Why does this happen you ask? The reasons are many but boil
down to a few key facts.
- The client does not know what they really want or need.
- The vendor doesn’t, or doesn’t want, to ask the right questions.
- Most software is written by non-manufacturing IT folks.
Sounds
pretty simple, heh? Well, it's difficult to find vendors that can understand
your business and then offer the right package if they have it. Since they
inherently don’t have the right thing, they offer what they do have. Kinda like
a bait and switch. Maybe not that insidious, but when they demo the software
for you, they only show you the things that it will do well knowing that when
you want to do something a little off the rail, you’ll find out you can’t get
there from here.
The
first thing a company needs to do is to have a very firm idea of what it wants
to achieve with the software. It may not know all of these goals but a list of
must have’s is a good start. Then, let the sharks into your tank and let’em
sell. One key ask from them is to provide a list of customers that you could
contact in your area that are using the software that you might. Don’t let them
cherry pick the couple of “satisfied” clients and have you call them. Make them
sweat a little bit and get that list of locals.
Then,
make contact with those folks and see if they are really happy with the
software. Chances are you’ll find at least a couple that have some issues that
aren’t settled. Don’t be surprised. This will happen. You just need to
find out if their problem is on your must have list.
After
doing this with several vendors, you can know start thinking about the money,
time, training and long term cost. As you can see, money bookends the relevant
considerations. You probably will have set some kind of budget for this
project. However, it is vital that money not be the only consideration. If you
spend less now and perhaps even less over the long term, you may wind up paying
the difference from another software’s cost every single day and be angry at
your poor choice.
The
first of the other two considerations is how long it will take to fully
implement the software and hardware into your system. Clearly, it may take
weeks even months depending on the availability of assets and the complexity of
the physical install. Make sure to have them quote a firm date or length of
time to complete the installation.
Training
is probably the least favorite topic of vendors and yet is one of the key
factors in the success of the software package meeting the needs of the client.
It is vital that the basic information is loaded into the system. Overhead,
machine and labor rates, departments, work centers, machine numbers, basic
routing types, purchasing criteria and invoice structure are just a few of the
critical items that must be loaded during training. The vendor should not do
all the work without showing the client how to modify or add more information.
Once
the basics are loaded, then actual operational training can begin showing every
person how they will be interacting with the system. Login info, passwords, how
to use a bar code reader are some of the types of things to be taught. Printers
and backups are also on the list of things that must be gone through and
checked out. If these basic functions are not shaken down during training, I
can guarantee that as soon as the trainer leaves the building, one of these
things will come up and down the slope the install goes.
I
have only scratched the surface here but this much is true; garbage in garbage
out. It’s a little trite but if the suit doesn’t fit right, you’ll never be
comfortable. The same goes for shop control software. If the software is not
vetted properly, installed poorly and insufficient training is given, the cost
savings will never out way the ultimate cost to your company in time and
frustration levels.
For information about this or any manufacturing or process improvement impacting your company, contact me at david@topgunconsulting.net
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