ERP return on investment (ROI)

Stylised flat image of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems promise benefits but it takes time and effort to achieve the promised results. You need a recipe for success. An ERP system return on investment (ROI) is not guaranteed. In 2012, Auckland city forecast a NZ$10 million per year return on its SAP ERP system investment of NZ$71million. By 2014…

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Imagining a future helps create it

Imaginmg the future. Woman stands in portal looking to horizon imagining teh future

Imagining a future helps create it. Envisioning a future state does not mean predicting the future. None of us has a crystal ball but if we can imagine what the future might hold we can be better prepared to create or influence it. Our predictions don’t need to be right. They just have to be…

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Benefits are at the centre of change

Benefits are at the centre of change. Organisations change because of the promise of benefits, or beneficial outcomes. Benefits matter. Disruption is worthwhile to gain efficiency, increase revenue, reduce cost, increase security, achieve growth, solve a big problem or create new products and services. We all like benefits which is why business cases are full…

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Is digital transformation real?

Is digital transformation real? Are the benefits achievable? Every few years there is a new management fad. How do we separate the hype from the value? We look at what digital transformation promises and what it delivers, so let’s do that. What is digital transformation? The full incorporation of computer-based technologies into your organisation’s products,…

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Optimisation is more than a buzzword

Optimisation is used a lot in marketing. It can be a meaningless buzzword but it does have a real meaning that matters. Optimisation makes the best use of a situation or makes a thing as good or effective as it can be. If we all did that, we could produce more with less. That would…

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Creating value is what really matters

The purpose of organisations is to create value.  That seems obvious but if you take a close look at most workplaces you will see lots of time and money spent on things that don’t add value.  Remote decision-making holds up work. Inventory ties up cash. Property is underutilised.  Smart people can’t contribute fully.  Processes aren’t…

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People Analytics: Enabling Capability

Organisations use data to help drive strategy, including HR strategies. People analytics is the use of data and statistical analysis to make informed decisions about people-related issues. Historically, HR made decisions based on intuition and past experiences. With advancements in technology, most HR professionals are now applying people analytics to recruitment and development of people…

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Organisational Improvement – 4 operating modes

Improving organisational capability is critical to raise productivity. Organisational improvement occurs in different ways. The language of disruption is common but true disruption creates new markets and industries.  Most firms don’t do that.  They adapt and change but they do so on a smaller scale.  Four Operating Modes for Organisational Improvement I find that organisations…

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Disruptive Change and Unicorns

Unicorns are popular with children and business publications…for different reasons. Children are enchanted by magical creatures. Business writers like their version – a startup company valued at over US$1 billion – not yet listed on a share market. What is a Unicorn? Venture capitalist Aileen Lee, coined the term unicorn because such businesses are so rare.…

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Process Maps: The Importance of Clarity

Business process maps are a high-level visual representation of the flow of a business process and the different people, teams, or organisations involved in it. These diagrams help simplify complex processes. A process map lets anyone see, at a glance, how things happen and who does what without any prior subject area or technical knowledge.…

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