We are often asked to assist companies in the first stages of reviewing new software. This is the stage where you know you have issues but are not sure how to solve them. The following is a case study of a customer that we assisted in getting a handle on what they have and then concluding what they needed:
When we were invited in by the new CFO to review their current systems, ABC Company had 8 different systems they were using to run their business. They have 125 employees with customers all over the country. They used QuickBooks for accounting for 1 division, DacEasy for another, something else to keep track of inventory, a CRM, a homegrown project management tool, a tech scheduling software, HR software and time clocks.
Our first meeting was interesting. The CFO and one of the accounting people were new, so they really had no idea what software was being used by the various departments. The interesting piece was the each department had no idea what the other was doing!
We mapped their processes on very LARGE whiteboards and drew lines to the duplicate entries. It ended up looking like a spider web. The outcome was a lot of opened eyes and a lot of thoughts and discussions.
The second meeting, we discussed what might be a good solution. We discussed and laid out the issues that their current systems were causing:
- No accountability for the inventory
- Systems that do not “talk” lead to no visibility into what is truly happening in the business
- No processes in place for any of the functions
- A LOT of duplicate entry
We also discussed several software options that could bring their 8 systems into 1-3 systems, or maybe into 1 system! This discussion centered on:
- Deployment preference. Traditional technology vs cloud technology?
- Do we get rid of the homegrown project management tool or keep it and integrate?
- Do we outsource Human Resources?
- They discussed putting the 2 companies together to make it easier for accounting.
As you can imagine, this was a rather rambunctious conversation. But, in the end, they made a choice and are in the midst of implementation.
Are you wondering what they chose? Call or email Aaron Rosenberg and he can tell you all about it!
502-429-6902 x 231 or aaron@oasisky.com
