Six blind men and an elephant – a parable for ERP implementation

In the intricate world of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), a common pitfall mirrors the ancient parable of the six blind men and an elephant. Each man, touching a different part of the majestic creature—a leg, a trunk, a tail—forms a distinct, yet incomplete, understanding of the whole. They argue, convinced of their individual truths, oblivious to the larger reality. 

This timeless fable serves as a powerful metaphor for how businesses sometimes approach their ERP implementations, particularly with comprehensive systems like IFS Cloud.

IFS Cloud is not merely a collection of disparate software applications; it is an integrated ecosystem of modules designed to manage diverse business functions—from finance and human capital management to projects, procurement, and manufacturing. 

Each module, while powerful on its own, represents only a part of the ‘elephant.’ Focusing solely on individual modules, without understanding their interconnections and dependencies, can lead to a fragmented view, suboptimal configurations, and ultimately, an ERP system that fails to deliver its full potential.

True success in IFS Cloud implementation lies in seeing the whole ‘elephant’. It demands a holistic perspective and, crucially, cross-module expertise. 

This article will delve into why a comprehensive understanding of how IFS Cloud modules interact is not just beneficial, but essential for optimising your business processes, driving efficiency, and achieving a truly integrated solution. I will explore a real world scenario where the synergy between different modules unlocked significant value, transforming challenges into opportunities for growth and innovation.

Working Cross-Module: Unlocking the Full Potential of IFS Cloud

Just as the blind men needed to collaborate and share their individual perceptions to understand the elephant, successful IFS Cloud implementations require a collaborative approach that transcends individual module silos. Functional consultants with deep expertise in one capability are undoubtedly essential, but the true game-changers are those who can connect the dots, understanding how configurations in one module ripple through the entire system. This cross-module knowledge allows for a truly optimised solution that aligns with the customer’s overarching business objectives.

How a construction company streamlined project time and cost management

The business was managing numerous complex infrastructure projects, and faced significant inefficiencies in tracking labour costs. Field employees manually logged hours on paper timesheets, leading to delays, data entry errors, and discrepancies between payroll and project cost reports. Project managers lacked real-time visibility into labour expenditures, hindering their ability to monitor budget adherence and make timely adjustments.

The solution was to integrate IFS Cloud’s Human Capital Management (HCM) and Projects modules, transforming time and cost management processes. There were significant benefits to teams in payroll, accounts, and project management. 

• Time recording: employees use the HCM’s module’s mobile interface to clock in and out directly from job sites. For project-specific tasks they  allocate their hours to relevant activities within the Projects module.
• Automated approvals: timesheets are routed to supervisors for digital approval within HCM. When they’re approved the data is available to both the payroll department for accurate salary processing and the project accounting team for precise cost allocation. 
• Real-time cost allocation and visibility: the Projects module allocates labour costs to specific project tasks and cost elements based on the approved time entries. This provides project managers with real-time, granular data on labour expenditures, enabling proactive budget monitoring.
• Integrated reporting and analytics: one unified view of project progress, budget versus actual costs, and labour utilisation. Finance can generate accurate payroll reports with ease, while project managers can monitor project profitability and identify potential cost overruns proactively.

Quantifiable Impact

• Reduced administrative overhead: an estimated 15-20% reduction in time spent on manual timesheet processing and data entry, freeing up administrative staff for more strategic tasks.
• Improved data accuracy: near elimination of errors due to manual data entry, leading to more reliable financial and project reports and reducing reconciliation efforts.
• Enhanced project profitability: real-time cost visibility empowers project managers to identify and address budget deviations 10% faster, potentially saving 5-8% on project labour costs by enabling timely corrective actions.
• Faster payroll processing: expedited timesheet approval and data flow reduce payroll processing time by 25%, ensuring timely and accurate employee payments and boosting employee satisfaction.

Designing IFS Cloud for unlimited growth and ambition

The way you design and implement your IFS Cloud system can either accelerate your business growth or inadvertently limit your future ambitions. IFS Cloud is renowned for its scalability and flexibility, but this potential can only be fully realised if the system is configured with a long-term, holistic view of your business in mind. Whether you are undertaking a new implementation or upgrading an existing system, it is crucial to invest time in understanding your current (as-is) processes and, more importantly, envisioning your future (to-be) processes two, five, or even ten years down the line.

Consider the scenario of a company with ten different business streams, all initially set up under a single company entity within IFS Cloud. While this might seem efficient in the short term, attempting to split these streams into separate entities later—perhaps due to mergers, acquisitions, or strategic restructuring—can become an incredibly complex and resource-intensive challenge. 

Designing your system to accommodate future growth, potential mergers, and evolving business structures from the outset, with a clear understanding of cross-module implications, can save significant resources and prevent costly rework down the line. It ensures that your IFS Cloud system grows with your business, rather than becoming a constraint.

The indispensable role of independent consultants

The complexity and interconnectedness of IFS Cloud underscore the indispensable role of independent consultants with deep cross-module expertise. While internal teams possess invaluable institutional knowledge, external consultants bring a fresh perspective, broad industry experience, and a comprehensive understanding of how different IFS Cloud modules can be optimally configured to meet unique business needs. They are the ones who can truly help you see the whole elephant, guiding you through the complexities of implementation to unlock the full potential of your IFS Cloud investment.

See the whole elephant, achieve whole business transformation

The journey to a truly effective IFS Cloud implementation is not about mastering individual modules in isolation, but about understanding their symbiotic relationships and leveraging their combined power. Just as the blind men needed to synthesise their individual experiences to comprehend the elephant, businesses must adopt a holistic perspective to harness the full capabilities of IFS Cloud. By embracing cross-module expertise, designing for future growth, and partnering with experienced independent consultants, organisations can move beyond fragmented views to achieve comprehensive business transformation.