Adele Graser is the Chief Operating Officer of Victoria Fide Consulting. For more than 13 years she has worked to help companies implement complex solutions and make significant, disruptive business process changes. She has filled the role of Business Analyst, Functional Consultant, Project Manager, and Solution Architect across many ERP projects. Her primary focus has been in the Manufacturing and Distribution industries.

One of Adele’s greatest passions is to enable people and organizations to realize their full potential. Her approach to consulting is to not only help design solutions that follow generally accepted best practices, but to also help team members understand and take ownership of those solutions. She has a great mix of visionary, detail oriented, and communication strengths that allow her to see the big picture, translate that into a tactical plan, and communicate the vision to many different levels of an organization.

In this exclusive interview, we pull back the curtain and witness the inner workings of digital transformation in manufacturing and distribution companies of all sizes. Learn what factors affect change management success, how to break down siloed departments to achieve alignment, and the three critical elements that differentiate successful technology implementations from those that fail to meet objectives.

How might a smaller company approach digital transformation differently than a larger company ($200M and above)?

One key difference is in staffing and roles. Many available systems are built around separation of duties, assuming different individuals handle purchasing, receiving, and putting away materials. While larger companies often follow this structure, smaller companies should seek solutions that enable their smaller teams to multi-task more efficiently. Features like automation, streamlined processes, and system efficiencies empower these limited personnel to bring significant value to the company.

Budget also plays a crucial role. Larger companies have more financial resources allowing them to select multiple vendors, while smaller companies must invest in one or two key vendors with versatile skills to meet diverse needs. Smaller companies often face a choice between an implementation partner and optimizing internal operations, whereas larger companies can invest in both simultaneously.

Do you see resistance to change more in smaller companies or larger companies?

Resistance to change is similar in both smaller and larger companies. However, the highest resistance is often observed in companies with high employee retention rates. Long-tenured employees, while bringing incredible value to the company, may experience the most difficulty when faced with change, especially if there isn’t a culture of change within the company. The same aspect that makes these employees so valuable to the company – comfortability with existing processes and systems – have the potential to become the reason many of them struggle to adapt to changes, especially when it involves new technology. On the other hand, individuals with experience across multiple companies are more open to new approaches and learning new technologies, having seen a wider range of processes, and understanding what works and what doesn’t.

In both scenarios, Victoria Fide offers significant value with our deep understanding of industry best practices and our ability to convert “tribal knowledge” to supportable business practices. Our focus on change management runs through each phase of our digital transformation roadmap, which allows us to address resistance to change from start to finish within organizations of all sizes.

Can you share an example of a project where you led a technology-driven transformation in Manufacturing or Distribution? What challenges did you encounter and how did you overcome them?

A recurring challenge I’ve experienced in various projects is the isolation and lack of collaboration among different departments. As we work to optimize processes and move them to a new system, each department has its own goals, and they don’t always have a lot of experience working well together.

For instance, I collaborated with a few Engineered to Order (ETO) companies. Their engineering team had specific bill of material structure requirements, while the manufacturing team preferred a different structure. Additionally, the inventory management team faced unique challenges in managing the inventory data that was required. Each department had its own goals and obstacles, with limited experience working together. My main challenge was aligning everyone with the company’s holistic goal and overall strategy, and helping each team understand their individual role in it. This common challenge becomes more difficult when a solution requires more effort from one department than the others.

We spent a lot of time ensuring that each department knew the holistic goal of the company and understood how their piece of the process would impact that goal. This holistic view helped lower the amount of friction between departments.

To break down silos, we held joint design sessions where people from different departments could come together and discuss their ideas. These sessions allowed teams to communicate their goals and understand how each department’s activities affected one another. It fostered a shared understanding and commitment to working together as part of a larger whole.

One challenge we encountered with these joint design sessions was making sure that we had the right people involved. It’s one thing for the subject matter experts (SMEs) to reach an agreement to work together, and another thing entirely to make decisions and set clear responsibilities moving forward. This requires having the right decision-makers involved in these joint design sessions. This brings us back to the Build step in our Prepare phase, where we focus on building the perfect project team with the right individuals in the right roles. This enables us to make crucial decisions early on in the design process.

Can you share a specific example of a complex solution you implemented that resulted in a significant business process change?

One of our clients encountered significant challenges in selecting inventory for assembly purposes. Although they had a designated inventory location, they frequently faced shortages in that area. Their additional inventory was situated on the opposite side of the building, within a separate warehouse area with only one entry/exit point. This arrangement caused considerable traffic congestion.

Given their limited budget, restructuring or rebuilding was not a viable option. Instead, we devised a solution by implementing a new process that involved recalculating their inventory demand on a nightly basis and suggesting inventory movements to replenish their picking locations. This allowed the evening shift to review the calculation and replenish materials near the assembly area in advance of the busier shift the next day. As a result, they had all the necessary materials readily available during the assembly process, eliminating the need for additional inventory requests that could cause delays and unnecessary movement during peak assembly times.

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As someone who has held roles from business analyst to solution architect, how do you approach identifying opportunities for positive disruptive business process changes within a company?

My broad experience has helped me understand what goes into making businesses successful and being able to identify warning signs. For example, when I hear someone discussing the need for regular inventory adjustments or stating that cycle counting takes 3 days due to of all the issues that require resolution, my extensive experience in different roles and areas of business allows me to recognize that these are not isolated problems, but rather symptoms of underlying issues.

I can explain to them that this is not just about managing inventory, but rather about how we define our products and the information we provide. For example, we may need to take a moment to clarify what we need from a bill of materials perspective and ensure its accuracy. It’s important to step back and address these fundamental issues. Having such broad experience helps me identify the root causes and dig into some of those areas from a higher perspective. It’s like solving a puzzle; stepping back and starting with the edges makes it easier to see where the rest of the pieces fit.

What are the key factors or considerations that differentiate successful technology implementations in the Manufacturing and Distribution sectors from those that fail to meet objectives?

A crucial element for successful transformations is having the right team that can effectively drive change. We refer to these individuals as “change agents” – the business process owners (BPOs) who possess a deep understanding of the change, actively drive its implementation, and advocate for its merits. Without these change agents, the success of any transformation is jeopardized, as it is extremely challenging to achieve consensus on what needs to be changed and how it should be executed, let alone see it actually implemented.

Requirements management is another key factor for successful transformations. It’s critical that we understand what we are trying to accomplish and what the company needs to truly be successful. If we don’t spend the time doing that assessment and defining that at the beginning of the project, we end up churning on the project. We propose a solution, obtain their approval, and proceed accordingly. However, as the project progresses, new requirements emerge, necessitating adjustments to our solution and leading to a cycle of continuous refinement. Our process allows for iterative design sessions, but if the initial requirements are not adequately defined, it results in an increased number of iterations and frustration due to rework and repetitive discussions.

Gathering requirements can be challenging because while people may grasp the immediate task at hand, such as “We need to send a purchase order (PO) to a vendor,” they often haven’t taken the time to consider the underlying goal: “We need to compile information about the items being sold and create POs that consolidate multiple sales, enabling us to secure the best pricing from our vendors.” Only a few individuals in each company think in this holistic manner, leaving us to read between the lines to truly understand what they aim to accomplish.

Another aspect is getting the executive team or project leadership to identify their project’s true objectives, including specific and measurable success criteria. Without this, it’s impossible to determine critical requirements. By understanding key success criteria and business objectives early on, we can focus on the right requirements. For example, if the goal is to provide a quote for a configure-to-order system within 24-36 hours, we can identify the need for the engineer or person quoting to add options on the fly without relying on a developer. Without defining the time frame element, we would have discovered it later in the process, making it necessary to go back and add that functionality.

How do you approach gaining stakeholder buy-in for the process?

Gaining stakeholder buy-in for the process starts with their commitment to the goal of the project, which can only happen when they are able to clearly define their goal. Once the stakeholders have identified their objectives, it becomes much simpler for us to provide recommendations on the necessary steps to achieve their goals. By aligning each step with the desired outcome, we can secure their agreement more easily. It’s important to note that this process is an ongoing discussion rather than a one-time event. The level of stakeholder involvement directly correlates with their level of buy-in, ultimately determining the project’s success. If stakeholders are only updated once a month or less, it becomes more challenging for them to fully grasp the project’s progress.

There is a significant push toward automation and artificial intelligence (AI) in various industries. Many are eager to explore the immediate applications of AI and ask, “How can we utilize AI right now?” However, it’s important to recognize that AI relies heavily on accurate and comprehensive data. For distribution or manufacturing companies that may not yet be at the cutting edge of technology, it is crucial to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the data within their systems before leveraging AI capabilities. Without a commitment to entering data into the system or maintaining clean processes for data accuracy, these innovative technologies may not be beneficial for such companies.

Why are you passionate about digital transformation?

I get excited when companies become successful in their goals. I’ve always been interested in understanding how each area of the business impacts each other and how it drives the overall success of the organization. During my time assisting companies with Microsoft product implementation, I observed numerous occasions where companies would attempt to force technology into a situation as a solution to a problem that wasn’t fully understood. This short-sighted approach often meant that the implementation was not sustainable.

I saw that most companies did not have the expertise necessary to grasp how to be successful in these initiatives. They didn’t understand how to document requirements – or even how to truly understand requirements – and they weren’t able to make sense of what solution was the best choice for them as a unique business. I wanted to assist companies in achieving success in their digital transformation initiatives. I wanted to help them transform into agile organizations capable of adapting and evolving alongside the ever-changing economy and fast-paced business world.

Enabling Success in Transformational Initiatives

In this insightful interview, we explored the intricate dynamics of digital transformation with Adele Graser, a seasoned professional at Victoria Fide Consulting. Throughout the discussion, key considerations for successful technology implementations were unveiled, highlighting the importance of change agents, robust requirements management, and stakeholder buy-in.

As we anticipate the influence of automation and artificial intelligence on future business processes, Adele’s passion for guiding companies towards success in their digital transformation initiatives shines through. By fostering collaboration, aligning goals, and staying attuned to emerging trends, organizations can enable success in their transformational journeys.

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