Case study
SW Development

How we achieved a fundamental change in the company through integration of our Project Manager, and ERP refactoring

Client

A company providing operation, maintenance and development of an ERP system designed primarily for logistics and transport companies.

What did the client need to solve at the beginning of our cooperation?

Initially, it was just a need for an experienced project manager to help with ERP development. Our customer currently planned to refactor some parts of the robust ERP modules, which were developed in the last century.

However, due to market developments, new security risks and the growth of the customer base, as well as the insufficient functionality of some modules, it was essential to start addressing a comprehensive renewal, including the development of missing modules. The project also included the transfer of ERP to more modern technologies, speeding up the entire system, including more user-friendly operation.

The scope of the project was quite demanding and the client was unable to cover it with its own internal resources, which lacked experience, expertise and the ability to fully understand the needs of the internal client and the requirements of the outside world.

After the implementation

↑ safety of the stored data and compliance with the international laws about the privacy

Improve the accuracy of hours, vacation time counts, and real work results in the client’s hub

Give employees access to the personalized ERP dashboards which increased efficiency of the time used for processing customer’s data

Dramarically boosted sales without increased headcount in client’s hub

Get a more accurate picture of margins, and customer’s database

Implementation of the solution

We provided our own project manager, who started by mapping all existing processes, their interrelationships and dependencies. We have found that the current system is obsolete and its functions will not support our customer’s business processes in the future. Any new implementation would be more expensive due to system limitations and could potentially compromise the security of stored data. We have designed a complete plan to redesign the existing ERP in accordance with the latest technologies, which will allow our client to work without any restrictions in the future. We made it possible to expand ERP with new modules and thus offer it to other business fields and ensure all security requirements.

The challenges we faced

Since the beginning of our cooperation, we have struggled with a lack of trust from individual team members, including developers and end users. That is why we created very strong communication channels with all stakeholders at the very beginning and created one joint team. We explained everything the team members were concerned about, including the development and implementation process, so that everything was completely transparent, understandable and comprehensible. We set up a reporting process to progress on the project and regular communication of outputs.

What results have we achieved?

We have developed a functional ERP, we have implemented transparent development processes as is common and desirable in the development of any SW. We have integrated users into development. We have set up change management and communication with the company. A completely new module was created for property management and monitoring the mandatory statutory revisions.

As a side effect, we helped to introduce a new system of regular evaluation of employees with regard to their common goals on the project as well as personal goals within their role.

Why do efforts to refactor and develop any SW, not just ERP, fail?

1. Absence of the project manager

Project manager / SCRUM MASTER, who knows exactly how to set up development management, what steps and forms of communication need to be set, how to capture the overall governance of development activities so that the scope, time and budget are maintained while maintaining quality requirements.

2. Lack of trust in the team

People are naturally afraid of change, as in the case of our client. Therefore, from the beginning, we identified communication tools and channels and placed great emphasis on involving all stakeholders in the process. Part of the integration of existing programmers into the planned changes was the education and introduction of new technologies into which the existing ERP modules needed to be transferred. Managing change, whatever it may take, also requires integrating the company’s management and ensuring its active participation.

3. Fear of the unknown on the part of users

The introduction of something new naturally brings new benefits, but also new challenges and disruptions to daily operations. To overcome this, we trained all employees and made sure they understood the new features well before the final launch.

To conclude

The ERP systems, when implemented correctly will help to increase the sales, clients’ conversion, and automate the processes in the company without extra hurdle for the existing staff.

If you are interested in the ERP implementation, please get in touch with one of our specialists.

Get in touch

I am