Introduction
A national automotive field repair service organisation wanted to create improved customer experience and to specify the process and workflow requirements for a new ERP system. This study describes how we facilitated the redesign of the end to end process architecture.
Background
Our client specialises in the repair and replacement of parts for private and commercial vehicles.
One of the key goals of the organisation is to improve still further their service delivery efficiency and effectiveness. To this end, a Change Programme was put in place to review and redesign the core processes within the business in readiness for the replacement of key systems.
An exercise had already been carried out to review the “As-Is” processes and this had already triggered a number of performance improvement initiatives. This exercise had been successful to an extent but the methodology had alienated some of the participants and had not generated buy in across the organisation.
The Challenge
The challenge to Xenogenix was to come up with a solution to:
- Create a Future State Design (FSD) for the business that met the ever more demanding needs of its customers
- Involve people from all the key functions across the business
- Create a positive buy-in to the Change Programme across the business
- Win the approval of the management team
- Last no more than three months
- Provide deliverables that could be passed straight to the preferred system supplier.
Our Solution
The solution centred on a number of key principles:
1. Start with the customer
2. Get the people who understand the work to design the future state
3. Keep the stake holders informed at every stage
4. Make it a positive experience
Start with the customer
The first phase involved mapping the required customer experience for each of the key processes. Not how it happens today, but how we think it should happen in the future.
Each customer experience map was developed with the core cross functional Change Team of eight people in facilitated mapping workshops.
Get the people who understand the work to design the future state
The Future State Design was created in two stages. Stage one was to create a “straw man” with the core team, again using facilitated workshops.
Stage two involved a much broader team from across the business. Nearly fifty people from across the business were involved in the future state design, with specialists from each function contributing to areas within their own expertise and also on which they were dependent. So we made sure that the internal customers’ voices were heard as well. These workshops took the straw man, questioned, refined and added more detail to it.
The last part of the project was to carry out a business impact analysis. This was a first level assessment of the benefits to be gained from the FSD and also the risks and impacts on people.
Keep the stake holders informed at every stage
At every stage throughout the project (Customer Experience, Straw Man and Final Design), the management team were involved and consulted, not merely informed. These review sessions took the form of two to three hour meetings where part of the proposed solution was reviewed, questioned and modified where appropriate. These reviews were an essential part of building the confidence needed at management level to enable a rapid go/no-go decision at the end of the project.
Make it a positive experience
A critical part of creating change and making it stick is to make the process a positive experience. To this end, we employed a number of tools and techniques.
- Maps are created real time using the control-ES software from Nimbus so there is no brown paper and post-it notes. What you see on the screen at the end of the workshop is what you review next time.
- Meetings and workshops were always scheduled more than two weeks in advance.
- The wider team had a full briefing session over two weeks before their workshops so that they all new what the objectives and expectations were.
- The project ended with an event involving the whole team and an extremely positive endorsement from the management team.
Results
- Full buy in and endorsement from the management team for the Future State Design.
- Extremely positive response from the participants who are now positive about embracing the future changes.
- A comprehensive input to the system supplier that has reduced their implementation lead time by two months.
- A Future State Design that is customer centric, not system centric.
- Using Lean Projects methodology, we were able to predict the end point of the assignment to within 3 working days.