Engcon
Preparing for change
Columbus started the project with a pre-study, adapted from our Prepare for Change service. In addition to assessing how ‘ready’ an organisation is for change (in this case, a new ERP system), it will also challenge the current way of working and existing application landscape.
For engcon, this would ensure their future business processes align with their overarching corporate strategy and that all opportunities for new value are captured. Through a series of workshops, Columbus followed an end-to-end process framework. Together with key stakeholders from engcon, we viewed processes from a high-level perspective rather than focusing on the details.
“This was a mindset we hadn’t adopted before but everyone was really happy with the approach,” said Peter Westin, IT Specialist and Project Manager at engcon. “By covering areas such as opportunities and pain points, it gave people the chance to think about and share the kinds of pains they’ve experienced and the opportunities they see with a new system and changing the way they work.”
“When placed on a value map, this helped us all realize what we’ve actually achieved and what we can go on to achieve with a new ERP.”
“The best part was looking at our processes from an end-to-end perspective. It was a good way to see how we work.”
Peter Westin, IT Specialist and Project Manager, engcon
Avoiding ERP fatigue
Tobias Andersson, Business Transformation Advisor and Program Manager for Strategy & Change at Columbus who was heavily involved in the project, added: “To avoid ERP fatigue, we took this end-to-end process view and brought people from different business units in. That released new energy and excitement, helping stakeholders feel more positive about the change.”
"With our holistic transformation approach, we help our clients to align people and mindsets. Helping them identifying where the value is and what needs to be done to realize it. Maybe it’s a new IT system or maybe it’s a new way of working. Most often it’s a combination and then you need to be prepared to handle that change. We help our clients to be more prepared for change."
What the future holds for engcon and Columbus
Although we’re still early on in the project and, at the time of writing, have only recently started the ERP implementation, engcon has already seen some benefits. Even if they’re not tangible gains just yet.
For example, they are now aware that the project is about more than changing an ERP system. Thus, it’s not purely an IT initiative - instead, it’s a transformation. engcon has grown fast and lack structured processes and governance in several key areas. The work we covered in our tailored pre-study not only gave them insights into new areas they needed to address but also created engagement and a better understanding of the change across the business prior to it beginning.
And that’s what Prepare for Change is all about. engcon are more prepared now and the chances for a successful implementation are much higher.
Tobias said: “During these two months of engagement, we have developed trust with key stakeholders and recommended the best way forward. Sometimes you get the feeling that this is a good partnership and that’s exactly what we got with engcon.”
“This is, for sure, a company that we could support and add value to over many years!”
