ERP Insights >> Magazine >> September - 2019 issue
Building a Future-Proof ERP Platform
Author :
Tuesday, May 12, 2020
Cloud Computing For the ERP
Cloud computing is the future of ERP. Not only can it cut
the cost of running the infrastructure significantly, it can also
help drive the standardization agenda, which is so critical in
making an ERP roll out successful. Within GE Power, we
look at ERPs and Cloud technology by categorizing ERP
into three buckets: small, medium, and large. For our small
and medium sized ERPs, we are incorporating the Cloud
SaaS platform. For the first time in GE, we will have one
smaller sized manufacturing and engineering site migrating
to the Cloud SaaS platform in April 2017. Based upon the
learnings from this pilot, we will be rolling this solution out
for our medium-size manufacturing sites. For our large-scale
ERP, we are taking a hybrid approach where we have the
ERP by itself on premise while having some of our pillar
platforms (e.g., commercial, procurement) on the cloud. This
serves two purposes:in a smaller to mid-size environment, it
gives us the opportunity to learn and experiment with SaaS
solutions, while in the larger scale ERP environment; it sets
the path toward SaaS by having the peripheral applications
on the cloud.
1. Big Data Analytics: Shaping ERPBig
data and analytics are real. Early on, our focus concentrated
on rolling out ERPs first and then worrying about
reporting, data and analytics at a later point in time. Now
data and analytics are continuously shaping the way we roll
out ERPs. Most of the ERP software comes with built in
reporting tools. We can leverage those tools for operational
reporting purposes. However,throughout the entire ERP
ecosystem we have several pillar applications like PLM,
Services and Repair, and Commercial that interface with
the ERP. These applications, along with the ERP, come together
to form what we term as the �digital thread� for an
enterprise. We leverage big data and analytics platforms
to harness this digital thread across all pillar applications.
By doing this, we form a semantic data layer that is consistent
across all pillar applications, which is key to GE becoming
a digital industrial leader. At the project�s conclusion,
we will not measure the success of ERP on simply the
schedule and budget. These are just table stakes. Success
for GE Power�s ERP depends on how we enable and drive
this digital thread to increase productivity, which can then translate into optimized working capital and incremental
business revenue.
2. Step toward Innovation ERP is a business
initiative; it is not an IT project. ERP must enable inherent
business transformation and it must be aimed at enabling
outcomes. GE Power has made a strategic decision to operate
a single SAP instance supporting 40,000 global users
across our three largest business units. This will be the single
largest ERP within GE;approximately 40 percent of GE
Power�s overall operating profit will be processed through
this platform. We have adopted a two phased ERP strategy
to enable this within GE Power. This allows us to think about
ERPs a bit differently. Phase 1 is focused on implementing
the enterprise platform by leveraging the principles of agile
methodology and eliminating waste in our existing processes
and drive productivity. As a result, we can automate
the product lifecycle while maintaining the install base information
(the transactional records for every piece of equipment
that gets shipped and serviced) and records on every
employee involved in the production process. Phase 2 is focused
on laying the broad foundations of the SAP platform to
drive future innovation and growth. In this phase, we will be
leveraging the GE-developed Predix cloud-based platform
to realize the concept of digital thread, utilize big data and
analytics, and build the digital enterprise of the future. When
Phase 2 is completed, we will be able to drive better inventory
optimization, predict the status of our assets, understand
the failure modes of our equipment, and manage the cost of
quality much more precisely. In short, GE Power is not taking
the traditional waterfall approach to ERP implementation,
starting with foundation first then growth. Instead, we are running a true agile methodology to accelerate business
value and learn as we grow.
3. Technologies for the Future
With ERP deployments, user experience has always been a
challenge (and rightfully so). The focus for ERP now needs
to be on driving a rich user experience with customized
personas of roles being performed. Digital-savvy employees
entering the workforce do not want complex manuals
and training guides to use our systems. Rather, they
want their digital work experience to be no different than
their social life or personal use of technology. As a result,
we are investing in social platforms to drive collaboration
across common functions to solve problems much faster,
and we are also embracing mobility. We are experimenting
with how to eliminate the human key board interface
with technologies such as holo lens to bring in 3D visualization
to our processes and voice activation to complete
transaction entries.
Changing Role of CIOs:
The role of the CIO has dramatically changed. The IT organization
is one of the few functions in a modern global
business environment that has a holistic view of the entire
business and can connect nearly all functions. The lines are
now being blurred between CDO/CIO/CMOs, and this is a
good thing. CEO�s recognize that leveraging digital capability
can help drive out cost, increase revenue, and directly impact share price. At GE, our supply chain leaders now
talk regularly to our CIOs internally as they make decisions
on purchasing intelligent machines that can be connected to
our digital brilliant manufacturing suite of applications for
performing predictive analytics. Our products are now being
manufactured keeping software and data in mind. We are
leading the charge of the new digital industrial world. Within
GE Power, our equipment powers approximately 1/3 of the
overall world�s electricity needs, so there is tremendous opportunity
to continue driving a new digital industrial future.
We are working towards a digital world where we can digitize
our assets to drive more optimization and value for our
end customers.
Using Technology to Curb ERP Cost
ERPs should be focused on achieving or supporting business
outcomes. The outcomes should justify the cost. Within GE
Power there are multiple ways we are looking at optimizing
the overall cost of our ERP program. We are leveraging bots
to digitize all our regression testing needs. We work horizontally
to leverage a single team across GE to manage data
conversions, testing and to develop our integrations. Within
GE we have built digital hubs, which provide these services
to all our different business units so we can get the benefit
from the economies of scale. We are also building a DevOps
model to make ourselves accountable for the ERP software
that we roll out. We are experimenting with collaborative
tools to optimize the cost of change management. There are
a few levers that we are exercising to optimize our ERP costs
but at the end the business outcomes should justify the investment.
4. Reaping Out ERP Value
ERP is not a one-time event; it is an ongoing culture of continuous
improvement. Mining transactional data from ERP
and operations data provides business insights with opportunity
to drive revenue growth or cost out opportunities.
For example, equipment monitoring in the field provides
insights into predicting equipment failure, service outages.
This equipment insight with ERP transactional data can help
determine the appropriate stocking levels of critical parts and
avoid stock outs. The net impact is avoided downtime for a
customer who needs parts for a power plant urgently (as an
example). GE is building capability to transform ourselves
and our customers into digital industrial companies, and having
a single view of global operations helps drive out cost in
the supply chain. We can identify quality issues in the manufacturing
process, compare this across geographies and can
determine if the issue is related to product design, varying
manufacturing process, or even human error. The possibiliJorgeF
rausto ties for ERP driving improvement are nearly endless.
Building a Future-Proof ERP Platform
Author :
Tuesday, May 12, 2020
Cloud Computing For the ERP
Cloud computing is the future of ERP. Not only can it cut
the cost of running the infrastructure significantly, it can also
help drive the standardization agenda, which is so critical in
making an ERP roll out successful. Within GE Power, we
look at ERPs and Cloud technology by categorizing ERP
into three buckets: small, medium, and large. For our small
and medium sized ERPs, we are incorporating the Cloud
SaaS platform. For the first time in GE, we will have one
smaller sized manufacturing and engineering site migrating
to the Cloud SaaS platform in April 2017. Based upon the
learnings from this pilot, we will be rolling this solution out
for our medium-size manufacturing sites. For our large-scale
ERP, we are taking a hybrid approach where we have the
ERP by itself on premise while having some of our pillar
platforms (e.g., commercial, procurement) on the cloud. This
serves two purposes:in a smaller to mid-size environment, it
gives us the opportunity to learn and experiment with SaaS
solutions, while in the larger scale ERP environment; it sets
the path toward SaaS by having the peripheral applications
on the cloud.
1. Big Data Analytics: Shaping ERPBig
data and analytics are real. Early on, our focus concentrated
on rolling out ERPs first and then worrying about
reporting, data and analytics at a later point in time. Now
data and analytics are continuously shaping the way we roll
out ERPs. Most of the ERP software comes with built in
reporting tools. We can leverage those tools for operational
reporting purposes. However,throughout the entire ERP
ecosystem we have several pillar applications like PLM,
Services and Repair, and Commercial that interface with
the ERP. These applications, along with the ERP, come together
to form what we term as the �digital thread� for an
enterprise. We leverage big data and analytics platforms
to harness this digital thread across all pillar applications.
By doing this, we form a semantic data layer that is consistent
across all pillar applications, which is key to GE becoming
a digital industrial leader. At the project�s conclusion,
we will not measure the success of ERP on simply the
schedule and budget. These are just table stakes. Success
for GE Power�s ERP depends on how we enable and drive
this digital thread to increase productivity, which can then translate into optimized working capital and incremental
business revenue.
2. Step toward Innovation ERP is a business
initiative; it is not an IT project. ERP must enable inherent
business transformation and it must be aimed at enabling
outcomes. GE Power has made a strategic decision to operate
a single SAP instance supporting 40,000 global users
across our three largest business units. This will be the single
largest ERP within GE;approximately 40 percent of GE
Power�s overall operating profit will be processed through
this platform. We have adopted a two phased ERP strategy
to enable this within GE Power. This allows us to think about
ERPs a bit differently. Phase 1 is focused on implementing
the enterprise platform by leveraging the principles of agile
methodology and eliminating waste in our existing processes
and drive productivity. As a result, we can automate
the product lifecycle while maintaining the install base information
(the transactional records for every piece of equipment
that gets shipped and serviced) and records on every
employee involved in the production process. Phase 2 is focused
on laying the broad foundations of the SAP platform to
drive future innovation and growth. In this phase, we will be
leveraging the GE-developed Predix cloud-based platform
to realize the concept of digital thread, utilize big data and
analytics, and build the digital enterprise of the future. When
Phase 2 is completed, we will be able to drive better inventory
optimization, predict the status of our assets, understand
the failure modes of our equipment, and manage the cost of
quality much more precisely. In short, GE Power is not taking
the traditional waterfall approach to ERP implementation,
starting with foundation first then growth. Instead, we are running a true agile methodology to accelerate business
value and learn as we grow.
3. Technologies for the Future
With ERP deployments, user experience has always been a
challenge (and rightfully so). The focus for ERP now needs
to be on driving a rich user experience with customized
personas of roles being performed. Digital-savvy employees
entering the workforce do not want complex manuals
and training guides to use our systems. Rather, they
want their digital work experience to be no different than
their social life or personal use of technology. As a result,
we are investing in social platforms to drive collaboration
across common functions to solve problems much faster,
and we are also embracing mobility. We are experimenting
with how to eliminate the human key board interface
with technologies such as holo lens to bring in 3D visualization
to our processes and voice activation to complete
transaction entries.
Changing Role of CIOs:
The role of the CIO has dramatically changed. The IT organization
is one of the few functions in a modern global
business environment that has a holistic view of the entire
business and can connect nearly all functions. The lines are
now being blurred between CDO/CIO/CMOs, and this is a
good thing. CEO�s recognize that leveraging digital capability
can help drive out cost, increase revenue, and directly impact share price. At GE, our supply chain leaders now
talk regularly to our CIOs internally as they make decisions
on purchasing intelligent machines that can be connected to
our digital brilliant manufacturing suite of applications for
performing predictive analytics. Our products are now being
manufactured keeping software and data in mind. We are
leading the charge of the new digital industrial world. Within
GE Power, our equipment powers approximately 1/3 of the
overall world�s electricity needs, so there is tremendous opportunity
to continue driving a new digital industrial future.
We are working towards a digital world where we can digitize
our assets to drive more optimization and value for our
end customers.
Using Technology to Curb ERP Cost
ERPs should be focused on achieving or supporting business
outcomes. The outcomes should justify the cost. Within GE
Power there are multiple ways we are looking at optimizing
the overall cost of our ERP program. We are leveraging bots
to digitize all our regression testing needs. We work horizontally
to leverage a single team across GE to manage data
conversions, testing and to develop our integrations. Within
GE we have built digital hubs, which provide these services
to all our different business units so we can get the benefit
from the economies of scale. We are also building a DevOps
model to make ourselves accountable for the ERP software
that we roll out. We are experimenting with collaborative
tools to optimize the cost of change management. There are
a few levers that we are exercising to optimize our ERP costs
but at the end the business outcomes should justify the investment.
4. Reaping Out ERP Value
ERP is not a one-time event; it is an ongoing culture of continuous
improvement. Mining transactional data from ERP
and operations data provides business insights with opportunity
to drive revenue growth or cost out opportunities.
For example, equipment monitoring in the field provides
insights into predicting equipment failure, service outages.
This equipment insight with ERP transactional data can help
determine the appropriate stocking levels of critical parts and
avoid stock outs. The net impact is avoided downtime for a
customer who needs parts for a power plant urgently (as an
example). GE is building capability to transform ourselves
and our customers into digital industrial companies, and having
a single view of global operations helps drive out cost in
the supply chain. We can identify quality issues in the manufacturing
process, compare this across geographies and can
determine if the issue is related to product design, varying
manufacturing process, or even human error. The possibiliJorgeF
rausto ties for ERP driving improvement are nearly endless.
Cloud computing is the future of ERP. Not only can it cut
the cost of running the infrastructure significantly, it can also
help drive the standardization agenda, which is so critical in
making an ERP roll out successful. Within GE Power, we
look at ERPs and Cloud technology by categorizing ERP
into three buckets: small, medium, and large. For our small
and medium sized ERPs, we are incorporating the Cloud
SaaS platform. For the first time in GE, we will have one
smaller sized manufacturing and engineering site migrating
to the Cloud SaaS platform in April 2017. Based upon the
learnings from this pilot, we will be rolling this solution out
for our medium-size manufacturing sites. For our large-scale
ERP, we are taking a hybrid approach where we have the
ERP by itself on premise while having some of our pillar
platforms (e.g., commercial, procurement) on the cloud. This
serves two purposes:in a smaller to mid-size environment, it
gives us the opportunity to learn and experiment with SaaS
solutions, while in the larger scale ERP environment; it sets
the path toward SaaS by having the peripheral applications
on the cloud.
1. Big Data Analytics: Shaping ERPBig
data and analytics are real. Early on, our focus concentrated
on rolling out ERPs first and then worrying about
reporting, data and analytics at a later point in time. Now
data and analytics are continuously shaping the way we roll
out ERPs. Most of the ERP software comes with built in
reporting tools. We can leverage those tools for operational
reporting purposes. However,throughout the entire ERP
ecosystem we have several pillar applications like PLM,
Services and Repair, and Commercial that interface with
the ERP. These applications, along with the ERP, come together
to form what we term as the �digital thread� for an
enterprise. We leverage big data and analytics platforms
to harness this digital thread across all pillar applications.
By doing this, we form a semantic data layer that is consistent
across all pillar applications, which is key to GE becoming
a digital industrial leader. At the project�s conclusion,
we will not measure the success of ERP on simply the
schedule and budget. These are just table stakes. Success
for GE Power�s ERP depends on how we enable and drive
this digital thread to increase productivity, which can then translate into optimized working capital and incremental
business revenue.
2. Step toward Innovation ERP is a business
initiative; it is not an IT project. ERP must enable inherent
business transformation and it must be aimed at enabling
outcomes. GE Power has made a strategic decision to operate
a single SAP instance supporting 40,000 global users
across our three largest business units. This will be the single
largest ERP within GE;approximately 40 percent of GE
Power�s overall operating profit will be processed through
this platform. We have adopted a two phased ERP strategy
to enable this within GE Power. This allows us to think about
ERPs a bit differently. Phase 1 is focused on implementing
the enterprise platform by leveraging the principles of agile
methodology and eliminating waste in our existing processes
and drive productivity. As a result, we can automate
the product lifecycle while maintaining the install base information
(the transactional records for every piece of equipment
that gets shipped and serviced) and records on every
employee involved in the production process. Phase 2 is focused
on laying the broad foundations of the SAP platform to
drive future innovation and growth. In this phase, we will be
leveraging the GE-developed Predix cloud-based platform
to realize the concept of digital thread, utilize big data and
analytics, and build the digital enterprise of the future. When
Phase 2 is completed, we will be able to drive better inventory
optimization, predict the status of our assets, understand
the failure modes of our equipment, and manage the cost of
quality much more precisely. In short, GE Power is not taking
the traditional waterfall approach to ERP implementation,
starting with foundation first then growth. Instead, we are running a true agile methodology to accelerate business
value and learn as we grow.
3. Technologies for the Future
With ERP deployments, user experience has always been a
challenge (and rightfully so). The focus for ERP now needs
to be on driving a rich user experience with customized
personas of roles being performed. Digital-savvy employees
entering the workforce do not want complex manuals
and training guides to use our systems. Rather, they
want their digital work experience to be no different than
their social life or personal use of technology. As a result,
we are investing in social platforms to drive collaboration
across common functions to solve problems much faster,
and we are also embracing mobility. We are experimenting
with how to eliminate the human key board interface
with technologies such as holo lens to bring in 3D visualization
to our processes and voice activation to complete
transaction entries.
Changing Role of CIOs:
The role of the CIO has dramatically changed. The IT organization
is one of the few functions in a modern global
business environment that has a holistic view of the entire
business and can connect nearly all functions. The lines are
now being blurred between CDO/CIO/CMOs, and this is a
good thing. CEO�s recognize that leveraging digital capability
can help drive out cost, increase revenue, and directly impact share price. At GE, our supply chain leaders now
talk regularly to our CIOs internally as they make decisions
on purchasing intelligent machines that can be connected to
our digital brilliant manufacturing suite of applications for
performing predictive analytics. Our products are now being
manufactured keeping software and data in mind. We are
leading the charge of the new digital industrial world. Within
GE Power, our equipment powers approximately 1/3 of the
overall world�s electricity needs, so there is tremendous opportunity
to continue driving a new digital industrial future.
We are working towards a digital world where we can digitize
our assets to drive more optimization and value for our
end customers.
Using Technology to Curb ERP Cost
ERPs should be focused on achieving or supporting business
outcomes. The outcomes should justify the cost. Within GE
Power there are multiple ways we are looking at optimizing
the overall cost of our ERP program. We are leveraging bots
to digitize all our regression testing needs. We work horizontally
to leverage a single team across GE to manage data
conversions, testing and to develop our integrations. Within
GE we have built digital hubs, which provide these services
to all our different business units so we can get the benefit
from the economies of scale. We are also building a DevOps
model to make ourselves accountable for the ERP software
that we roll out. We are experimenting with collaborative
tools to optimize the cost of change management. There are
a few levers that we are exercising to optimize our ERP costs
but at the end the business outcomes should justify the investment.
4. Reaping Out ERP Value
ERP is not a one-time event; it is an ongoing culture of continuous
improvement. Mining transactional data from ERP
and operations data provides business insights with opportunity
to drive revenue growth or cost out opportunities.
For example, equipment monitoring in the field provides
insights into predicting equipment failure, service outages.
This equipment insight with ERP transactional data can help
determine the appropriate stocking levels of critical parts and
avoid stock outs. The net impact is avoided downtime for a
customer who needs parts for a power plant urgently (as an
example). GE is building capability to transform ourselves
and our customers into digital industrial companies, and having
a single view of global operations helps drive out cost in
the supply chain. We can identify quality issues in the manufacturing
process, compare this across geographies and can
determine if the issue is related to product design, varying
manufacturing process, or even human error. The possibiliJorgeF
rausto ties for ERP driving improvement are nearly endless.
