Business systems and automation

What it includes

• Selection of ERP, CRM, HR, accounting, procurement and project tools against the organisation’s real requirements, not the vendor’s demo
• Implementation and configuration of leading platforms, or a custom system when nothing on the market fits
• Migration from spreadsheets and old systems, with the data reconciled
• Process mapping and redesign before automation, so bad processes are not simply made faster
• Workflow automation: approvals, notifications, document generation, hand-offs between departments
• Integration between systems so data is entered once and flows everywhere it is needed
• Electronic document and records management, with retention rules
• Time, attendance and leave, payroll inputs, expense claims and their approvals
• Training for staff and administrators, and written procedures they keep

How it is approached

• The process is fixed before the software is chosen. Software cannot repair a process nobody has agreed on.
• Buy where a good product exists, build where the need is particular, and be honest about which is which.
• Adoption is planned as carefully as installation: champions, training, a period of support at the elbow.
• Total cost over five years is considered, including licences, support and the time of the people using it.

What you get

• One set of systems that fit together instead of a collection of tools that fight
• Processes that run the same way every time, with a record
• Staff who use the system because it helps them, not because they were told to
• A clear-eyed answer on what to buy, what to build and what to leave alone