Get an overview

Provide an overview

Before you improve a process, you need to see it. Not as described in the organizational chart. Not how it should look in a presentation. But in the way a real order actually moves through your company on an ordinary Tuesday.

Many ERP projects start with function lists. But functions don't show where work gets left behind, why people keep their own Excel files or why two departments understand the same key figure differently. These insights only come about when you follow the real process.

Take a process in hand

Choose a typical, manageable business case - for example a customer inquiry up to receipt of payment or a requirement up to receipt of goods. Go through this process step by step with the employees involved.

Ask at each station:

• What information arrives here?
• Where does it come from and who trusts it?
• What is added, checked or re-entered?
• In which system, document or head does the required knowledge lie?
• When can the process continue – and who decides?
• What happens when something deviates from normal?

They don't look for someone to blame. They're looking for friction.

Pay attention to the hidden costs

Obvious errors are noticeable. The little habits that everyone has long since adapted to are often more expensive:

• A list is exported and post-processed manually.
• To be on the safe side, a delivery date will be requested by telephone.
• item information is maintained in several systems.
• A process waits for a person because only he or she knows the next decision.
• A number is recomposed before each meeting.
• A special case is documented outside the system and later forgotten.

Every single detour seems harmless. Multiplied by employees, processes and working days, this creates a significant block of costs - and often a risk for customer relationships and decisions.

Draw three maps

A good overview can be captured in three simple images:

The process map

It shows which stations a process goes through, where it waits, which handovers take place and where variants arise.

The data card

It shows which information is required, where it is created, where it is maintained twice and which data status should be binding.

The decision card

It shows who releases, who decides on exceptions, which rules apply and where responsibility remains unclear today.

Only together do these maps create a realistic picture. A clean process with bad data doesn't work any more than perfect data without clear decisions.

Pay particular attention to contradictions

If two employees describe the same process differently, that is not a problem with the survey. It is a valuable discovery. Perhaps there are several variants, perhaps there is no binding standard, or perhaps a department has never found out what happens after it is handed over.

Such contradictions are the places where an ERP project can have a particularly significant impact. They show where shared data and transparent statuses not only save time but also improve collaboration.

From overview to priority

Don't try to solve every problem at the same time. Evaluate observations according to four questions:

1. How frequently does the problem occur?
2. How much time or money does it cost?
3. What risk arises for customers, liquidity, inventory or compliance?
4. How many other processes benefit from a solution?

In this way, a hundred individual wishes become a few effective priorities. For example, a common item master can improve sales, purchasing, storage, production and evaluation at the same time. An isolated cosmetic adjustment may only help a single situation.

The overview is complete enough if you know not only what is happening, but also why people choose detours and what consequences arise from them.

See before you automate

X-ERP can connect areas on a common data core and automate many routines. But automation initially reinforces what you tell it to do. An unclear process does not automatically become better with speed.

Therefore, take the time to take an honest look. Follow real processes, listen to people and make friction visible. This overview isn't a delay in the project - it's the moment when a software implementation becomes a solid improvement to your business.

Related topics

1. For managing directors and decision-makers – structure processes and reduce costs
2. For managing directors and decision-makers – structure processes and reduce costs › ERP only works in a team
3. For managing directors and decision-makers – structure processes and reduce costs › Distribution of tasks

Frequently asked questions