The rapid pace of today’s business means that relevant skills are becoming outdated more quickly than ever before. This naturally creates challenges for companies that are trying to innovate and achieve growth.
In fact, a PwC report shows that 98 percent of South African CEOs are worried about the availability of key skills within their organizations. And this growing skills gap extends beyond highly sought-after tech skills.
It’s a fascinating time to be in finance, especially for those of us who enjoy a challenge, change, and personal growth. For those who don’t, the way ahead could be tough. Industry 4.0 becomes the prevailing paradigm for manufacturing, finance, new technologies, collaborations and new ways of thinking need to be embraced.
ERP or rather MRP systems for many years (in SYSPRO’s case, for 40 years!) have enabled Purchasing via requisitions through approval – then purchase orders with more approval – receiving via a GRN process – and finally payment of supplier invoices. This system still works fine and is best loved by administration and micro-managing Procurement Managers.
The phrase ’employee engagement’ – is something I hear a lot in my job. Everyone knows that employee engagement is essential for the successful implementation and utilization of ERP. Deloitte agrees and goes so far as to say that “Poor user engagement with enterprise applications is a leading reason enterprise software fails to deliver the desired business results for organizations”.
In my previous blog, on this topic, I referred to “The Machine that Changed the World” and took some insights from the book by the same name which was based upon the first “study” of Lean. Unfortunately, automation can result in massive waste built into the factory if it is not removed up front.
I was recently approached by my cell provider to upgrade to the latest and greatest plan that will support the latest and greatest smartphone. As I was conversing with the person on the other side of the line it dawned on me that in our ERP world it is not much different.
I recently had the experience of upgrading my Samsung phone to the S9+. Now for all the iPhone fans out there, this is not your cue to stop reading, this story has relevance to you too.
Upgrading a phone is always a contradictory emotional experience, on the one hand, you are excited to experience all the new features and capabilities, but on the other, you’re also a bit nervous as the transition may not be as seamless as it is supposed to be. Nonetheless, we soldier ahead.
As I noted in Part 1 of this blog, financial workers have always been at the forefront of data collection, structure and management. That doesn’t mean, however, that our careers are impervious to obsolescence. Industry 4.0 is a technological revolution, and this is no time to rest on our pre-transformation laurels. Everyone in the finance ecosystem needs to be on top of incoming technologies, and understand, as best as one can, their long-term implications.
We live in a time of exponentially increasing distractions. We are constantly bombarded by information whether it be social, news or simply advertising. We carry devices with us wherever we go to make sure we don’t miss any of this. While this constant “connectedness” may seem like the ultimate step in the quest to stay informed, perhaps it does exactly the opposite?
