improvements that we have experienced resulting from the SAP installation include more accurate expenditure control. Head of Departments have been enabled to see not only what the business has been invoiced for, but also what their sections have committed to in terms of spending. We have built an actual engineering store and we have managed it according to SAP principals. It allowed us to be more accurate with the Rand value of spares that we kept, it has improved our accuracy on the specific spares on hand for planned maintenance activity and we ended up having better information on the efficiency of our maintenance. We were able to say after six months of reporting which machinery was maintained at acceptable costs and which had to be replaced. We also followed the standardised part numbering system. This has streamlined the ordering of parts from BIG.

Our plant maintenance approach has changed from reactive to proactive due to us performing planned maintenance. And we even experienced improved information around breakdowns. We could therefore calculate Mean Time to Failure. This measurement reflected the frequency of breakdowns, the time between breakdowns, the repair time and the repair cost. It enabled us to determine the cost effectiveness of repairing a piece of equipment versus replacing it.

We also made some organisational structure changes. The engineering and production

teams merged into one team. All team members have a KPI on the number of cases produced. It has eliminated much of the inter-departmental blaming that occurred historically.”

CCSB experienced was around expensive change requests. Micheal gave some advice for organisations that needed to change their operating system. “Know exactly what you want the system to do and learn what the system can do before you agree on a specific package. Involve all the sections in your organisation while you are scoping the project. Another suggestion is to dedicate the staff that you identify as the business process experts. I know that is not always possible for organisations, but you run the risk of an inferior installation if you don’t put the correct human resources behind the project.

involve, but also the amount of time they can dedicate to the project. You have to also involve the actual staff that will use the system to ensure that all processes have been documented correctly. And solicit input from other organisations in the same industry. Ask them what their learnings and processes where.

at the end of the day. It will ensure you are able to run your organisation more cost effectively and efficiently.”

September 2011 | Management Today 65 Lastly, stick to the system processes that result This does not just include the people you The only major teething problem that