Comments on Brightwork Article on SAP Best Practices

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Executive Summary

This article contains comments from the articles on SAP Best Practices.

Introduction

These comments are in response to the articles on SAP best practices.

Comment #1: Audrey Berettoni

Hello, I am really puzzled by this article. I do agree major consulting firms use the term Best practices with no idea whatsoever of what sap methodology it supports or the meaning of the term in general. They should be ashamed. They don’t even use 20 % of SAP efficiency.

I try using the best practices methodology ie instead of identifying vaguely there is a production process, i can drill down to more specific processes and therefore the gap analysis is simpler.

Also I am a business analyst as in I can understand business and I master a few analysis tools (VoVa matrix..)and sometimes you have to reengineer the processes first, implement simple kanban, determine mterial categories, implement inventory management or supply chain basics…

SAP Best Practices is an accelerator, a tool, and as every tool its purpose should be understood and its use mastered.

From what I’ve read you have stopped the analysis to marketing blabla which happens to be exaggerated but true to some extent. I wish you would assist me in a workshop with users from the factories and watch us redesign the processes then the SAP system. Quite a challenge in which I hope I don’t misuse the best practices.

Audrey,

The reason you are puzzled is that you think that the only issue with the term best practices is that it is misused.

The problem is that the term has been demonstrated to be false by academic study.

Best practices were used to sell ERP as I cover in the article How to Understand the Logic to Sell ERP Systems.

If you have ever used an ERP system, you know they don’t contain” best practices.”

Something you will note is that those that use the term best practices don’t provide evidence that they are best practices or that they are the best. And the vast majority of people that use the term, have no idea that the academic research has already found no evidence to support their existence.

So it is not just that best practices marketing is false, the entire concept is false. Or that is lacks evidence after decades of being tested.

If I assisted you in a workshop and watched you redesign a process for the SAP system, it would not prove anything related to best practices. First, SAP does not contain best practices. SAP’s overall production planning, execution functionality — both in ECC and in APO is extremely weak. So it can’t even be called a good practice much less a best practice. Brightwork R&A has been at the forefront of exposing how bad the production functionality in SAP is.

The only reason that SAP is purchased is that SAP is pushed by consulting companies for big $$$$. Furthermore, in production specifically, due to the specialized nature of the requirements, it is a much better fit for custom development. I cover this in this topic in the following article When Should a Company Use ERP Best Practices Versus Custom Code?

Thus, when a person uses the term best practices, I normally tell people that person has no idea if that “thing” is the single best way to do something.

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