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Transporter 4: No Photocopies, Only Mirrors

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Preeti
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An interview with Manu Govind, Head-IT, Synthite Industries where he covers migration related issues like usability, adaptability and flexibility at top speed as he looks back at a ride with ERP and DW pieces.

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Tell us the backdrop to this decision?

Earlier we had a non-centralised solution. At the end-of-the-year we used to retrieve data from all over and plug into the main server. That was not continuous and needed a lot of manual consolidation apart from back-end tasks of copying things to another system. Syncing all the systems was a priority. Then the thought of a central system came. We had IBM Consulting do a system study for us. They spotted the need for a centralized solution. We considered some options and invited quotes from multiple vendors. We chose SAP ERP and Business Warehouse solutions. We had a confidence of three years with IBM and so we picked them as the implementation partner.

How was the next stage like? What points got your focus?

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Based on domains, teams were divided ad two core people from each department were put in. This entailed functions like purchase, marketing, finance etc. We then conducted multiple trainings as SAP was a different system in many ways. It took IBM seven months for implementing it and while they were at it, the old team worked closely with them to update the new system.

Did it lead to any re-engineering work?

When we were going ahead with the system, we realized that we need to add more elements. It's a reporting tool and including top-level views and updates was important. SAP has the same standard process, while our company had slightly different processes, so that called for a certain degree of customization. Adding more usability was another part. More response mechanisms made the system better. Adding an HCM module to this system became a top consideration.

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Any challenges or below-the-tip-of-iceberg issues?

Everything went well. The only minute part I can think of is that certain processes of SAP can not be necessarily as flexible as our old processes required. So exact replication should not be an expectation here. Some requirement can create a challenge there. With multiple requirements, educating the users becomes crucial. They need to be prepared with a mindset that exact photocopy of the past days is not possible.

No leaks or drops as you transported everything and everyone to a new place?

Everything went live successfully. IBM team and our team worked very closely and we looked into the transformation of users carefully. Earlier tracking the data was an issue, now it's immediately updated as well as totally integrated so it's very advantageous to users. Efficiency has gone up, data issues have been wiped out. Redundancies have been chopped. The process is very clear and leads to better reporting and auditing.

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