Bombardier " Successfully Navigating the Turbulent Skies of a Large Scale ERP Implementation"

Issue:

Bombardier started replacing its existing system with integrated system that will increase efficiency and effectiveness of overall operations. Company’s management felt the need of ERP system for sustaining in the competitive market of aerospace.

The first attempt of ERP implementation in 2000 was not successful as Bombardier has a large, complex system. Bringing change to such a large system resulted in lower performance than expected. Bombardier abandoned the ERP implementation mid project with a cost of $130 million. The employees were not ready for such a big change and were hesitant about starting a new implementation. Bombardier has taken this into greater consideration when planning how they are going to roll out ERP again.

Bombardier hired a team of consultants for creating a plan to implement ERP. They introduced one-company vision throughout Bombardier and also involved senior management. This second round of implementation was more successful due to these valuable changes. Bombardier was ready in late 2001 to move forward with their Bombardier Manufacturing Information System (BMIS) – a new integrated manufacturing system that would be implemented through SAP. The company successfully implemented BMIS at its Mirabel plant and followed suit with implementation at St.-Laurent.

Senior management would like to evaluate their situation and see how a Best Practices approach could assist with an even more successful next round of implementation. Bombardier assessed the improved processes and success of these plants and it would try to go for the Best Practices approach for the implementation of ERP to further improve its project.

 

Situation Assessment:

In order to achieve Best Practices for ERP implementation, Bombardier should define clear goals and objectives of each group. Once the management clearly defines these goals and objectives with proper ERP implementation, it would affect all departments and business processes effectively and the probability of achieving the ultimate goal will increase.

Bombardier should also prepare for business transformation. ERP basically facilitates information flow between all business functions and manages connections to outside stakeholders. Therefore both rules and processes are going to be changed during ERP implementation. Bombardier should ensure that a clear process is defined and implemented and this transformation from old to new system is going to be easy for the workers.

One of the main tasks for Bombardier is to choose the right software. To gain full value from an ERP system, Bombardier must match suitable software for its information needs, processes, functional requirements, and workflows. After thorough considerations, the management concluded that SAP is the best option to implement the BMIS system for manufacturing facilities.

Training and support are also essential. Highly qualified and experienced consultants will be needed for ERP implementation. The selected vendor to complete this project should have consultants available immediately for training the users to use the new system. The vendor should also provide extended support if any problems arise.

Allocation of the necessary resources across financial, managerial and training is a very important decision for Bombardier. Change management is also necessary in order for a successful implementation.

Timing for the implementation is another crucial step. Management will need to involve leads from all affected departments to plan what is the best time to implement ERP in their departments and how it should be done. For instance, Accounting and Finance departments are usually very busy during the year end closing so it may not be a good time for any process change.

Recommendations:

ERP implementation at both Mirabel and St. Laurent plants were successful but the process went smoother at St. Laurent. For the second round of implementation, they had more management support, clearer goals and better training. A better success achieved at St. Laurent was due to the fact that some of the mistakes made at Mirabel were corrected at St. Laurent and process was further improved.

There was a disagreement among the employees regarding the scope of the project. The VP of operations and project sponsor continued to show support for the project but the plant manager did not agree with scope of the project and some internal managers felt that the new system was being forced upon them and did not welcome the change. IT was also complaining that users were not providing sufficient information for training materials. But at St. Laurent, mangers were more involved. Plant managers felt that it was their own project not just IT‘s and they took ownership of the processes at the early stage. This sense of ownership helped tremendously in getting all the employees involved. The vision of the project was clearer when it came for implementation at St.  Laurent. Before training the employees, they were thoroughly explained via presentations, all of the proposed changes which enabled them to be mentally prepared.  They understood that there was a need for change and they were working together towards the goal. These presentations should be continued for all further facilities. It was very informative for employees to see how Bombardier was doing versus its competitors and how new ERP system will improve company’s vision.  

 

Insufficient training was given at the Mirabel plant and it was given at a very early stage when the implementation started. By the time the implementation completed, most of the employees could not remember everything they had learned during training. For St. Laurent, the management scheduled the training at the right time. Both facilities also required long term support since some of the problems arose several weeks or even months later after the change completed. Also, some of the problems were very complex and required more in-depth follow up.  For the next round of implementation, Bombardier should make sure that there are at least few people that stay on for an extended period at facilities to provide support. 

 

The changes regarding training were made at both plants should be carried forward with some further enhancements. Training should be scheduled closer to implementation with a more generalized theme and then have some refresh courses. Users should have a chance to experience the system before they actually start working. This way users can understand new system better and it will eventually enhance their productivity.

 

Employees’ willingness plays a vital role in adopting a new system. Change is always difficult to embrace but if the employees are convinced that this system will bring a positive change for the company, they would work for it efficiently and effectively. 

 

Presentation:

 

In order to present this case, the consultants should explain the ERP system and how it will benefit Bombardier. They should also identify the successful steps taken as well as mistakes made during the implementation. They can use visual charts and MS PowerPoint for the presentation.