This is not the way a successful business owner thinks. If this is the way you run your business you’ll always be reacting to the latest situation and you’ll spend much too much time trying to maintain the status quo when in fact you should be doing the exact opposite.

Stop wanting things to stay consistent in your small business, instead start understanding that the only consistent thing in life -– and business — is change!

If you want something to happen, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant, there’s an element of change that needs to occur for that something to take shape. When you think of it that way, fighting change becomes useless and counterproductive.

Start thinking of change as your friend, and not your enemy. See change as the great catalyst it is — something that can accelerate events, keep things from becoming stagnant, and make all things possible. Would you rather use your energy pushing against something or going with the flow? You’ll go farther if you keep the winds of change at your back, and not blowing in your face.

Once you get that mind-set, you’ll lose the attitude of “Okay, what’s going to go wrong next?” Instead, you’ll find yourself saying, “I wonder what my next opportunity will be?” This shift in attitude also changes the way you view and pursue success. Never again will you sit still and wait for success to come to you. You’ll now understand that to have success you need to go out and actively seek it.

This simple change in thinking is amazing. When you understand that change is always right around the corner, you have the edge over your competition. Instead of looking at your business as a constant, stagnant thing, you’ll view it is a work in progress; a living, breathing entity that’s always be changing and evolving.

In fact, the healthiest, most robust businesses embrace change and acknowledge that the world doesn’t sit still. Successful people view change as a metamorphosis of sorts. They also understand that since change is inevitable, they need to always be on the lookout for new opportunities.

In its simplest form, acknowledging change, embracing it and working with it, rather than against it, puts you in the driver’s seat. You’ll be among the first to spot trends, new market opportunities and ways to stay ahead of the competition. All in all, you’ll find that the more you love change, the more successful you’ll become.

For a free weekly ezine with valuable tips for your small and mid-size business go to http://www.theprofitrepairman.com. Tom Marquardt, The Profit Repairman

The marketplace – is IT really that important?

Well, it’s not all bad news on the job front in the UK. Research published by the Globalisation and Economic Policy Centre at the University of Nottingham(2) has said that although one in seven private sector jobs are lost in the UK each year, more are being created in their place. The indications are that the private sector work market is extremely fluid.

Dr Peter Wright, associate professor at Nottingham University confirms this notion of a constantly evolving marketplace: “This shows how dynamic the UK employment market is. This also has important implications in terms of training provision, as many workers are likely to need to regularly change or update their skills.”

The growing and transient job market has shifted position in the UK over the past 30 years, away from manufacturing and towards IT based industries – ranging from the financial sector, multi-media applications, even the much-maligned call centre. The opportunity for careers in IT has never been broader, or more accessible.

The widespread adoption of the Internet as a tool for business has seen a surge in ‘over the ‘net’ sales. In 2005, 93% of business in the UK with ten or more employees reported that personal computers were being used in day-to-day business (2).

Amongst the largest businesses (those with 1,000 or more employees), the figure was nearly 100%. This demonstrates quite clearly how essential information and communication technology (ICT) has become to the UK and indeed the global economic model.

The same survey by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) found that in 2005 the value of sales over the Internet was £103 billion, accounting for 34% of sales across all kinds of ICT by non-financial sector businesses. If you include the financial sector into that equation, the numbers increase dramatically.

Even industries that you would not normally expect to be heavily influenced by the use of IT, such as wholesale, retail, catering and travel, reported the highest value of sales over the Internet at £49 million, representing £47 out of every £100 of goods sold.

The clear indication amongst all these statistics is that jobs in IT have never been more important to the global economy. Without a solid foundation in the application of ICT technology, a business will be hard pressed to compete on equal terms with its rivals. Which is why IT careers will continue to offer both opportunities for employment in almost any marketplace and a decent salary to boot. The stale, hackneyed vision of ‘speccy techs’ in the IT department of any company is now pass

For employees, your best choice may be to to completely and evenly divide your budget between these people and buy the same thing for the rest. This is to show that you are just thinking equally and not dealing with favorites. Buy purchasing in bulk, you can also save money. However, if you purchase same gifts for everyone, consider something that can be very useful for them. Therefore, what you will choose are gifts that are not gender-specific and are those that don’t require you to choose sizes.

Of course, it is always welcome to purchase different presents for different individuals. You may want to consider each of their likes, hobbies, tastes and lifestyles. Many people not only companies opt to give different types of gifts for each person. This is one way of making sure that they will really get what they want. If in case your company or organization has volunteers or major donors, it may be a great idea to get them a special present around the holiday or on other special celebrations. Also, you don’t want to forget the members of the board of trustees. These people are very vital on your company, thus if you have money in your budget for executive business gifts, it’s completely absurd not to spend it.

Present gifts for employees during your company’s annual recognition day, or even on simple appreciation days. Of course, you want to give something that has a bit of elegance and sophistication. One of the most ideal gift to give for the most outstanding employee of the year is plaque or trophy. Today, you can find lots of beautiful and elegant plaques and trophies that aren’t ordinary as with traditional ones. You may consider an Engravable Super Star Trophy, a mix of fun and elegance for your company’s hardest working employee. This will surely give the most outstanding employee an inspiration, as well as a chance for him or her to display that special achievement. Don’t forget to engrave his or her name as well as inspiring words to make it more memorable.

Lastly, you should also save some executive business gifts for your loyal clients. Giving executive business gifts to your clients during holidays or other events help strengthen your good business relationship with them. This is one way also to make sure a repeat business with them. You may give personalized picture frames and albums, desk clocks, business card holders, business totes,pocket watches and other beautiful gifts that can carry sentiment of t hanks for your loyal patrons.

Jnet is a writer and interested more about weddings. Often focusing on a specific aspect of the event that would charm your look such as jewelry gift boxes and executive gift basket.

To get started, we need to explore the nature of health and let go of some outdated concepts. During childhood, were taught that healing is only a means to fix and cure. We learned that healing happens as a reaction to illness or something to focus on when we’re sick. Most traditional methods of healing in our culture are about fighting and conquering illness and disease, not about creating wholeness. Healing is simply a return to wholeness.

Wholeness honors and respects all four levels of your being; the physical, the emotional, the mental and the spiritual. When you respect these four levels, they can produce a synergy of wholeness. These four levels of being are the foundation of wholeness that leads to optimum health. Genuine healing begins by achieving balance on all four levels.

The first level of healing is with your physical body. It’s the most visible aspect of our being. We can easily identify and see the symptoms of illness physically. However, the lack of illness doesn’t define a state of health and wellness. Unfortunately, many people use their body as the only barometer to determine if they are healthy or ill. You’ll soon see that the physical body is only the first of four bodies which must be used to evaluate your actual state of health and wellness. Healing begins by making choices to care for your body.

Ask yourself these questions to evaluate your relationship to your body.

Do you appreciate your physical body? Do you find it easy to accept or do you constantly criticize it? Are you ashamed of your body? Are you measuring it against standards of perfection that are impossible to achieve? If so, then ask yourself why and write down your answers in a journal. Writing it down helps you to reflect deeper. These four questions will help determine your current relationship with your physical body and can be a catalyst to jump-start your healing process.

You may discover you have been in a very dysfunctional relationship with your body. If so, forgive yourself and begin to accept, appreciate and respect your body, just as it is. Acceptance, appreciation and respect will quickly change the dysfunctional relationship with your body.

A Few Suggestions to Respect for Your Body;

• Exercise daily

• Eat nourishing foods with live energy such as fruit and vegetables.

• Breathe deeply to continually renew your energy.

• Expose your body to sunlight in small doses on a regular basis.

• Sleep well and allow for plenty of time to rest and revitalize.

• Discover new ways to experience pleasure and comfort.

• Accept any physical limitations and love your body as it is.

The Second Level of Healing is with Your Emotional Body.

The next level of healing is within your emotional nature. We were never taught how to keep our emotions healthy. Instead, we were encouraged to devalue and repress our emotions. This unhealthy relationship leads to emotional stress and reduce your natural healing ability.

What constitutes a positive emotion versus a negative one? Many people divide their emotions into categories of “good” and “bad” feelings. The “good”. On the other hand, the “bad” emotions are deemed unacceptable, and we tend to ignore, deny or repress them. It is our judgment of our emotions that create the dysfunction and illness at this level.

Judging emotions as “good” and “bad”, creates emotional negativity. Traditionally we’re taught that when we feel the “good” or as I call them, “expanding emotions”, then we are being positive. However, if we feel the “bad” or “contracting emotions”, we believe we are being negative. This division of good and bad regarding your emotions produces dysfunction.

You’ll begin to create healing on this level rapidly by changing how you define your emotions. Let go of the judgments of good and bad, instead, think of them as expanding and contracting. For instance, think about breathing and ask yourself, “Is inhaling good and exhaling bad?” No… you need to do both to breathe properly, and so it is with your emotions. When you let go of the conditioned judgments from your childhood you will take a major step toward emotional health and well-being.

Being emotionally aware of your feelings regardless if they are expanding or contracting is being honest about how you really feel. Self-respect is not having to apologize for how you honestly feel, it is a state of honoring your thoughts and feelings.

Every emotion is a natural feedback mechanism to gain greater understanding of how you’re doing in your life. They are meant to provide guidance on your journey through life. To fully respect yourself is to be honest with how you feel emotionally. Only then can you change it. Denying emotions keep them alive and can haunt you for years.

How to Develop a Healthy Relationship with Your Emotional Body.

It begins with honesty and a willingness to feel and express your emotions and then release them. Whether its anger, hurt, love, or joy, the emotions need to be felt before they can be released. This creates a positive emotional state of being. How we relate to our emotions determines their positive or negative impact in our lives.

Can Love be Negative and Anger be Positive? Yes, they both have the potential of being either positive or negative depending upon how you relate to them. Unexpressed love can be tremendously negative. Repressed love can change the chemistry of your body, your blood pressure and eventually contribute to heart disease. Love on an emotional level is energy. When we refuse to let energy flow, it becomes repressed and can cause many physical complications.

How to begin honoring your emotional nature:

Begin to give yourself permission to feel all of your emotions without judgment and to express them constructively. You can best do this by journaling. Write down your feelings on a regular basis is a great way to express this energy and release it from your emotional body. It may take some practice, but it will ultimately lead to a healthier state of being.

The Third Level of Healing is on the Mental Level

The power of our minds (or the mind) is limitless. How do you relate to this God-given gift, called your human mind? Do you recognize the value of it to change your life or do you disregard your mental power? Most people have never been taught to appreciate the power of their minds.

Mental empowerment begins by making a personal choice. Understanding how the mind works, and how to use the mental tools that are available to you, begins mental empowerment. The four mental tools to create wellness (as well as any other change in your life) are:

1. Imagination

2. Thoughts

3. Beliefs

4. Choice

Four mental tools contain the power to improve or destroy your life. They create the nature of your attitude and your self image. You can not fully understand your inner power without owning these tools and using them to create the life you desire.

Mental healing begins by making a choice to use the power of your mind.

THE CHOICE: To believe that your thoughts are powerful and that they attract and create your experiences… or, to believe that it doesn’t matter what you think, that life isn’t a choice; it is only an experience that you have no control over.

If we deny our thinking and imagination, we are out of alignment thus, we are disempowered on the mental level of our being, leading to illness rather than wellness.

When you believe your mind holds the key to your personal power, you become more conscious of your thoughts and choices. You understand that your imagination is where all change begins; First in your mind, and then in your body and life. Make the choice to understand these tools, learn about them and use them to lead you closer toward healing and wholeness.

Disempowered individuals believe that the imagination is just “pretend” and has no power, it is only make-believe. When we engage our imagination and visualize the healthy expression of ourselves in our minds, we will create the blueprint of our future. Your imagination is a preview of your life’s experiences. Use it!

How to Access the Power of Your Imagination to Change Your Life.

The quickest way I know is to practice visualization and guided imagery techniques. You can discover how to focus your attention and use your imagination by learning to meditate. It is the safest method I know to gain access to the power of your mind. (See my guided meditations)

The Fourth Level is Spiritual Healing: Your Relationship to the Divine.

Your spiritual nature, regardless of your religion or lack of it, is about a personal and private relationship with the Divine, with God. What is God? Most simply put, God is Love. To honor God is to honor your relationship with love.

Beyond the emotional expression of human love is divine love. This is a love that begins by being understanding, compassionate and forgiving. Divine love is so much more than emotional love. It is the ultimate state of being. Being a loving person becomes the foundation upon which you establish permanent healing and activate your life-force energy to create the wholeness that leads to mental, emotional and physical healing.

Spirituality is your personal relationship with God. If God created All-That-Is, then everything is a creation of God (love). Spirituality is the way we relate to our lives with love - or without it. Spirituality is not a ritual we do on Sunday, and it’s not a book with rules and regulations. That’s religion. Spirituality’s only rule is love. Love is the way you relate to living your life.

Spirituality is your personal relationship to everything in your life. Spirituality is your relationship with your body, emotions, and mind. Spirituality is your relationship to your work, money, family and friends, and it all hinges upon whether those relationships are based on love and understanding or judgment and separation. Being loving is the most healing and powerful experience to change the nature of your life. It is the ultimate healing energy.

When we honor our relationship with God we recognize that our free-will choice to love God is really about choosing to love ourselves and everything and everybody in our lives.

The true nature of healing is focused on loving yourself enough to:

• Nurture your body by meeting its needs for health

• Honor your emotions and handle them honestly

• Value the power of your mind to overcome resistance to change

• Knowing that spirituality is simply about choosing to love

• Ask God for healing and strength to reach your full potential

• Remember that God isn’t separate from the physical world.

The true nature of health and healing becomes the way we live our lives, not just a quick and temporary cure to fix or keep our body alive!

Spiritual healing is a choice available to everyone regardless of your religion. The choice to access the power of your Soul whenever you choose, to remember you are loved by God and the way to love God is to love your life. Applying these secrets will increase your healing energy and create positive changes on all levels of your life.

Michaiel Patrick Bovenes is a personal empowerment teacher, speaker and author. Since 1994, he’s published a popular series of guided meditations and teahes classes called, “Soul-utions”. Michaiel lives in San Francisco, CA and teaches throughout the USA. Receive Free Meditation MP3 Download at his website at: RelaxationMeditations.com

When it comes to making a conference call many companies and organizations need to make several a day to make sure business gets done. That being the case for many means a high monthly bill for this service. Finding a company that provides this service to your company or organization at no cost to you will be a valuable asset. There is no doubt your company will always need this service to keep business running as usual and provide the best service for your customers. So finding a free way to provide that service is not only beneficial to your company but everyone your company deals with on a regular basis.

With services like this becoming free every day companies and organizations will be able to communicate with as many people as they need to. Most generally being able to do that for as long as they want will accomplish so much more than trying to limit the calls and the time. Being free to communicate with who you need to communicate with will allow your company and organization to have a great edge in your business.

Bringing this time of valuable change to your company will be easy when you mention that the service is free. Once people hear that word they listen, so when it comes time to changing services to benefit business you can do that for your company or organization at no cost to the company. Knowing about the services that your company can take advantage of for free is important in saving money and in giving your customers the best service you can. Keeping budget or staying under budget will be possible when taking advantage of this free service.

Conferencing calling has always been the key to many businesses success when it comes to expansion and growth. However now with this service available to your company for free that budget doesn’t have to increase. Now you can concentrate on taking your company to new successful levels with unlimited services such as these at no cost budgets will be kept and your company can provide customers with new products and services. Who would have thought that we are actually in the day where services are becoming free almost every day? Begin saving your company’s budget when you take advantage of free conference calls.

Ready to get a 100% free conference line. We are one of the only 100% free conference sites in the U.S. Click here to register for free Free Conference Calls or click here Free Conference Call , No credit card is ever required and its always free. We are the hottest Conferece For Free company in the U.S…

Many times companies offer introductory products and services to give you a taste of what they have to offer you or your business. Not often do companies provide on going services or give you enough of a product to last you as long as you need it. However because of being able to sample or try a service with no cost you may choose that company from now on. What if you found a service that is complimentary all the time? Now that is something that you can really love because it will save money all the time.

Finding complimentary services for limited times may be a popular thing for your personal needs. There are not as many opportunities for complimentary services for your business let alone ongoing services. Since it is no secret that everyone loves to get free stuff why shouldn’t there be complimentary services available for your business or work place? The answer is there should be and there is. Finding those services may take a little research but there are products and services you can not only utilize at home at no cost but also in your workplace.

Saving your business or company money will not only be a plus if you are the owner but if you are an employee as well. Giving your employer information on how to receive complimentary services or products on an ongoing basis will make them happy. Because everyone loves receiving as much as they can get at no cost to them. You may save the budget this year when you find a service your company uses often but pays for. When they can get it at no cost you have just help eliminate that expense from your company’s yearly budget. Now that is something to love.

Having your own business may mean that when you find a complimentary service your business can spend that money in promoting the business. Finding services at no cost will allow some room in the budget for that marketing campaign you want to launch. Saving money in one are will allow you to spend it in another area that will help your business grow.

When you hear about complimentary services and products let your interest perk up to see what they are offering you may be able to tap into something that will save money all the time. Whether it is personal, small business or big business there is no doubt that everyone on every level loves to receive free stuff.

Register now for your free no credit card every required conference line number. We are the hottest Free Conferencing Company in the U.S.. So register for free by clicking this link and signing up here Conference For Free or clicking here Free Conference Calls . What are you waiting for right now by clicking here Free Conference Call .

The organism, known to scientists as enterococcus faecalis, (or E. faecalis for short) lives quietly in the digestive system of most of us, and it’s true that not everyone develops colon cancer. For reasons scientists have yet to understand, in some people the organism produces an oxygen molecule known as superoxide that cause changes in DNA and prompt some of the gene action tied to cancer.

The research, conducted by the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Oklahoma City, looked at how colon cells reacted in the lab to the bacteria in the “fermentation” state. All in all, 42 genes linked to key processes in body cells were altered by the presence of E. faecalis.

“We found that superoxide led to strong signaling in immune cells called macrophages — it also altered the way some cells in the gut grew and divided and even increased the productivity of genes which are associated with cancer.” says professor Mark Huycke, the lead researcher.

Experts in the UK also agree that bacteria may be likely culprits in cancers of the colon. Dr. Barry Campbell of the University of Liverpool agrees that E. faecalis could be involved, but he also believes that there are other bacteria in the bowel that play a part in the cell changes that eventually bring on tumors. He insists, “There is not going to be only one culprit. Our own team is interested in a particular type of E. coli with this in mind. There are also many other factors which are involved, such as genetics and environment.”

And while the experts figure out what may be the root of the problem, there are things that you can do, right now, to reduce your risk. Living a healthy lifestyle where you eat right, exercise, don’t smoke or drink to excess are important first steps. Keeping your weight under control will not only reduce your colon cancer risk, it will have you looking better and feeling better too.

You’ll also want to learn all you can about colon cancer if you have a close family member like a parent or sibling with this disease. If you are at increased risk, your doctor will likely advise you to have colon screening tests before the usual age of 50. Don’t put these off, and report promptly any change in your bowel habits to your doctor. Waiting in fear does you no good… and may rob you of your chance to fight your disease.

You’ll also want to limit your exposure to toxins and radiation. While it takes a lot of radiation to get to a level that might cause cancer, you want to have tests you need but try to avoid exposure to unnecessary radiation.

Each year colon cancer claims nearly 50,000 lives, with over 100,000 patients newly diagnosed with colon cancer symptoms. Treatments include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, immunotherapy and vaccine therapy. Clinical trials are also ongoing and yielding promising new leads all the time.

Over 14,000 people have joined Kirsten’s popular (and sometimes controversial) Daily Health Bulletin, so why not join them and stay up to date with the latest on treating colon cancer symptoms and general health news daily.

You also get 5 comprehensive health reports free when you join - giving you all you need to treat common ailments, lose weight, look younger and

Getting the team together at the office on a regular basis for those conferencing brain storms or meetings for free could change things for your business or company. Eliminating an entire yearly budget from the books is definitely a new age in today’s business world. Usually you have to pay for each service you receive separately. Businesses and companies are charged for having multiple phone lines, each line, an 800 number, a fax number, voicemails, conferencing, and long distance as you can see paying for each one of these services adds up.

Even though many companies and business budget for all of their services they need this day and age everyone needs to take advantage of complimentary services when they can. Not often is there a service that is offered that can be used all the time by companies and businesses at no cost to them. In fact many may take advantage of companies and businesses because of the money they assume they have. Even the largest corporation in America should be able to save money when they can their success helps promote success of America’s economy. When they can take advantage of a new service that is totally changing a specific market at no cost it helps them be able to keep more jobs, and provide customers with more services.

Think about your company or business being able to eliminate the entire conferencing budget. Those funds can then be put back into the budget to help in other areas that may need it more. Cutting conference calls for most businesses and companies is not an option because they have many locations across the United States and the world. Weekly meetings, monthly meetings not just for one department but all departments can really add up on the budget. Eliminating that budget totally all the time is definitely a new age in conferencing that every business and company can take advantage of.

Providing services that cost companies and businesses nothing all the time will change the success rate of every business for the positive. Small businesses can now save when they have to make those weekly and monthly calls as well eliminating an entire budget for a small business can help its success rate. Services provided for free will help businesses and companies make more profit and with conferencing for free they will be able to communicate more and spend time on important issues that will help bring success.

Conference right now for free unlimited no credit card required by clicking this link Free Conference Calls or buy clicking here Free Conference Call . We provide free business solutions for busy people so what do you got to lose register now Conference For Free

It goes without saying that, despite the best planning and implementation processes, the proof of an ERP project is in the business benefits and the return on investment achieved. A well-executed project is less than successful if there are no benefits or returns. This should be obvious to all, and this should be the primary focus of every project, in any field.

But judging by the number of ‘failed’ projects – whether this means never being completed or simply not living up to expectations – one would be forgiven for wondering if this overriding priority is forgotten in many cases. The attitude that “the operation was successful but the patient died” must be avoided at all costs, and it is an attitude that must be avoided throughout the project lifecycle.

Realising the benefits of your ERP implementation is determined by the actions taken in the initial planning stages of a project, as well as the result of how well the system is used once it is up and running. Poor planning can mean limited or even zero benefits or, at worst, a highly negative impact on the organisation. There are cases where organisations have suffered terminal effects of a poor implementation.

Companies focus on the process of selecting and installing ERP software systems but once the initial project is complete, it often happens that both the original team and the business focus move on, whether or not all the original goals have been achieved. The end result is something of an instant legacy system, with no budget or plan for further training or realisation of business objectives.

It cannot be emphasised enough that business benefits come after the project is complete. This is often a difficult issue to manage during the implementation phase, as those involved require faith in the project that the benefits will be achieved, but often see little evidence of this during the implementation itself.

A good example of this is in the consideration of modifications. It is often easier for project teams to request a modification to maintain the status quo and appease business users rather than try and introduce an improved process. For this reason any modification must be endorsed by the business leader most affected by the modification and reviewed by his peers.

Where possible the benefits should be built into operational plans budgets to ensure they are realised. This will encourage business managers not directly involved with the project to maintain an interest as they know they will be measured once it is in operation.

Joe Peppard et al referred to this in an article in MIS Quarterly Executive (called MIS1 from here on): “With the information technology investments, most organisations focus on implementing the technology rather than on realising the expected business benefits. Consequently, benefits are not forthcoming, despite a project’s technical success.”

They go on to say: “When considering return on investment calculations, organisations are so pre-occupied with manipulating the denominator – reducing spend – that they do not focus on the numerator – how IT can generate significant benefits. Equally worrying is the traditional investment appraisal process, which is often seen as a ritual that must be overcome before a project can begin. Many benefits are overstated to get the project through this process.

“No wonder few companies engage in post-implementation reviews. They already know that many of the benefits described in the business case are unlikely to be achieved.”

As cynical as this last judgement is, there is an element of truth in it. But it needn’t be so. There are ways to ensure – or, at least, to maximise – the business benefits that your ERP implementation can achieve.

Peppard et al, in another article (MIS Quarterly Executive, March 2008 - called MIS2 from here on), say “There is an important difference between investment objectives and benefits. Objectives are overall goals or aims on the investment, which are agreed on by all relevant stakeholders. In contrast, benefits are advantages provided to specific groups or individuals as a result of meeting the overall objectives.”

They suggest (in MIS1) that, underlying an ERP project proposal, there should be five principles adhered with in order to realise value through IT.

Principle #1 is that IT has no inherent value. “Just having technology does not confer any benefit or create value. The value of technology is not in its possession. In fact, IT spending only incurs costs. Benefits result from effective use of IT assets.”

Principle #2 is that benefits arise when IT enables people to do things differently. “Benefits emerge only when individuals or groups within an organisation, or its customers or suppliers, perform their roles in more efficient or effective ways. Generally, these new ways of working require improving how information is used.”

Principle #3 says that only business managers and users can release business benefits. “Benefits result from changes and innovations in ways of working, so only business managers, users, and possibly customers and suppliers, can make these changes. Therefore, IT and project staff cannot be held accountable for realising the business benefits of IT investments. Business staff must take on this responsibility. Getting business staff to acknowledge this principle is a key way to ensure that they become involved in so-called IT projects.”

Principle #4 reminds us that all IT projects have outcomes, but not all outcomes are benefits. “Many IT projects produce negative outcomes, sometimes even affecting the very survival of the organisation. The challenges for management are to avoid such negative outcomes and to ensure that the positive outcomes deliver explicit business benefits.

Principle #5 says that benefits must be actively managed to be obtained. “Benefits are not outcomes that automatically occur. Furthermore, the accumulation of benefits lags implementation; there can be a time gap between initial investment and payoff. Therefore, managing for the benefits does not stop when the technical implementation is completed. Benefits management needs to continue until all the expected benefits have either been achieved, or it is clear they will not materialise.”

To implement an ERP project based on their five principles, Peppard et al recommend that seven key questions should be asked, the answers to which “are used to develop both a robust business case for the investment and a viable change management plan to deliver the benefits”.

These questions are:

• Why must we improve?

• What improvements are necessary or possible?

• What benefits will be realised by each stakeholder if the investment objectives are achieved?

• Who owns each benefit and will be accountable for its delivery?

• What changes are needed to achieve each benefit?

• Who will be responsible for ensuring that each change is successfully made?

• How and when can the identified changes be made?

They do warn (MIS2) that “Some benefits can only be measured by opinion or judgement. … Quantifiable benefits are ones where an existing measure is in place or can be put in place relatively easily. Since quantifying benefits inevitably involves forecasting the future, the challenge is to find ways of doing this as accurately and robustly as possible.”

But an ERP system does not stand alone, and realising benefits often relies on other, external inputs. ERP software systems are largely data dependent and data driven and the key to realising the full benefits is integration. If information is incomplete or inconsistent it becomes very difficult to integrate reliably and the results can lead to a loss of business confidence in the system and increased non-productive work load for support personnel.

Often day-to-day operation of systems falls to staff who weren’t involved during the initial implementation and who have not received the same levels of training and handover as the original team. As a result effective system usage tends to deteriorate over time.

Your approach, then, to realising benefits of an ERP implementation (or any IT project, for that matter) relies on taking an holistic approach, which means not just all participants and stakeholders, but also all inputs. And this also means across the entire spread of a project – from the very first inkling of a suggestion or realisation of a need, to the end project and, importantly, beyond – to the ultimate users and how they will react to and live with the system that has, hopefully, been fully implemented. An implementation is not successful until anticipated benefits are achieved – largely after implementation – or a good reason established for why they won’t be. Responsibility, therefore, for doing this rests with many players, at many stages.

Complex? Yes.

Difficult? Maybe.

Essential? Absolutely.

References

• Clarke, P., “How to maximise your investment in ERP technology”, June 2008, IBS Australia

• Peppard, J., Ward, J., and Daniel, E., “Managing the realisation of business benefits from IT investments”, March 2007, MIS Quarterly Executive

• Ward, J., Daniel, E., and Peppard, J., “Building better business cases for IT investments”, March 2008, MIS Quarterly Executive

To subscribe to the entire article series visit http://www.supplychainsecrets.com.au

Peter Clarke, Chief Technology Officer IBS Asia Pacific has over 20 years experience in ERP Software, ERP Systems, Supply Chain Management Software and EAI.

Usually, more than one company is competing for the same customer base. Eventually, the customer base is split based on chosen supplier. What is the reason for customer to choose one supplier out of many? All suppliers are competing to satisfy customer’s needs by offering them a certain value. This value is represented as ratio between benefits and price. More benefits for less price gives greater value to the customer. So, the product/service needs either to have bigger benefit for the same price, or lower price for the same benefit, for some company to be chosen as a preferred supplier.

When we come to cost structure, that affects the value delivered, we find many process steps that increase, directly or indirectly, the price of the product. These activities can be value adding or waste activities.

Value Adding Activities

Since customer appreciate greater value that he receives from his supplier, any activity that customer cares about is value adding. Any activity that improves the product appearance, functionality, durability, satisfaction and brand loyalty is value-adding activity.

Also, value-adding activity is any activity that changes the product itself. This can be in any step in raw materials manipulation, production, or adjustments and packing of the product.

Finally, any activity that is done properly from the first time can be considered as value adding. Obviously, failure to achieve activity from the first time does not add to the value of the product.

Waste Activities

Unfortunately, there are many waste activities that are waiting any company during their activities. Wastes are sometimes even difficult to detect, especially in case that proper structure of key business indicators is not implemented. There is a whole range of wastes that can generate in Supply Chain:

Overproduction – This Type of Waste can happen in case of greater production versus demand, or in case of inaccurate forecasting. In some cases overproduction can be justified, like pre-stocking prior to the main sales season.

Unnecessary Inventory – It is true that higher inventory is the protection from uncertainty of demand and from OOS, but too high inventory does not add value. From financial perspectives, high inventory level is capturing the working capital, that can be used for better purpose ( investment, interest, etc. )

Defects can slow down or stop production. Low productivity and scrap are increasing cost per unit produced.

Inappropriate processing due to inadequate technology or design can produce waste.

Waiting of item in the queue to be process does not add value to the customer.

Transport is an important part of operations, but unnecessarily movement of products is not adding value

The optimum price of the product is achieved by proper balancing of activities. Value adding activities should be optimized, while waste activities should be either reduced or eliminated.

Laurus Nobilis has 11 years of experience in FMCG business. In 2007 he has started the www.biz-development.com web site dedicated to development of managerial skills. He also runs www.my-introspective.com a Personal Exploration and Development Guide.