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Chapter 7
implemented an ERP system. The current growth area in ERP implementations is in the small
to midsized business market, and vendors have been developing products, including Microsoft
Dynamics and SAP Business One, tailored to this market.
Recall that the implementation of ERP is an ongoing process, not a one-time task.
ERP systems are extremely complicated, and no company ever takes full advantage of all
the capabilities in a system. Because of the challenges in the initial implementation of an
ERP system, many firms limit the scope of the implementation projects to only what is
absolutely necessary to operate the business, and rightly so. After the implementation
is complete and the system is running smoothly, many firms seek to further improve
their business processes by updating and expanding upon their original ERP system
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implementation. These follow-on implementation projects, while smaller than the initial
ERP implementation, still require effective management.

ANOTHER LOOK

Business Process Improvement at Multi-Chem
What do you do when your organization grows so rapidly that documents start to fall through
the cracks? Smart companies turn to business process management to help them get their
organizations running more efficiency. Multi-Chem, an international specialty chemicals
company selling to the oil and gas industry, did just that in an attempt to improve its business
processes. The company is based in San Angelo, Texas, and has over 700 employees. Due to
its rapid growth, the company’s document approval processes had become slow and
ineffective. Documents, such as vacation requests, were only trickling through an inefficient
approval process and some were even languishing on workers’ desks.
Before setting out to improve this inefficient business process, Multi-Chem’s
management established some criteria for the solution. The company wanted a program
that was more than a simple email system; the solution had to be able to manage
documents electronically, and it needed to be able to control the processes’ workflow.
Management also wanted to put the system in the user’s hands, that is, they did not want
a system that the IT Department would have to manage on a daily basis. In addition, the
solution needed to be scalable since the company was growing fast.
The solution chosen by Multi-Chem was BP Logix’s Process Director. Internally,
Multi-Chem refers to the new system as eDocs. The company focused first on creating a
new personnel request form, which is used for new hires and new positions. With the
new system, Multi-Chem was able to design a user-friendly form that simplified the
hiring process, and because the new form and process was so intuitive, it was widely
accepted by employees. And through the system’s use of audit trails, tracking
authorizations has been simplified. Further implementation phases included the
development of new documents and workflows for approving capital expenditures,
training employees, and creating customer profiles.
Multi-Chem’s eDocs system continues to save the company money and time. All
employees are using eDocs, and the system has become a critical part of their work.
Question:

1. Think of an example of a paper-based inefficient business process, such as one
you might see at a traditional doctor’s office. How could an electronic
document system that uses workflow improve the efficiency of that process?

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