The next steps during the Corona crisis

Globally, we have had to deal with the effects of the Corona crisis since the beginning of this year. Many of us have been working from home for two to three months or have had to deal with the restrictive measures (1.5 metres) on the shop floor or in the office. In addition, economic activity has suffered considerable dents, although this varies per sector. The import and export of goods is experiencing the necessary hindrance, suppliers are struggling to deliver and the purchasing behaviour of both companies and consumers has changed. As a result, every company needs to think carefully about what effects this has on its position in the market and what adjustments need to be made to its strategy and operations. This requires a thorough analysis followed by adaptation and implementation of new or modified business processes.

Analyze the data from your ERP system

Companies will have to analyse the effects of the Corona crisis on their position in the market in the coming period.

• Will my customers be ordering digitally more often and are my systems prepared for this?
• Which customers pose a risk in terms of payment behaviour and which ones provide me with the best margin?
• Do we need to change the purchasing strategy to reduce the risk of non-delivery or late delivery?
• Is it necessary to decentralise production and make more use of local suppliers?

To make the right strategic choices it is essential to analyse data from your ERP system, integrated peripheral applications and market information. A good Business Intelligence system can be of great value here. By combining data from multiple sources, you gain other insights that will lead to changes in your strategy and business processes. This can include strategic choices, such as investing in new production locations and warehouses, acquisitions of peers, divestments, etc. But also the optimization of production lines, improving supply chain planning, scanning in the warehouse, workflow optimization and the digitization of processes will lead to a better performance of your organization.

Implement and optimize

In order to be able to effectuate the above mentioned strategic choices and optimization of financial, logistic and production processes, they have to be implemented in your organization but also in your IT and ERP systems. In most cases, ERP systems such as Oracle JD Edwards and Oracle Netsuite offer many possibilities to redesign processes through configuration or the creation of new modules and functionality. Because Oracle has a strategy of continuous product improvement – which is made available in smaller releases – it is easy to follow these releases and users can quickly make use of all the new possibilities. In addition to functional improvements, there are also many technical developments that lead to a better “User Experience” and higher productivity. Further productivity gains can be achieved with the digitization of business processes through the implementation of Internet of Things.

Many good examples have already been realised in this area; automatic orders based on sensors that measure stock levels on shelves, generate work orders for the service department based on machine running hours, etc.

Fast results in small steps

The analysis of your business processes and position in the market leads in many cases to a large number of new insights. It is wise to implement these gradually by means of smaller subprojects. For each project one can determine the effort, feasibility and Return on Investment together with the implementation partner. If one decides to implement smaller subprojects, a small focused project team can draw up a plan and realize this within a short time. By working this way you can react quickly to market developments and gain a competitive advantage.

Our consultants can support your company in both analysis and implementation and we are happy to use our knowledge to support Oracle JD Edwards and Netsuite clients. Now that the market is slowly moving again, it is the right time to take steps to ensure that your company is ready when Corona is conquered.

Do you have any questions about this? Or would you like to discuss with our consultants what we can do for you?

Author: Ed Pieters
CEO at Cadran Consultancy