USING BPM TO ACHIEVE MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX SUCCESS IN MIDSIZED MANUFACTURERS

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1 MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX IMPLEMENTATION SUCCESS WITH BPM USING BPM TO ACHIEVE MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX SUCCESS IN MIDSIZED MANUFACTURERS RAPID VALUE: BUSINESS PROCESS MANAGEMENT FROM COLUMBUS

2 HOW SMALL AND MIDSIZED COMPANIES BENEFIT FROM BPM The acquisition and implementation of an ERP system is a watershed moment for any manufacturing or distribution company. Very often, when one speaks to the decision makers and project leaders some years later, they are keenly aware of errors, risks, and inefficiencies that might have been avoided or mitigated during the ERP project. Many times, that includes a new appreciation of business processes as cornerstones of ERP and organizational success. We have found that in many midsize manufacturing companies roughly, organizations with anywhere from $10 million to $250 million in annual revenue the awareness of business processes as a valuable asset is not as high as in large enterprises. As a result, when these companies plan a Microsoft Dynamics AX implementation, they are often not thinking about making process improvements a factor in increasing overall productivity. Outside of remedying obvious inefficiencies, business and technology stakeholders will often be satisfied if the ERP system supports the company s roles and processes that are currently considered effective. Documenting the as-is state of business processes and mapping out desirable to-be process states may not seem like an approach that yields tangible results within a reasonably short timeframe. In midsize companies, business process management (BPM) and business process optimization can sound like expensive luxuries for which only enterprises can spare the time and resources. About ColumbusManufacturing ColumbusManufacturing is widely recognized worldwide as a leading software solution that meets the specific needs of manufacturing and distribution companies. Built on Microsoft Dynamics AX and designed for affordability, flexibility and outstanding user experience, it meets specific manufacturing requirements and scales and upgrades with minimal customizations. Optimizing production, managing product complexity and meeting customer requirements are just some of the benefits touted by ColumbusManufacturing clients.

3 LOW-RISK MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX PROJECTS AND LASTING PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS It is no longer the case that enterprises are the only beneficiaries of BPM and BPM-enhanced ERP deployments. In the Columbus ERP practice, we provide a powerful, flexible solution that has proven its value in many midsize and larger businesses worldwide, ColumbusManufacturing. To simplify and accelerate ERP implementations and help companies devise and deploy more productive business processes, we take advantage of BPM by means of our BPM tool, Columbus RapidValue. With RapidValue for Manufacturing, BPM becomes resource-efficient and practical for midsize businesses. By keeping the focus on what makes companies and their ERP systems productive and successful, RapidValue lets you take advantage of your ERP project to establish processes that contribute to the organization s long-term profitability and competitiveness. RapidValue streamlines BPM to emphasize what is most important for midsize companies reducing risk, cost, and complexity; accelerating the completion of the ERP deployment and its yield of tangible business results; and simplifying efforts by incorporating sound industry-best practices in your ERP system and business processes. RapidValue-driven BPM ensures that the ERP implementation supports the company s strategy and goals, and advances at a swift pace with minimal risk. Working with RapidValue for Manufacturing, you perform process and solution modeling all from within Microsoft Dynamics AX, maintaining the same technology environment consistently throughout your BPM activities. This eliminates the use of disparate systems, which is usually inefficient and costly. And, when your midsize manufacturing business grows into the enterprise realm through mergers and acquisitions, opens locations in other countries, and gains a presence in new markets, RapidValue is an excellent tool for adjusting ERP system and business processes to sustain this growth. Six Main Benefits of BPM for Midsize Manufacturing Companies Efficient, low-risk and fast moving ERP deployment with broad user adoption Standardized implementation to minimize costs and effort of managing, upgrading, and scaling technology Proven, industry-best process and role templates to simplify business activities and make them more productive Low-cost, consistent, contextual employee training in Microsoft Dynamics AX system and company processes Ability to manage process and organizational change Powerful resource for charting the company s growth and evolution

4 Business Process Management and business process optimization are no longer luxuries for large enterprises. INDUSTRY AND PROCESS EXPERTISE TO IMPROVE MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX AND OPERATIONS It is not worthwhile to simply replicate your current processes in Microsoft Dynamics AX without investigating the opportunity to improve them and ensure their strategic relevance. Early in your ERP project, you document in the BPM tool the business and manufacturing processes that your Microsoft Dynamics AX solution needs to support, and you identify ways to make them as well as the roles who perform and interact in them, more productive. In this effort, you don t start from scratch. We have analyzed and documented optimized business processes and organizational roles in hundreds of consulting engagements in manufacturing companies of all types and sizes. The results of thousands of implementations are part of the RapidValue for Manufacturing content that you can draw on in your Microsoft Dynamics AX ERP deployment and process optimization. SIMPLIFYING MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX DEPLOYMENTS WITH A STANDARDIZED SOLUTION During the implementation, we stay as close to standard ColumbusManufacturing and standardized processes as possible, which reduces the cost and complexity of day-to-day management as well as future upgrades. A close-to-standard deployment will also make it easier to scale your solution to additional users, business groups, and locations. When it s time to integrate Microsoft Dynamics AX with specialized systems, standard integrations and configurations once again keep manageability and scalability high while workloads and expenses can remain controlled and reasonable.

5 Columbus demonstrated their expertise in both the product and the manufacturing sector which gave us the confidence that they would help deliver a successful implementation. A Columbus Customer Throughout the initial deployment and the life of the system, RapidValue for Manufacturing serves as the content repository for all documentation, definitions, workflows, project milestones, processes, and role descriptions that apply to your organization. Instead of a document-centric practice that is as inefficient as it is common in many companies and projects, you gain from a centralized knowledge management resource that helps to maintain the momentum of your Microsoft Dynamics AX project by making important information available to stakeholders. ENABLING ORGANIZATIONAL PRODUCTIVITY WHILE MANAGING CHANGE The business environment in midsize manufacturing companies can be extremely dynamic. You can take advantage of your BPM tool to help manage organizational change when you need to adjust to changing business requirements, market trends, and competitive challenges. Over time, BPM can also help you transform your company s culture by enabling people to understand their contribution in the context of the processes they touch, and communicate more directly across teams and business groups. Key individuals can play an outsized role in any organization, but their impact can be comparatively larger in midsize companies than in enterprises. They tend to own a wealth of business and domain expertise, and it is not unusual for them to fulfill multiple functions. BPM with RapidValue for Manufacturing can help you reduce the dependency on key people and minimize the fallout if they should leave the organization. Starting with the validated, process-aligned role templates that already come with the tool, you can use RapidValue to document and design business roles, including their interactions with other roles and business processes, and maintain them in line with actual business needs no matter who fills them.

6 ACHIEVING HIGH TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION AND DELIVERING MEANINGFUL TRAINING BPM powered by RapidValue can help midsize companies accomplish more than successful, efficient, low risk ERP deployments based on process and role optimizations. There are many possible applications for RapidValue when businesses revise and enhance their processes and roles for sustained productivity. By providing companies with a centralized, highly usable tool to translate their goals and strategy into processes and roles, RapidValue helps them to reach the next stage in their maturation without the inefficiencies and disruptions that can accompany growth. That may entail, for example, translating industry best processes into new business units or subsidiaries. Or, companies may choose to use BPM to make improvements in certain areas. Some manufacturing companies, for instance have successfully used RapidValue to speed up the development of new products, ensuring that all requested and proposed enhancements receive consideration and can become part of the next iteration of a product if they are strategically sound. Other companies have made use of RapidValue to ensure efficient compliance with corporate or industry quality standards such as ISO norms. Customer Story A mid-sized manufacturing company producing goods for a number of markets including sports and leisure, packaging and the military was expanding into new markets, and was looking for a new ERP solution that would grow with the business. They worked with Columbus and Rapid Value on the implementation to map out their processes and to help them to stay as close to the standard solution as possible. This has enabled them to take advantage of the industry templates in Rapid Value and cut the cost of modifications, training and support. We have analyzed and documented optimized business and manufacturing processes and organizational roles in hundreds of consulting engagements in manufacturing companies of all types and sizes.

7 FOSTERING BUSINESS EVOLUTION Flagging user adoption is a significant risk in many traditional ERP deployments. Companies often struggle with motivating employees to adopt a new ERP system, especially if the new software tools clash with roles and workflows or if shortcuts compromised training. By shaping the Microsoft Dynamics AX deployment in such a way that it enhances and fits with how the company s people and processes work, BPM typically results in much faster and more widespread user adoption as well as broader use of the system s capabilities by employees. It was clear that Columbus knew what they were talking about, and had the resources and commitment to deliver, using people with an industry background who had implemented ERP solutions many times before. A Columbus customer RapidValue also helps you reduce the costs and effort associated with training employees in the company s business activities and the use of Microsoft Dynamics AX. You can use the solution to create training materials and contextual guidance for employees and publish this content to the Help system in your solution. Workers can on their own review how they figure in business processes and how they best make use of their new capabilities. When your company grows into other regions, you can use RapidValue s multi-language features to translate these materials into other languages. For a number of reasons, many organizations tend to cut corners when it comes to familiarizing employees with their systems and processes, or when they need to create training materials. By greatly simplifying this critical task, RapidValue eliminates a substantial risk from your Microsoft Dynamics AX deployment and your operation.

8 WANT TO KNOW MORE? For more information about Columbus, visit NEXT STEPS As companies newly implement or upgrade their solution, they can take advantage of value-driven BPM and Columbus RapidValue to transform business processes for greater productivity and ensure success by fully aligning their strategy, processes, resources, and technology systems. A Microsoft Dynamics AX deployment is a major milestone in the life of an organization. When done well, it can position a company for long-term viability, increased competitiveness, and sustained growth. More powerful and productive than any other approach, value-driven BPM helps you realize high-value, low-risk Microsoft Dynamics AX deployments or upgrades. To view a fourteen minute RapidValue demo, go to: or visit to find out more about RapidValue for Manufacturing. The Microsoft Dynamics AX implementation success with BPM series also includes: Thanks to our contributing authors: John Robinson, Norman Carmichael, John Petersen, Bjørn Pedersen and Petur Snaeland ABOUT COLUMBUS Columbus is an industry-based consultancy and award-winning technology developer focused on the manufacturing, food processing, and retail industries. We are the preferred consultancy for ambitious companies wanting to streamline business processes, improve operational efficiencies, reduce costs, and improve visibility into their businesses. Our approach to solving our clients issues can best be described as proactive. We challenge our clients traditional ways of thinking, help them see new opportunities for improvements, and take responsibility to drive change in their organizations. We ve delivered these business benefits for over 25 years to many of the leading companies worldwide. Columbus is a part of the registered trademark Columbus IT