It is important to take a wholistic view of your business and
technology when implementing information systems. This
entails an evaluation of your manufacturing business and
technology, your market and growth plans. Don't spend the time
for analysis and study up front, and you risk ending up with
silos of information and inefficient work processes as a
result. Synchronizing informatin flow throughout your
organization and with customers, partners and vendors allows
manufacturing firms to operate more effectively. There are
four areas to evaluate when implementing information systems.
The Business Processes area defines the
business strategies and describes the various department and
customer groups. The rules of collaboration and workflows
associated with the business processes are defined.
Requirements for this area are completed first to understand the
operating culture and overarching processes to which business
applications are applied.
Business
Applications consists of the services,
transactional applications and systems that support the business
processes. System designs and technical scope are created to
solve particular business problems for specified users.
Line-of-business systems are identified, and integration with the
current and future applications is defined. We typically see
business applications categorized as Web, Sales/CRM, Operations and
Financials.
The Information Architecture describes the
business data that is exchanged and shared between employees
and customers, employees and other employees, and all people
participating in the manufacturing value chain. Databases and
systems used to store data are identified. The rules for
access are determined, and the security rules are mapped to user
groups, applications, and data.
The foundation is the Infrastructure
Architecture, which describes the requirements of the IT
hardware and networks supporting the web and transactional
applications. Definitions of access methods for internal and
external user groups, and the connectivity of systems to support
business processes are defined.
At TwinEngines, I create strategic roadmaps defining an
implementation plan for the right-size applications at the
right time. I deliver the strategy first, and
then deliver solutions to unique business problems that
companies face in ecommerce and sales, manufacturing and
logistics, and repair and warranty. Our focus at
TwinEngines is on small and mid-market companies, providing
businesses with the best value.