Process optimization
Business Process Expertise. The Secret to Getting the Most Value from a Software Implementation
Think of a business process as a recipe for how to do something in your business. Sure, technology is important, but if you don’t get the business process right you are missing out on leveraging the millions Fortune 500 companies have invested to establish best practices and you’ll just be doing the wrong things faster.
What is Business Process?
Put simply, Business Process is how businesses do things. There are any number of important processes in your business. Traditionally, these processes are informed by how the software you’re using would like you to do them. But what if your software is ten or fifteen years old – or older? Ideally, you want your business to have the same processes as the Fortune 500 companies in your industry with some exceptions. (The exceptions are things your business SHOULD be doing differently.) The reason being that Fortune 500 companies have spent large amounts of money to determine what the ideal business processes are for your industry. Good news is that we know what those ideal processes are for the industries we’re focused on.
Probably has something to do with the fact that ITK’s co-founder, Sam Coluccio, literally helped write the book on business process. He was the architect of Microsoft’s Software Implementation Process Methodology known as SureStep.
Why Business Process Expertise is so Important
Ensures Predictable Results
Perhaps the most important reason why business process is so important is that is ensures repeatable results. It takes the guesswork out of success. There are key processes in your business. When you have the right recipe, you will get the right results. When you have the wrong recipe, you have just automated something in your business but the information that is being delivered to you is of little or no use.
Enables Accelerated Implementations & Cost Savings
One of the key questions that needs to be asked during a software implementation project is ‘what should we be doing like everyone in our industry and what should be doing differently?’ We can answer this question for every part of your business, which is why we’re able to do expedited or what we call, the ITK Template Approach, and other software consulting firms struggle to do it.
Align with Industry Best Practices
Most businesses have been doing key tasks the same way for many, many years. Usually, business processes are in line with how the software tools you’re using would like you to do them. The challenge here is that the world may have moved on to more efficient ways. Additionally, business process problems are also people problems. People don’t usually like to change how they do things. We know both how to improve business processes but also have the change management experience to get your team to want to change, too.
Process First, Technology Second
We believe that most business problems are process problems. That’s why proces comes first in our minds. Many consulting firms focus most of their attention on technology. We are big fans of technology, but there is a process even for optimizing business processes. It goes like this…Process First, Technology Second. This is not just a catch phrase. It is part of ITK’s DNA. The foundation of our business process expertise is our industry expertise. Many of our consultants used to work in the same jobs as our customers. For example, ITK’s Partner and Services Delivery lead, Susan Alvarez, is a CPA and was a CFO in a former life. She, like many of our consultants, understands the day-to-day challenges of our customers because she’s been in their shoes. One observation we’ve made is that just because a software consulting firm understands technology and installing software, does not make them business process experts. Perhaps that’s the reason why ITK has led some of the biggest, most complex ERP implementations, over 500 and counting.
the ITK Template Approach
This is an expedited or speed implementation. There is no better proof of our business process bonafides than our ITK Template approach. We have literally shared our exact process for doing an expedited implementation with other firms but they still can’t do it successfully. Why? Because they don’t have the combination of industry and business process expertise.
Whether you need a business process tune-up or want a formidable combination of business process, industry and technology experts leading you through your next implementation, let's start a conversation.
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