During my time as a senior healthcare consultant, I often encountered a systematic problem: the large, monolithic products for managing healthcare data and processes known as Enterprise Healthcare Records. Doctors and nurses often had to adapt their work to fit the systems rather than the other way around, which negatively affected their effectiveness. In a project I led, which was part of the so-called 3R initiative (preparation for the procurement of a new record system for Stockholm, Skåne and Gothenburg), it became clear that these large standard systems had their limitations.
I spent several years trying to improve the situation, working closely with many talented professionals to push for change. We came very close to creating something innovative and better, but even today I see articles that talk about the same problems we were trying to solve back then.
Now that I have also worked closely with the manufacturing industry, I see similar patterns with business systems, or ERP systems. One of our customers realized early on that their ERP would not be able to serve their needs over time in a flexible and user-centric way. Although the ERP system was central to the management of projects, production, items and spare parts, it was not sufficient for the aftermarket needs that arose once the products had been delivered to the customer.
To be effective in the aftermarket, a more flexible system was required that could be combined with other information and provide user-friendly solutions. Herein lies the problem: ERP systems are good at managing basic data, but they are not designed to own every process and interface that users encounter.
What do you wish your ERP system could do that it can't do today?