Page 12 - Logistics News June 2016

IT

It’s not what you bought
– it’s what you do with IT

By Doug Hunter, doug.hunter@mweb.co.za

Applying IT is like the application of any tool – if you don’t know what to do with it,
you’ll break something … but this time it could be your business.

THIS ARTICLE is not about the bleeding edge but
rather the bleeding obvious. Despite a plethora of
respectable advice, company executives still stride
confidently into the quagmire of acronyms and
oh-so-clever people.

IT is a world of myths and fairy tales. It’s the
heart of business strategy’s effective execution.
IT helps deliver customer promise, gives visibility
into how you perform and the profit you make.

First you purchase IT. This can be the ‘over-
promised land’. When engaging an IT supplier,
pick your ‘agent’ carefully – it’s about shared
understanding, demonstrated relevant knowledge,
interest in your needs.

And then you’ve got it, what now?

People you need to be, which may not be the same as
• Consider your company’s business maturity – where you want to be. Seek help to target this.
• Big Bang or phased – this is second nature
do your processes reflect effective processes for supply-chain professionals. Think cross-
and to what extent are your people ready for functional benefit to enhance service not just
discipline – not a beating but sticking to the optimise one function. Roadmap a sensibly
rules. Where you start from doesn’t matter, how challenging journey aligned with your future
you start does. Be honest. strategy, and it may be best to phase IT.
• Match maturity to business requirements – while
still thinking ahead, be careful appetite doesn’t Technical
overwhelm ability to digest new technology. • Data is huge, and your current data might not
• Paddling won’t teach you to swim but jumping
off the pier is risky – your first step may be be ‘clean’ enough to move forward. Time and
enable/automate good processes, or are you resources are needed here. Do not start with
ready to optimise, or both? Normally you seek dirty data.
control to gain accuracy and visibility but • Hardware and network infrastructure – get
understand that flexibility to bend the rules will professional help, not the PC vendor.
diminish. • Implementation methodology – milestone
• If you want something done ask the busy planning, make sure project management is
people – they know what needs to be known. overseen by a steering committee with executive
But plan time and support for them to teeth who own the end result.
contribute effectively. • Stress testing – before go-live, check hardware-
• Change is part of the deal – train/educate technical and software setup deliver the speed
people in new practices and screen working. you need, and volume/stress testing. Or you will
User acceptance testing of these new ways is die.
non-negotiable.

Process It’s hard to simplify your success but you must
• Understand where you are going – get help to as this will help your cardiovascular move into a
life hereafter. Good luck. •
map/document processes representing where

10 June 2016 | Logistics News