Project Description
The project aimed to address the challenges faced by a trades-based sales and service organization with their custom ERP platform (SAS) and Microsoft Dynamics NAV. The primary goal was to realign the company’s objectives with the SAS platform and create a three-year roadmap to improve functionality and stability. The project involved:
- Re-aligning company goals with what the SAS platform could and should be doing for the organization.
- Building a three-year roadmap that enabled various milestones of functionality and stability.
- Facilitating structured workshops with key stakeholders to articulate the desired operational model for the next three to five years.
- Performing a rigorous current state assessment to pinpoint inefficiencies and pain points.
The key themes derived from these analyses were:
- Scalable Operations
- Field Technician Empowerment
- Data Integrity and Automation
- Vendor Collaboration Optimization
- Performance and User Experience.
Overview
| Project Summary: Realigned company goals with a custom ERP platform (SAS) and constructed a three-year roadmap, enabling significant improvements in operational efficiency and stability. |
| Project Challenge: A backlog of issues and enhancements, coupled with underlying performance issues in a custom ERP platform, hindered operational efficiency and scalability. |
| My Role: Senior Business Analyst Project Manager |
| Stakeholders: Key Client Stakeholders Leadership Team Development Team End-users |
| Key Technologies: Microsoft Dynamics NAV Responsive Web Design SQL |
My Approach
The approach to revitalizing the ERP system was a two-pronged strategy, focusing on product realignment and crafting a three-year roadmap. The initial step involved a series of structured workshops with key stakeholders. These workshops weren’t just meetings; they were envisioning exercises designed to articulate the company’s desired operational model for the next three to five years. Techniques like future state mapping and gap analysis were employed to identify the ideal future state and the gaps that needed to be bridged. A rigorous current state assessment was then performed, using process flow diagrams and data analysis to pinpoint inefficiencies and pain points.
User research was also a critical component, including contextual inquiry, user interviews, and journey mapping to deeply understand end-user workflows and identify specific pain points and opportunities for improvement.
The culmination of these efforts led to the identification of key strategic themes:
- Scalable Operations
- Field Technician Empowerment
- Data Integrity and Automation
- Vendor Collaboration Optimization
- Performance and User Experience.
Following this, a collaborative prioritization workshop was facilitated with the leadership team. This involved employing a value vs. effort matrix to visually map the backlog and incorporating the RICE scoring model (Reach, Impact, Confidence, Effort) to quantify feature value and mitigate bias. The goal was to ensure alignment and impact, transforming prioritized features into actionable development plans, while proactively addressing potential technical complexities.
Methodology: Agile/Scrum, Strategic Roadmapping, User-centered design, Gap Analysis, SWOT Analysis
Project Outcome
Project Outcome
The project culminated in substantial operational enhancements through a strategic realignment of the product and a targeted three-year roadmap. By enabling scalable operations, the company achieved a 30% reduction in administrative overhead. The introduction of a mobile interface and automated data flows led to a 40% increase in field technician efficiency. Furthermore, a 90% decrease in inventory valuation discrepancies was realized through the refactoring of Dynamics NAV integration and enhanced data integrity. The streamlining of workflows resulted in a 25% reduction in vendor RMA processing time, and a 50% improvement in platform performance eliminated user workarounds and ensured consistent process adherence. The SAS platform became aligned with the company’s long-term strategic goals as a result.
Key Decisions: Key decisions involved realigning company goals with the SAS platform’s capabilities and constructing a practical roadmap. The implementation of a mobile interface for technicians and refactoring performance-critical screens and code and optimizing Dynamics NAV integration, and introducing new automations to reduce manual data entry, all while aligning the SAS platform with the company’s long-term strategic goals.
Business Impact: The project had a significant impact by improving operational efficiency and stability through a strategic product realignment and a focused three-year roadmap which resulted in significant operational improvements.
