Long-term projects
The supply chain world has historically been faced with long-term projects.
The most common is the implementation of a new ERP system or a new version of an existing ERP system.
The same type of project can be found in the implementation of end-to-end supply chain planning tools. For example, I have witnessed projects to implement a demand planning process, or a DRP, which took several years to deploy and cost several million dollars.
At a Gartner conference, I attended a presentation by a company that was proud to announce that in 18 months they had implemented sales forecasts for 8,000 SKUs and eliminated the Excel files used until then. 18 months for 8,000 items, really?
These never-ending projects wear teams down. They only deliver value a long time after their launch. Their schedules often drift (how many ERP project go-lives are completed on time?). During the project, progress slows down, people are afraid to do much because it will supposedly be covered by the new system, and they take refuge in the good old Excel files they use every day.
If we take a step back, we must ask ourselves: implementing a new planning solution in a factory can take much longer than launching new products or new means of production. Is this reasonable?
Deployments that deliver value quickly
To keep the teams involved motivated, change must deliver value quickly. The same applies to management teams: if significant improvements are quickly visible, it is much easier to continue investing in this transformation and to remove obstacles as a sponsor.
In our experience, three- to six-month waves are empirically what you should aim for. If, within a six-month timeframe at the latest, processes have been visibly improved and tangible results are measurable, you will maintain momentum and keep teams on board.
The balance for each wave of deployment must be found between ambition and scope.
Each wave must be sufficiently ambitious. Your teams and sponsors must agree that this is not a small, marginal project, but a significant transformation.
However, the scope of each wave must be achievable and clearly defined. You can define certain flows, certain types of items, certain functional scopes, a limited number of stakeholders—all the best practices from the definition phase of a Six Sigma project (DMAIC) apply to defining the project charter for this wave.
Be ambitious but pragmatic and clearly define the expected results of this phase.
Technology that accelerates deployment
The technology must be adapted to enable this speed of deployment. Gone are the days of large monolithic projects and painful big bangs after long months of design and testing. Make way for rapid integration of real data, co-construction during interactive workshops, experimentation, the right to make mistakes, and ownership of the new system by its users involved in its design and adjustment.
This technology must, of course, be intuitive, modern, and attractive—key factors for adoption in our digital age.
That's why we designed Intuiflow and its deployment process: to deliver value quickly and make you want to go further after each wave of deployment!
