Continuous Improvement Software

Continuous Improvement Software

Kaizen (改善), Japanese for "improvement", or "change for the better" refers to philosophy or practices that focus upon continuous improvement of processes in manufacturing, engineering, game development, and business management. It has been applied in healthcare, life-coaching, government, banking, and other industries. When used in the business sense and applied to the workplace, kaizen refers to activities that continually improve all functions, and involves all employees from the CEO to the assembly line workers. It also applies to processes, such as purchasing and logistics, that cross organizational boundaries into the supply chain. By improving standardized activities and processes, kaizen aims to eliminate waste.

Every company that grows and expends, would be implementing Kaizen in improving their operations to the next level. Similarly, the system and software that your company use must be ready to support the evolution of your continuous improvement process. If your software is fixed, like an inanimate object, a shirt, for example, as your company grows, surely your process cannot fit inside the fixed state of your software. You would then need to buy new shirts every few years as you have outgrown the capability of your software.

To check if your software is ready to support your company growth, you would need to check if your system has the following criteria:

Continually Version and Upgrades

Just like a company that practice Kaizen, the software also need to have continuous improvement. If you compare the software you purchased 2 years ago, with the same software you purchase now, you should be able to see that there are new features available. Software, like people, need to keep up with times, producing more features and capability to handle different evolving industrial standard process.

Web software are usually the best in this area. Web systems are designed for easy upgrades, with minimal impact on existing customers. Systems like Facebook and Google Applications, have monthly upgrades without the hassle of installing in all user PC, all because they are web-based and would just need a web-browser to access.

If you are purchasing new system, look for their new feature list, to ensure that the software you need, is getting better and better in fitting to your company's needs.

Flexibility in Configuration

Software must be dynamic enough to handle common differences in company process. After initial installation and settings, your company in the near future may have changes in the process definition. You may form a new department that handles only certain documents and products. Or your workflow process may now need more approval, or your commission scheme now includes different percentage for different level.

These are features that you may not use initially, but with them available in the system, it means that the software at least can handle not only your current needs, but have some flexible growth level for your company future needs.

Capability to Customize as Needed

As your company grow, your management may have created a totally new process plan, which is not supported by the current version of the software. In most company, you would then just have to set some of the process to be external from the software, to be done manually. This unfortunately is the company process limited to fit the software. What we need is actually, software that fit the company process.

When your company has continuous improvement process, you must consider also that your software, or software provider, is able to customize and code the system as to your need. Ensure that there is some development capability for the software to be modified to customized needs. Off-shelf systems are often harder to customize then web-based systems, but it should at least have the option to. If it is really fixed, then you would have to consider your company growth scale, compared with the current capability of the system.

Summary

Companies and software, are like people. They need to grow and improve themselves to be better in what they are doing. This is Kaizen process. So, if your company is practising Continuous Improvement Process, make sure your software not only supports this practice, it should also grows with you.

5 Essentials for Successful ERP Implementation

5 Essentials for Successful ERP Implementation

Sun Tzu's The Art of War is known as one of the most respected treatises on military strategy in history. But the Art of War deals with more than just military strategy; it also addresses issues of leadership, management skills, decision making and team building which is needed for a successful ERP implementation.

Upgrading your Accounting, Inventory and IT Software systems in your company can be compared with sending your army to war. Sun Tzu says 'In War, there is 5 essentials for achieving victory'. We will explore how this can help us in achieving successful ERP Implementation.

He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight

When implementing Accounting and Inventory Upgrade in your company, there will be of tasks vying the attention of the Project Manager. It is critical for the PM to be able to prioritize, and focus on what is important. Team members, vendors or staffs will bring to your attention issues which they think is urgent. But as Sun Tzu says, we need to know when to fight and when not to fight. Therefore, some issues would need to be knowingly delayed when they have lower impact to the project.

He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces.

We dream to implement a project with strong and capable team members. But this rarely happens, and in reality, most of the time you would need to deal with both great, and not so great. If your team comprise of inexperienced staff, then you will have a great challenge. However, with whatever resource available, you need to be able to handle and lead the team to victory.

Implementing a IT Upgrade Project with seniors would need different handling then if your team is made up of juniors. Seniors, even if experienced, may have their own views of the project plan, which you need to manage. Juniors on the other hand, would need more guidance and support. So, as Project Manager, one need to handle the resource you have to meet the project goals.

He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks

Team and company motivation to succeed is important for the success of the IT Implementation. The new system and process is a disruptive force to the company, therefore users need to be motivated to change to the new system, else they would find way to hold back to keep the status-quo of their current work. The Project Manager need to be able to keep the members and departments focused on the main objective of the IT implementation.

For the implementors, it will be a long process to change. With difficulties and challenges faced, the Project Manager must boost the team mentality to strive to do their best to achieve the goal they believe in. A cohesive team, under a strong Leader, can achieve more then what they can do individually, especially if they have team spirit.

He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared

Effective preparation is essential to the success of any project. As mentioned in the previous article, before starting the project, even at every stage of the implementation, you would need to ensure you have sufficient resources, understand the stage requirement well, and studied the potential problems and outcome. If you prepared well, the battle is half-won.

He will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign

The role of a Project Manager is to ensure the success of the Software Upgrade Project. When the person is assigned the role, he should be given sufficient decision authority to ensure Project Success. Nothing is more difficult then if the Management Project Sponsor, which is more often the Company Director or Owner, who wants to be 'hands-on' in the project. They may meant well, but in the end would really be just getting in the way.

If the Project Manager is capable, he should not only manage downstream, but upstream as well, giving assurance to the Boss of the project progress and plan. This should include getting sufficient information from the Project Owner on the expectations of the software. The Project Owner on the other hand, would need to provide clear and consistent objective to the Project Manager, allowing the project to have clear direction from the start.

Conclusion

Sun Tzu's Art of War has a lot of wisdom that can be applied to achieve successful Project Implementation. It contains much more advice on leadership and management advice, which we will cover in future articles. Eventhough these were written a long time ago, it surely can still be applied now!

Laying Plans for ERP Implementation

Laying Plans for ERP Implementation

So, your company have decided to upgrade your Accounting and Inventory software to a new ERP system. You have sent out invitations for Vendors to present the system to your company. What else is there to do? You would need to plan for this change.

Upgrading the Accounting and Inventory software is a big project for a company, but with a high potential for failure if not done properly. Survey shows that 50% of all ERP implementation fails. Therefore, your company cannot afford to fail by not planning for the ERP implementation.

To quote the famous strategist Sun Tzu:

“The general who wins a battle makes many

calculations in his temple ere the battle is fought.

The general who loses a battle makes but few

calculations beforehand.

Thus do many calculations

lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat:

how much more no calculation at all!

It is by attention

to this point that I can foresee who is likely to win or lose.”

The Moral Law

Maybe you are a business owner who after seeing your friend using smartphone to view reports, decided to change the system. Maybe you are a operation manager who newly joined the company and see that the software is using DOS and a lot of excel documents and then decide to change the system. Or it maybe your boss who asked for the upgrade.

However, to upgrade the ERP, it cannot be just one person that decided and push through for a new system. There have to be a solid and beneficial reason for the ERP implementation. One have to first setup the overall objectives of the ERP system, for each levels of the company. These level would include management, operation managers, as well as entry users.

Once the reason for the upgrade has been identified, everyone need to be briefed about this reason for change and then be made to be committed to making this happen. Top management need to commit time and resources. Operation managers need to commit time for study and advice on process flow. Entry level positions need commitment to learn new system and reports.

ERP implementation is a big process. It cannot succeed by itself, or with just a small group. It would need a whole company's commitment to ensure it's success. By identifying the reason of the upgrade, and ensuring everyone knows the direction and aligns themselves to the change, then the ERP success would be much closer.

The Commander

To direct the ERP project towards success, the project would need a dedicated project manager for this implementation. Too often, this position is given to the ERP Vendor, but this is not recommended. The vendor's project manager may not have the objectivity to think for your company first. Your company should assign a Project Manager from within your internal staff, to ensure the company view is taken cared of.

The Project Manager role most often is given to the IT Manager or the Operations Manager of the company. This Project Manager should have the following attributes:

• Wisdom to understand the current and future operation process of the system, and the objective of the software and the future direction of the company.
• Sincerity in giving the best for the company
• Benevolence in getting everybody's view and ensuring no one is left behind or disadvantaged during the process
• Courage to make difficult decisions and choices when encountering problems and bottlenecks
• Strict in ensuring new policy and schedules are met

You cannot have too many project managers for the project. Too many cooks spoil the porridge. When evaluating the project manager, one have to know that not everyone is suitable for this task. So, you have to decide carefully to ensure your company allocate the best person for this role.

Heaven

Preparation for the ERP project need to include creating a schedule which is in line with the company operation calendar and the resource available. ERP implementation is a disruptive force for the company. Therefore, one need to schedule the implementation to minimize the disruption to the company.

For example, if you can time the Accounting module start date to be after the year-end closing so you do not need to migrate or re-keyin the initial year's transaction. Your Inventory and Point of Sales systems also should be migrated after Raya sales, so reduce need for staff to learn new process flow and system during peak period.

It is important to factor in the additional time and resources needed for studying, training and implementation. If you overwork the people during the implementation, you not get the result you want but get more mistakes or problems. By preparing the correct schedule that will fit the business operation calendar, you will be assured of getting sufficient resource to focus on the upgrade.

Earth

One of the reason to upgrade your company software is to get a better system. To know what is better, you have to first understand what is the current software capability. Is this a standard system, or was the software modified before? Is there any special feature that is good in the current system that you wish to retain similar in the new system? What are the documents, reports, import/export and entries that the company are using? By understanding what the software is now, you can plan for what the software should be in the future.

Similarly, one would need to prepare and identify is the business and process flow of the organization. From quotation to payment in purchasing, to order and billing, as well as new item registration and commission calculation, one would need to be fully aware of the operational process of the company. This way, one can identify what new ERP software need to handle.

Another thing to prepare is the hardware and the IT infrastructure of the company. Do you need a better client PC to handle the new system? If you are targeting a web-based ERP for better control over multiple locations, you would need to check the availability of internet or data transfer procedure in all the locations. You may also need to purchase new servers for the new ERP system. Please do necessary preparation to ensure there is sufficient manpower and budget to handle IT requirements besides the ERP software itself.

Method and Discipline

Method and discipline is needed for the success of the ERP implementation. The project manager need to ensure the division of tasks among the company structure, ensuring each group leader is sufficiently capable of handling their operation task, and therefore, able to enforce the new process and system to the next level. The department head need to commit in making sure individual migration or training timeline is met for the ERP schedule.

There maybe resistance to change the software or the process by some levels in the company. The ERP system implementation would fail if the end-users are not involved from the start and in the end refused to accept ownership in the end. We would need to ensure we prepare sufficient case for upgrade of the system and keep the discipline of those responsible to be involved in the change process.

Finally, for the project, the company need to plan the communication path between the project manager, departmental person-in-charge, as well as with vendors, top management and end-users. Poor communications prevent different parts of the organization from assessing how they will be impacted by changes in processes, procedures and systems. Planning the communications is vital to managing change in a corporate environment.

Conclusion

Upgrading your current Accounting and Inventory system to ERP is not an easy one. You would have a better chance of a smooth and successful implementation if you prepare well for the project.

Evolution of IT Modernization

There is no doubt that IT can generate value to your business. But having just a computer and software in your company does not mean that IT has generated enough value to you. To achieve maximum value of IT, a company would undergo various stages of IT transformation before achieving it's full potential.

This article will explain the different stages of IT implementation maturity.



Computerization
The first transformation of a company to use IT is the replacement of paper process with data keyed into computer instead. This would immediately bring benefits of data now being able to be retrieved easily from the system, instead of inefficiency to do with paper. However, this is just the replacement of work from doing it on paper to be doing it in a computer instead.
Most companies have reached this stage of IT implementation, as they have their computers and standard software for their daily operations. They would be able to generate their reports and print their documents from the system.


Automation
When the company grows, they would find that with the company will face the same problem as before, that there is more and more work that needs to be done by the same headcount. Many companies who are not able to transform, would have to slow down their growth and expansion because of this issue. However, companies that brings their IT to the automation level will fly high.

By having IT automate the work of the staff, companies are able to gain more productivity from each employee. Things which computers are good at, should let computers to do, allowing employees to work on higher business level need of the company.

Automation tasks which IT should do are like commission calculation, where if manually staff is to do, would take days to generate. This saves not only manpower, but by opening up the commission to be daily commission, this boosts sales for salesman striving to meet sales target.

There are many processes which businesses can automate on. Do you see anything in your company which is manually done by your staff which you think IT can help in? Transform it to an automation program and reduce staff work!


Process Rationalization
Computerization and Automation would help centralize your business process and makes it faster. However, your business process is still just a migration from the previous paper-based process. Businesses needs to shift to the next paradigm of IT and Internet system and process. This level would be Process Rationalization of your business with IT.

Rationalized process would take advantage of IT to enhance your current process. If your normal process is for managers to sign off in all purchases, a rationalized process could be for the system to only show the managers purchases above certain amount that need his attention. If you have to look at a aging and post-dated cheque reports to find which customers to chase payment, a rationalized process would be for the system to find out and email out to you the customers that need your involvement.

In the rationalization process, the existing flow is optimized to remove unnecessary steps, and enhanced to add in more control to align closer to your business flow. When a business has reach this evolution, your business process would be unbinded from your paper trail, and more on data flow.


Integration
Now with your department already optimized to the new age of IT, the next phase of transformation for the company is to have an Integrated Process between the departments or with external parties. This reduces duplicate work done by different departments, and communications and aligning of data as well.

The most common data integration in the system is between inventory and accounting module. More complicated integration is between invoices and orders between companies within the same holding company. Instead of needing to key in both company accounts, this is automated and saves 2-4 times duplicate entries for the same document.

Bank Statement and Credit Card Reconciliation also takes a lot of manpower to be read when it's a paper-based statement sent to your company by the bank. Manually using the eye to view both results from the computer and the bank statement is prone to mistakes and is tedious for the accounting department. Computers can do the same logic again and again without being tired and complain, and with better result and accuracy. Integration your system with the bank's system output enhance your company productivity further.

Other integration includes EDI, and automated import / export functionality which saves manual process by clerks in a company


Strategic IT
The final step of IT transformation is for the company to be able to use IT to achieve Strategic IT advances. At this phase, the company would be able to make strategic decisions and benefits with information and recommendation provided by system and software.

Companies in retail use IT to transform their ordering process from manual centric calculation by buyers to an automated ordering system. The system would provide suggested order through product's pareto ratio, movement and sales trend calculation, allowing store operations to scale easily. Strategic reports like product ABC reports allow users to identify and take action only on the important items.

Managers of the company which has reached Strategic IT maturity are freed up to think about any company initiative, without thinking of constrains brought by manual process or IT system. IT in the company is matured into a level that it can support any new company plans for growth and expansion.


Final Words

With each IT maturity, it will bring a whole new set of IT benefits to the company. Which level do you think your company is in? How do you think IT can help you?

Xeersoft can lead IT transformation in your company. Please feel free to contact us at sales@xeersoft.com if you need more information.

Businesses need software…. Intelligent Software

Information Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said in March 2010 that Malaysia is confident of reaching 50% Internet penetration by year-end. Currently, the country stands at 33.3%. In business, 55% of IT spending goes on software and applications1. While more businesses are aware that IT plays a crucial part of their businesses, far lesser realized that they will need smarter and more intelligent software to compete in the market.

1. Intelligence

Software which merely helps in reducing paperwork and routine workload is not intelligent enough to ensure businesses survive in this challenging market condition. Larger companies are using software to generate sophisticated analysis and accurately forecast the future of their businesses. XeerSoft aims to help SMEs to understand and realize the importance of intelligent software.

2. Advanced Analysis and Reports

Analysis alone is not enough. Any spreadsheets software can generate graphs and charts in a snap. Advanced analysis allows dynamic data to be organized into valuable information, in turn helps instant bottleneck detection, precise decision making and assist in charting the outlook of your business.

3. “Crystal Ball”

If your software does not give you a crystal ball in hand to predict the future, it is not intelligent enough. To cite some examples, intelligent software should be able to forecast purchases based on advanced sales analysis even for seasonal items; foresee future stock levels in advanced so inventory can be managed efficiently; and focuses on products which bring the most income for the business instead of managing unproductive products.

Diagram 1 Traditional Replenishing of Stocks - when stock quantity reaches reorder level, purchasers will order back to the shelf level

Diagram 2 ABC Analysis analyses your core products which bring in the most profits to your business

4. Integrated and Automation

Intelligent software also allows most of your routine workload to be automated thus reducing manual labor. XeerSoft provides automated commissions calculation even to the most sophisticated commissions, automated bank matching in accounting and even credit card reconciliation. While each department in your business does their own work, intelligent software should be able to integrate among departments and organize data as whole for the whole company.

Just like you could not see the future without a crystal ball in hand, words alone could not describe enough what intelligent software is. Call us today at 03-9284 8286 for a no-obligation, one-hour edu-presentation on intelligent software.

1 http://www.malaysiasme.com.my/index.php/SME-News/SMBs-must-take-profit-seriously-to-survive-downturn.html

Is a VAT? Is a WHT? No… is a GST!

Is your software vendor prepared at all times for any upgrades?

While the GST has been called to halt for the time being, what other surprises will businesses get in the near future?

Changes and policies
Government policies can change overnight, rates can be altered and more changes are affecting businesses in one way or another. Businesses have been using Information Technology (IT) to sustain business, build relationships, increase sales, manage commissions and even control employees. Changes like Goods and Services Tax (GST) or Value-Added Tax (VAT) and in some countries Withholding Tax, are but a small and insignificant addition.

Impact on Changes
However, the impact could be huge. Are your staffs prepared of these changes? How many memos, faxes, reminders, emails and broadcasts are going to be sent out just for one small insignificant change? Is your IT system prepared for the changes and what are the costs of upgrade? Any additional trainings to your employees after upgrading your software? All these need to be countered in.

The XeerSoft Factor
Whether is Withholding Tax, VAT or GST, XeerSoft has the experience in implementing these taxes in Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. So, at XeerSoft, like it or not, we welcome GST as an opportunity to service our customers. No additional charges to upgrades and definitely no charges involved for extra trainings needed. Talk to us if you need to find out how XeerSoft services could assist your business by calling us at 03-9284 8286

Diagram 1: VAT implementation for a Vietnam based client

Diagram 2: Settings for Taxes – XeerSoft could assist your business

Diagram 3: Withholding Tax implementation for a XeerSoft in Thailand

First Credit Monitoring Services for SMEs

When I read the news, I was delighted to see our friend Alex posing for a picture in The Star. I met him at a Malaysia SME event and then another one during the SMI Association event. I thought this is cool to share as XeerSoft has many customers which are SMEs and therefore, it will be helpful to know.

Saturday January 16, 2010

SME Credit Bureau to launch country’s first Credit Monitoring Services for SMEs

By DALJIT DHESI

THE inception of the SME Credit Bureau Sdn Bhd in 2008 has given hope to credible small and medium enterprises (SMEs) seeking funds to expand their operations. At the same time, it has spared financial institutions the burden of screening trustworthy and reliable ones for financing.

The current internal credit rating system used by banks to assess SMEs takes only a micro view in the sense that it rates only SME customers without having a wider picture or other pertinent information on the SME market.

This is where the Bureau steps in. It offers SME credit risk rating, business review and business information reports to banks and SMEs.

The credit risk rating, according to chief executive officer Alex Lim, is carried out after getting the relevant information data of SMEs and later conducting credit rating specifically for each SME to facilitate financing. Information is extracted, among others, from the Companies Commission of Malaysia and Bank Negara.

“By using the default probability model we can gauge the likelihood of an SME’s ability to repay over the next 12 months. This is premised on their payment behaviour over the past 12 months.

(for picture - please browse to the site - link provided below)
Alex Lim ... ‘An effective CMS system will ensure that SMEs growth will not be hindered or affected by identity theft and fraud.’

“If they have been successful in making payments over the last 12 months then the probability of defaulting in payment is low and vice versa,” he tells StarBizWeek.

Another scale used in credit rating, he adds, is the percentile ranking which shows SMEs ability to pay relative to the entire SME universe. The higher the percentile ranking, the higher the SME’s ability to pay up the loan, he notes.

Having credible information and reliable data cuts down the bank’s processing time for applications of loans by average between 20% and 30%.

Having tied-up with US-based Dun & Bradstreet, he says, has enable the Bureau to localise and tap the expertise of its partner in credit ratings as the former has years of experience in the specialisation of solutions for credit bureaus worldwide. Dun & Bradstreet’s methodology has been used by credit bureau’s globally for more than two decades.

The Bureau at present has about 26,500 SME members fromover 500,000 SMEs in the country, and 38 member financial institutions. These include commercial banks, development financial institutions and Islamic banks.

SMEs wanting to be members must sign a contract with the Bureau. Based on the principal of reciprocity, they can only then access information if they provide authentic data to the Bureau.

Lim stresses that the Bureau does not provide any recommendations to extend or deny credit to SMEs, but rather aid them in building a track record and financial standing for facilitating funding.

He points out that the Bureau has spent millions to ensure that the data retrieved and stored is safe and not open to tampering or abuse. He says it will make significant investment over time in its bid to become a one-stop centre for credit information for financial institutions and SMEs.

To beef up its credit ratings and to curb fraud, the Bureau will launch on Feb 1 Malaysia’s first Credit Monitoring Services (CMS) for SMEs. Early this month, it introduced a similar service for financial institutions. The CMS system monitors key changes in banking and business information, trade credit information as well as credit ratings of SMEs.

These changes in data are then sent out as email alerts to SMEs who subscribe to the service.

By alerting them, Lim says the CMS can prevent fraud and identity theft as well as any discrepancies or changes to their credit information.

Identity theft occurs, for example, if an SME’s identity is used illegally to apply for credit, and changes to credit information occur when there is new loan applications, enquiries by financial institutions, and other credit guarantors and utilities related updates.

Apart from receiving email alerts upon changes of their information in the Bureau’s database, SMEs may also purchase the self enquiry report separately if more detailed information is required, he noted. A nominal fee of RM50 per year will be imposed on SMEs that wish to subscribe for the service.

“An effective CMS system will ensure that SMEs growth will not be hindered or affected by identity theft and fraud. It also ensures their business registry and credit information are kept updated and accurate to ensure their applications for financing will not be jeopardised by inaccurate or out dated credit information,” Lim says, adding that CMS will promote good credit culture among SMEs, which will ultimately lead to more credit facilities in less time.

Source: The Star Business