It’s About Process (or the Ability to be Responsive) — Part III

To that end, Webcom Inc. has leveraged its vast expertise earned while addressing many complex sales quote-to-order (Q2O) process issues (i.e., channel quote approvals, special pricing approvals, special non-standard product feature request approvals, etc.) and has created a brand new workflow engine, which can be (and is already) used for many generic business processes.

Such examples of processes would be: RMA (Return Material/Merchandize Authorization), NFR (New Feature Request), ECN (Engineering Change Notice), NPR (New Product Release), Bug Tracking, Engineering Change Request, and many other business processes that require approval steps.

The Ability to Respond, On-demand

In May 2008, Webcom announced the availability of ResponsAbility, its newest offering addressing the case management and workflow processing areas. ResponsAbility is designed to speed the “time-to-resolution” process, eliminate unnecessary time delays and improve overall value chain communications and productivity through improved transparency and collaboration.

The idea behind this case management and workflow solution was to help organizations keep their projects on track and their employees on the same page, thereby making the lives of internal and external team members much less complicated (and more productive and enjoyable).

This straightforward application provides a central location (repository) for managing the key aspects of many types of cases, including product and service defects, customer and supplier complaints, non-conformance issues, health and safety incidents, and RMAs. Separate tabs keep key information within easy reach, whereby team members can log issues as they arise, prioritize them, and update their status as appropriate.

Built-in reports let users see open issues by project, projects by stage, and many other categories. On a proactive side, the tool can be leveraged by companies to create and implement corrective and preventive actions (CAPA) and to support a plethora of regulatory and compliance requirements. All in all, users that have always had the responsibility now have the “ability to respond”, as required.

This case management software may not currently have all the bells-and-whistles associated with full-fledged BPM packages, such as programmatically driving a workflow engine, visual process modeling, process monitoring and optimization, or automatic task allocation based on workload. Still, it seems well suited for small and medium size companies, who can leverage such a software tool with an intuitive user interface (UI), for handling many, if not all of their processes, in an incremental manner.

The design and enforcement of processes is enabled because both administrators and end-users are able to design workflows, notifications, and data collection forms, as well as setting up permissions accordingly. The system manages cases by ushering each case through the resolution process, and by tracking the progress of each case throughout the entire process.

The multi-tenant software as a service (SaaS) delivery model ensures that a customer can be up and running quickly with all of the selected critical processes being modeled and functional. No onsite deployment is necessary and the software only requires a Web browser and some modest to minimal data and process setup to be up and running.

Brethren Software Vendors as Likely ResponsAbility Users?

For example, a software development company can deploy this tool within a day or two and allow its customers to report bugs. This information can then be internally routed according to a customized workflow to the support department, then to the engineering and testing staff, and then back to the customer for approval and case closure.

To elaborate, the Software Bug workflow logically starts with the customer reporting a software bug. Then a default assignee at the software vendor reviews it, and then either resolves it on the spot (hopefully) or assigns it to the software engineering staff by providing a test case. Then the software engineering team determines a cause for the bug and either provides a workaround, fully fixes the bug, or determines that the software behaves as designed after all.

At the same time, ResponsAbility can be used to allow customers to create new feature requests, which are then routed via a different customized workflow starting from project management, via development, release scheduling, back to development, quality assurance (QA), documentation (technical writers), product management, and finally to marketing teams.

Again, if the bug can be fixed, the case is assigned to the testing staff, back to the support team, and finally back to the customer for approval and case closure. But, if the issue turns out not to be the bug after all, the case is then converted to a new feature request and follows an entirely different workflow.

To that end, the New Product Feature Request process starts with customers, sales & service people, channels and/or product managers requesting a new feature. Often, the existing users (install base special interest groups [SIGs]) are allowed to vote on it, and based on the number of votes and other factors, some new features are assigned to the engineering department to estimate the effort entailed to implement the requested feature.

Based on the estimate and other criteria, some new features are then assigned to the engineering or research and development (R&D) departments for implementation. Upon implementation, the new feature is assigned to the QA department for testing and approvals. Finally, based on the QA results, a new feature is returned back to engineering for a rework or is scheduled for production (or general availability).

Apparently, various instances of a process (called cases) can be changed midstream. For example, something that was initially entered as a bug upon investigation may be classified as an expected behavior. The customer who did not expect such behavior from the software can then change a case type of this instance from a bug to a new feature request, without having to re-enter any information and this case will then follow the prescribed new feature workflow process.

Also, a built-in notification and permissions engine ensures that all communication and collaboration happens within ResponsAbility, so everybody is aware of anything that anybody ever stated about the case via comments, file attachments, etc.

Unlike some of the simple issue tracking software packages mentioned in Part II, ResponsAbility can be used not only for tracking things, but also for enforcing a process in order to ensure that things get done correctly. For example, a workflow engine can be set up to make sure that a process status cannot be changed from “bug fixed” to “in testing” until a concrete test case scenario is provided by a user via customizable online forms.

Webcom — “Eating Own Dog Food”

It might be interesting to note that Webcom, as a software developer itself, has since late 2006 been using ResponsAbility internally for its older sibling WebSource CPQ product’s bug tracking and new product features introduction.

The traditional model, whereby the dedicated product/project manager and support staff were the only bidirectional conduit between the client’s team (i.e., WebSource CPQ users and administrators, local project manager, application owners, stakeholders, etc.) and Webcom’s team (i.e., developers, modelers, QA, consultants, product managers, etc.), has over time been shown to have many disadvantages.

Namely, despite the dedicated project manager’s intimate knowledge of the individual client’s installation and the established relationship and hand-holding comfort level, the challenges have repeatedly been the bottleneck nature of the dedicated project management and support team, with no significant value being added by this additional layer of communication.

Sage ERP X3 Version 6: A Sneak Peek

We recently got a sneak peek of the new version of Sage ERP X3 that is scheduled to be released in October 2009. We were given a detailed demonstration of some of its core functional changes and advancements and we have summarized our findings differently.

Gabriel Gheorghiu’s Take on Version 6

There are features that are new to X3 and quite rare for an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution for midsized companies.

Extended and Integrated Business Functionality Coverage

We saw it. It’s all in there—from purchasing to sales, to inventory and accounting, to customer relationship management (CRM) and production. Of course, it would take hours to see how it all works. To track performance and key performance indicators (KPIs), X3 uses the Crystal Reports generator, which houses a library of 400 reports and Business Objects technology for dashboards and Web access.

New Technologies for Collaboration and Monitoring

Integration with Microsoft Office allows users to create, edit, and save files without leaving the system. This also makes collaboration between users easier since all files are saved in the database. Another interesting option is that customers and vendors can interact with the system.

Complex but Reliable Security and Workflows

Workflows are really easy to define and modify: a click or drag-and-drop will suffice for simple processes. The Visual Process Designer comes with over 100 predefined processes. The level of complexity supported is supposed to be very high, but this is something that cannot be demonstrated but worth mentioning. Security is essential when processes become complex, and X3 offers Web encryption as well as access control by user, group, and role.

Flexible for Growth and Changing Needs

The modularity of the system allows companies to implement only the modules that they need (others can be added later). The Sage ERP X3 fourth generation language integrated development environment (4GL IDE) can be used to create custom applications, which can be integrated within the product. This is another feature that cannot be demonstrated during an online demo, but it’s worth mentioning since it’s one of the features that sets X3 apart from its competitors.

Finally, here are the major enhancements in Version 6 compared to Version 5 (see graph below):
- Finance has been entirely rebuilt and now completely covers the functionality for this module. The main changes are related to multi-country, multicurrency, and multi-legislation compliance, as well as advanced fixed assets and advanced budgeting.
- E-commerce functionality has been greatly improved, as well as the functionality for distribution (shipment preparation and landed cost), work order (WO), and manufacturing (made-to-order and sub contracting).
- Functionality like sales, purchases, stock management, material requirement planning (MRP), business intelligence (BI), and finance are now fully covered.

Khudsiya Quadri’s Take on Version 6

New versions of existing software are often not highly regarded. Most organizations fail to see the benefits of software upgrades because there are no magical answers to these questions: Is changing to a new system beneficial? Will it meet the business requirements?

The following should be considered by users and potential Sage ERP X3 system buyers

Multi design/Functionality Changes

Sage ERP X3’s financial module has been revamped in Version 6 to provide international coverage. Companies will benefit from the following suites: budget and cost accounting; fixed assets management; financial; commitment management; and personal accounting. Version 6 is capable of handling transfers and reporting information internationally between companies and subsidiaries. It makes multinational management operations seamless by combining decentralized information and the ability to handle multiple currencies, languages, companies, sites, legislations, and country-specific accounting rules and standards without losing the audit functionality.

Sage’s demonstration team also highlighted that Version 6 has built-in international capabilities, designed especially for midsized organizations. Their purpose is to lower the complexity and bring global operations together within the system. The pre-built settings containing country-specific standards and regulations make sharing common data and processes between different locations and sites easier. This speeds up the implementation process across multinational organizations with reduced IT costs.

Sage X3 Version 6 has very rich ergonomics and visual processes. The look and feel across all functional areas is the same, regardless of whether it’s Web client- or server-enabled. The user interface (UI) has multiple graphical presentations with a drag-and-drop capability for hierarchical datasets. The user has the ability to see agendas, spider Web presentations, and Gantt presentations (data elements) in real time and can drill into the specifics from the presentation right into the transactional view. The Sage Application Framework for Enterprise Technology (SAFE X3) visual process comes with over 100 standard work procedures in graphical view, with one-click access to the underlying systems’ functions to identify how the process is setup with transactions and entities being linked together for the complete visual of the process. Organizations can build their business process in the process designer tool and customize without having to change the source code.

Sage X3 Version 6 is compatible with Windows, Linux, Unix, SQL server, Oracle, client/server, or Web access regardless of what architecture design the organization currently has set up.

Scalability/Integration/Web Power

As the organization’s business grows, systems (within the organization) need to grow with the company’s business needs (without increasing cost). Sage ERP X3 Version 6 doesn’t require any add-ons, but rather, the ERP software comes with all the functionality needed by a midsized company (workflow, batch server, database administration, reporting tools, BI, and security management).

The application allows companies to systematize and prioritize their global development by business areas and regions. Companies can scale up from 10 to 1,000 users because they can use the system from any location (the ERP system can be accessed remotely or via a Web browser).

Collaboration between partners, suppliers, and customers is in real time, which helps manage end-to-end processes more cost-effectively. By having enhanced communication methods with real-time information availability, decision-makers can offer quicker responses to customers, suppliers, and vendors. In the demonstration, Sage presented a variety of scenarios. In one scenario suppliers or authorized vendors had secure access to the system in order to find information about upcoming requirements or changes to reflect the demand fluctuation from customers. This business process-enabled capability creates end-to-end visibility for all parties involved. This method reduces waste and eliminates gaps from the process with scalability and Web enhancement.

Throughout the presentation, multiple business processes were integrated within Sage X3 Version 6 (order entry, shipment delivery, etc.), and all tasks were seamlessly tracked in real time. Alerts were automatically generated if any issue arose, which helped resolve the problem without jeopardizing business performance. The embedded workflow functions enable organizations to automate information flow inside (and outside) the organization based on business process requirements.