business services, financial services, healthcare, hospitality, manufacturing, and technology.

About Applications Software Technology (AST) LLC

AST is an award-winning, full-service enterprise solution provider, guiding digital transformation for clients in the Government and Commercial Sectors for more than two decades. Clients look to AST for leadership and assistance in transforming their organizations via software solutions, process engineering, and change management.

From cloud technology to legacy on-premises applications, AST’s services encompass all aspects of SaaS, PaaS and IaaS. AST also offers flexible Managed Services, supporting the needs of over 200 customers around the globe.

Posted on by AST LLC Posted in Data, Latest News — No Comments ↓

In our previous article, we discussed what to plan for when implementing business intelligence (BI). Some of the issues to consider were the quantity vs. quality of data as well as determining who owns the data within your organization. We also discussed the process of connecting your BI data with your ERP and other applications before finally going over some long-term considerations to keep in mind.

Now that your organization has its BI implementation plan all mapped out, it’s time to look for the right BI tool!

What to look for in a business intelligence software

Not all BI software is created equally. There are numerous options available on the market, and it can be tricky to find the right one for your organization.

There are two main features of a BI software you need to consider before committing: extraction and presentation.

Extraction

Extracting data from your ERP software and other applications can certainly be done manually, but that is extremely inefficient and prone to human error. A BI software will automatically extract that data for you and then export it into a more convenient format. It is even possible that the tool could just point to the source data and not even have to extract it. BI data extraction is integral to understanding your customer base, tracking sales, and determining marketing strategies, as well as giving you a firm grasp on your financial situation and budgetary constraints. As such, it’s imperative that you and your team tell your BI implementation partner exactly what things you want to track.

Presentation

BI data presentation is the process of taking the data you’ve extracted and converting it into a format that can be easily understood and used by business decision-makers. BI softwares generally present data through: visualizations, dashboards, and reports. Visualization tools help transform complex data sets into graphical formats that are easier to understand. Furthermore, dashboards provide an overview of key metrics and KPIs, while reports offer more detailed insights into specific areas of interest. By ensuring that BI data presentation is done correctly, you can make better use of your data and, thus, improve your decision-making processes.

How do you find the right partner to implement your BI software?

When looking for a BI software partner, look for someone who understands your business and can provide the right support.

The first step is to identify your needs and objectives. What do you want to accomplish with your BI? Are you trying to improve your customer service ratings? Are you looking to decrease operational costs wherever possible? Take some time with your team to determine exactly what your goals are and how your BI tool should support you.

Once you know what you’re looking for, you can start searching for a BI software partner. Look for companies that have experience in your industry and with the type of data you’re dealing with. It’s also important to consider the size of the company and its resources. You want to make sure they have the ability to support your project from start to finish. Finally, you’ll want to consider the price. A BI implementation can be expensive, so you’ll want to find a partner that can offer a competitive price without sacrificing quality or service.

What’s the best way to implement a BI project?

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to the question of how best to implement a business intelligence project. The most important thing is to tailor your approach to the specific needs and constraints of your organization. With that said, there are some general principles that can guide you in developing an effective BI implementation strategy.

First, it’s important to get buy-in from all stakeholders. This means getting everyone on board with the project from the beginning and ensuring that they understand its purpose. If your team is not 100% behind your BI project implementation, more than likely, it’s going to fail.

Next, as we’ve already discussed, you need to have a clear understanding of your goals and objectives.

Thirdly, you need to put together a team of expert BI professionals. This team should include experts in data analytics, data visualization, and database management.

Finally, you need to create a detailed plan that outlines each phase of the implementation process as well as identifying which data sources will be used and how they will be analyzed. We suggest that you start small and learn how best to utilize BI effectively and then build upon that.

By following these guidelines, you can increase the chances of success for your BI project.

This post was originally published by CTR. CTR was acquired by AST in January 2023. 

Posted on by AST LLC Posted in Culture, diversity, Latest News, Office Culture, People, Workplace — No Comments ↓

Application Software Technology (AST) is proud to announce that we have joined the growing alliance to advance diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Justin Winter, CEO at AST, has taken the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™ and pledged to commit himself and AST to advance diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

By signing on to this commitment, AST is pledging to take action to cultivate a workplace where diverse perspectives and experiences are welcomed and respected, and where employees feel encouraged to discuss diversity and inclusion. The collective of nearly 2,000 CEOs has already shared more than 1,400+ best-known actions, exchanging tangible learning opportunities and creating collaborative conversations via the initiative’s unified hub, CEOAction.com.

“At AST, we believe we are better together. Diversity and inclusion are complex issues to navigate, but if we avoid constructive conversation about our differences, communication deteriorates and productivity suffers,” stated Justin Winter, CEO of AST. “I am proud AST has taken the CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion pledge. Exceptional innovation begins when ideas come from all walks of life, facing challenges in creative ways others might not see. When we open ourselves to diverse perspectives, we can face challenges head-on and solve the most complex issues in business and society.”

By joining the CEO Action Pledge, AST is taking a step toward creating positive change for a better future. A diverse and inclusive workforce facilitates community, but also drives innovation and creativity. A study found that 85 percent of those surveyed reported that diversity is a crucial component to fostering innovation.

 CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™ is cultivating a new type of ecosystem centered around collaboration and sharing. The actions taken by AST, available via CEOAction.com, showcase real-life examples of cultivating a more diverse and inclusive workplace.

AST represents one of many companies in the Information Technology & Services industry. By joining together to tackle this critical societal issue, we hope to cultivate more diverse and inclusive workplaces in our industry. The addition of new signatories expands the impact of this work beyond the office to communities and industries.

The CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™ is led by a steering committee of CEOs and leaders from Accenture, BCG, Deloitte US, The Executive Leadership Council, EY, General Atlantic, KPMG, New York Life, Procter & Gamble, and PwC. The coalition represents 85 industries, all 50 US States, and millions of employees globally.

To learn more about the pledge, visit CEOAction.com. The website serves as a hub for information sharing, idea generation, and program development. With more than 1,400+ best-known actions shared, companies that are not currently implementing the pledge elements can use it as an opportunity to learn from others that are already doing so. Learning from and sharing actions help companies drive greater engagement within their programs, as well as mentor others on their journey.

About CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™

CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™ is the largest CEO-driven business commitment to advance diversity and inclusion within the workplace. Bringing together nearly 2,000 CEOs of America’s leading organizations, the commitment outlines actions that participating companies pledge to take to cultivate a workplace where diverse perspectives and experiences are welcomed and respected, employees feel comfortable and encouraged to discuss diversity and inclusion, and where best known—and unsuccessful—actions can be shared across organizations. Learn more at  CEOAction.com and connect on Twitter: @CEOAction.

 

Posted on by AST LLC Posted in Cloud Platform: Integration, Integration, Latest News — No Comments ↓

Over the course of the next few weeks, we’ll be taking a deep dive into one of the most important but often overlooked aspects of cloud operations: Integrations. Before we discuss how integrations are done and why your company should consider them, we must first explain exactly what they are!

Simply put, an Integration is when all your data becomes consistent and auto-populated across multiple software systems. This means that the data you see in one application is exactly the same in another. 

In the early 2000s, it was believed that, by this time, there would only be a handful of large Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) products being used by the majority of companies. As a result, there was no need for any type of integration tools because it was assumed that each of these ERPs would have end-to-end processes built right into the product. Process flows like “Procure to Pay” and “Order to Cash” would be done in a single program. Sure, there would always be data extraction tools that would feed information from one application to another, but that would be monitored by highly-skilled IT technicians. 

What happened over the next decade, however, was the complete opposite of what was expected. Numerous industry and function-specific software burst onto the scene, and it became the norm for companies to use half a dozen or so ERPs in their day-to-day operations. 

With such a diverse selection of ERPs to choose from, the issue of Data Integration became larger and more critical by the day. Data needed to be shared across multiple platforms, and companies spent huge amounts of time re-entering that data into their many applications. 

For example, A company might enter their supplier’s information into sourcing software, like Coupa, for quoting and qualifying purposes. When that quote turned into an accepted bid, they would need to create a purchase order in Oracle Cloud ERP. After a while, they would receive the product from the supplier in Coupa and have to manually update it in Oracle to match their payables. Finally, they might have been using different software to handle their payments, like Apptivo, to finish the transaction. 

In other words, a company would have to use 3 different programs for one transaction and, worse, they would have to re-enter new data separately into each of those programs. That’s a lot of time spent on one task when it could have been used to generate more sales and increase revenue. 

With an Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) tool, however, data re-entry is automated and self-populated across multiple ERPs or other applications. Tools like Dell Boomi, MuleSoft, and Oracle Integration Cloud empower companies with the ability to implement integration projects involving any combination of cloud and on-premises software. A good iPaaS solution provides efficient and nimble integration development, API management, and a wide variety of pre-built connectors to satisfy almost all integration needs.

When considering an iPaaS tool, it should include the following:

  • The ability to integrate a variety of Cloud and legacy on-premises applications
  • Availability of pre-built connectors and templates for accelerated development
  • Cloud-specific functions, like elasticity, multi-tenancy, and cloud provisioning
  • The ability to monitor and manage application flows across software and environments
  • Robust security and governance capabilities
  • Distributed, scalable architecture to meet the organizations’ requirements
  • Adaptability to the cloud, on-premises, and hybrid environments

 

This post was originally published by CTR.CTR was acquired by AST in January 2023. 

Posted on by AST LLC Posted in Awards, Culture, Latest News, People, Top Workplace — No Comments ↓

AST is honored to announce that we have been awarded one of Chicago’s Best and Brightest Companies to Work For, 2021. The Best and Brightest Companies to Work For® is a national program that provides the business community with the opportunity to gain recognition, showcase their best practices, and demonstrate why they are ideal for employees to work.

Every year, companies throughout the greater Chicago region compete to be named one of “Chicago’s Best and Brightest Companies to Work For®.” Only companies that distinguish themselves as having the most innovative and thoughtful human resources approach can be bestowed this honor.

With over 20 years of experience conducting the Best and Brightest competitions, the National Association for Business Resources (NABR) has identified numerous best Human Resource practices and provided benchmarking for companies that continue to be leaders in employment standards. The independent research firm evaluates each company’s entry based on various categories.

These include Compensation, Benefits, and Employee Solutions; Employee Enrichment, Engagement, and Retention; Employee Education and Development; Recruitment, Selection and Orientation; Employee Achievement and Recognition; Communication and Shared Vision; Diversity and Inclusion; Work-Life Balance; Community Initiatives and Strategic Company Performance.

“Having competitive people practices starts with listening to our people. At AST, people are the center of everything, and every decision made. My team and I strive to provide the best possible experience for our employees. We continuously gather feedback and evolve our people practices creating an inclusive and engaged culture to empower the AST workplace of the future,” stated Teresa Stanula, Vice President of Global Human Resources at AST.

At AST, we foster a culture of inclusivity and innovation at every level of the organization with our leadership tenets to guide us: Teamwork, Trust, Accountability, Integrity, and Resiliency. All doors are open, and everyone’s ideas matter, giving our people the ability to quickly understand our customers’ needs and translate those needs into action. The results reveal our strengths and reflect the Core Values AST operates on Quality, Innovation, and Customer Success.

“People at AST take deep pride in their work and collaborate together to deliver world-class digital transformation solutions for our customers.  To be recognized as a Best and Brightest Company further acknowledges our people and the strength of our inclusive, One AST culture. I am committed to our people at AST and couniting to provide them the best experience with an abundance of opportunity,” pledged Justin Winter, CEO at AST LLC

About the Best and Brightest to Work For® Program

The Best and Brightest Companies to Work For® is a national program that provides the business community with the opportunity to gain recognition, showcase their best practices, and demonstrate why they are ideal for employees to work. This national program celebrates those companies that are making better business, creating richer lives, and building a stronger community as a whole. It is presented annually in several markets, including Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Miami, Milwaukee, Nashville, New York, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, West Michigan, and Nationally.

Posted on by AST LLC Posted in Cloud ERP, Enterprise Applications, Enterprise Performance Management, Enterprise Resource Planning, Latest News — No Comments ↓

Technology implementations are always complex: There are new processes to plan for, vendors to manage, timelines and budgets to track, training, and on and on. After many NetSuite implementations, I’ve noticed some common mistakes that organizations should take note to avoid. Yes, you can and should rely on your system integrator to advise you, but you also need to be aware of these seemingly small issues that can become big headaches if not managed correctly.

Mistake #1: Missing the “all in” budget

Everyone has a budget for a technology project, but it often doesn’t account for everything that’s needed for a successful implementation. Lots of organizations have the “Get it done NOW!” mentality, which causes everyone to rush the process and set unrealistic expectations about what’s actually needed for success.

Look at the total impact of your project and account for everyone’s time and cost. Be as honest as possible with yourself about how much of your resources’ time you can commit. If you plan for the team to give 50 percent of their time, but you only get 25 percent, you will have some fairly large delays.

To avoid this, be aware of and honest about your company’s experience. If your SI is a good one, they should ask thorough questions at the beginning of the project so you are aligned on resources, skillsets, and budget. They can help you build out an “all in” budget that covers every piece that will need to happen during the implementation, as well as what’s realistic for operating and maintaining the technology after the go-live.

Mistake #2: Avoiding change

Avoiding change can manifest itself in several ways, but customization is a common one. I’ve seen companies try to minimize change so much that they demand a lot of customizations of the new product, and by the end, they’ve customized themselves right back into the constraints of their legacy systems. Change is inevitable, so lead your team to crawl, walk and then run throughout each piece of the project so they can adapt and maximize the use of the new technology.

Also, don’t introduce change too late in the game: Change becomes more expensive the further you get into the project. If there needs to be a change in your project, don’t avoid it. Bring it up to your SI as soon as possible; there may still be costs associated with it, but the costs will be lower than waiting until later.

Mistake #3: Migrating and integrating everything

Be very honest about which data you actually need. Your first instinct might be to move over everything. But if you take a look at what you actually need, the reality could be a fraction of that. Organizations rarely use most of the data after it’s moved, so being honest about what’s actually needed will save a lot of project/service time and give you much better value-add.

When it comes to integrations, be aware of what you need now and what you need in the near future. If you have something you want to change eventually, don’t spend time and money integrating it into a tool that will soon end up in the garbage anyway. Take a hard look at your roadmap and challenge your teams to avoid throw-away work. Also, consider what you integrate; companies that tend to hook up everything doesn’t get much value from integrating older tools. They would’ve been better off retaining access to those tools than spending a budget on a lot of heavy lifting for an integration that doesn’t provide much use.

Mistake #4: Minimizing how important people are

This goes for the people on your team and the people on your SI team. For the SI side, take a good look at their deep technical skills but don’t downplay the culture. If you have cultural differences, those can cause more conflicts than you may realize. In addition, the SI’s sales and delivery teams should feel aligned; if the salespeople sound very different from the delivery people (if the salesperson will even let you talk with the delivery folks), that’s a red flag. But if the SI presents itself with one goal and appears to work together, then alignment will likely continue through their engagement with you.

For your team, don’t wait until the last minute to engage the end users. Involving the field teams or store teams is imperative for a technology implementation. They should understand what you’re trying to do and why and be allowed to give input. If not, you risk building something that doesn’t actually support the work, responsibilities or expectations of the people who are accountable for using it. If you want IT to be self-sufficient a month after the go-live, but they’re not involved until the last 30 days, then you jeopardize the entire project (even with the best implementation).

NetSuite provides top-notch training, so take advantage of it. They have the proper approach to training people before the project starts, and they provide good license costing; they have two built-in releases per year, so you don’t have any surprising license cost increases.

Proper planning and honesty

The mistakes I’ve outlined here can happen to any organization, but they’re more likely to occur when planning is rushed or when unrealistic expectations are set. Don’t set yourself up for hardship before the project even begins! A good SI will help guide you and ask the tough questions, but you know your team’s skills and capacity the best: Take the time to do thorough planning and set honest expectations of your time and effort.

 

This post was originally published by CTR. CTR was acquired by AST in January 2023. 

Posted on by AST LLC Posted in CPQ, Latest News, Manufacturing, Oracle, Oracle Cloud — No Comments ↓

Many organizations have become “numb” to the errors in their quoting and selling processes, chalking it up to the “cost of doing business” and building loss into every transaction. This blind acceptance of costly inefficiencies is chronically limiting business outcomes.  

Attend our virtual customer panel event on Thursday, June 3 at 1 PM CDT to learn how you can achieve a synergy of strategy and strength with AST and Oracle Configure Price Quote (CPQ) Cloud. 

Our guest speakers, who are first-hand users of the solution, will detail their experiences, from the struggles endured before implementation, to the process of modernizing sales operations, and how Oracle CPQ Cloud is transforming the manufacturing industry.   

  • Manish Khot, Project Manager for Commercial Technology and Analytics, Ingersoll Rand 
  • Arjun Sagaram, CPQ Practice Manager and Architect, Ingersoll Rand 

Attendees will hear directly from these professionals about how they have achieved:  

  • A streamlined quote-to-order process 
  • Decreased time-to-quote 
  • Reduced costs  
  • More data for analytics  
  • Increased revenue  

Discover the key to improved customer satisfaction and loyalty with shortened sales cycles, improved order accuracy, and lower operational costs.   

Join us to discuss the intersection of strategy and strength:  AST’s best-in-class, 360-degree thinkers, combined with the force multiplier that is Oracle CPQ Cloud, providing a powerful synergy for manufacturing success.