Analysts suitable for process surveying

Systems Analysts and Their Role in Information Gathering

It is undeniable that efficiency in business processes is directly proportional to the systems tools that companies have. The mechanisms created to record data, process information, show results and exchange information between areas are of vital importance so that managers have the necessary information to make timely decisions.

Advances in the area of software and hardware help greatly to achieve this efficiency, but what is more relevant to achieve it is that the appropriate systems work has been carried out, at the time of defining the functionalities that would be covered by the systems that would be developed.

This has nothing to do with technological advances, it has to do with the fact that someone with experience in systems for the processes involved has participated in the definition of the functional requirements of the mechanisms for recording, processing and exchanging data between the areas. This seems obvious, but the reality is that this is often not the case.

One of the main challenges in the development of systems for Supply Chain is to meet the particular requirements of the processes within the particular link and maintain/improve communications with the rest of the links in the chain, that is, if we are planning a development of systems to attend to Logistics processes, We must evaluate all the flow of information that must exist with the area of manufacturing, commercial, finance, laboratory, among others, and this is important that it is carried out by personnel who know the functional details of these interfaces.

Having the right people in these evaluation processes is more than relevant, because it will avoid rework and omissions that will surely have repercussions in the future. The vision of a person who knows these processes, with the experience of having previously participated in similar projects, is what can ensure that the greatest number of future mistakes are anticipated.

It is difficult to have a single system that attends to all the processes of the Supply Chain, because the processes of each link are very dissimilar from each other, that is, for example, that the processes of logistics are very different from those of Manufacturing and each of them requires specialized personnel. Usually, large companies have systems from different providers in each link and invest a lot in interfaces between these systems. Obviously there are commercial systems that make efforts to sell solutions that encompass more than one link, but the reality is that they are generally more specialized in one process than in another and the investment of an established company to marry a single software and the risks of making their business dependent on a single vendor, make it unusual to have a single software for the Supply Chain.

Without wishing to consider it an absolute truth, the recommendation is that for this type of system development projects, it is necessary to have suitable people or companies, especially to establish the requirements (general and detailed) of each of the processes. This is what is best for the project, but it does not mean that this suitability can always be counted on.

Many companies venture to develop their IT tools themselves, because they have an IT department that can do it or because of cost issues. In the first case, the great advantage is that you surely have staff who know in detail the processes that will be systematized, or at least, who know in detail the shortcomings of the current systems. In the second case, these projects require a significant investment, not only economically, but also in terms of time.

On the other hand, other companies are looking for systems in the market that already do what they need, considering that a high percentage of their functionalities are covered and that the part not covered should be documented and developed as an additional. In this case, things will not always be able to be done as the company needs them, so some processes will have to adapt to the software in exchange for not paying additional for adjustments to the software that is being purchased.

In both cases, whether for the design of new functionalities or to evaluate which software is suitable, the intervention of a systems specialist who knows the details of the processes and the interactions that exist in the current processes is necessary. To assume that a business engineer (even if he knows his processes very well) can detail the requirements of systems without the help of systems specialists, is to risk that they will not see situations that will surely cause problems in the future. This applies to the Supply Chain and any other business process.