GlobalManufacturingSuite ​​​​​​​COE ​​​​​​​

In previous article, I mentioned two things:

• COE starts from minimum one person (I called this role OWNER) 
• starts preferably during the requirements definition and selection process.

Due to above, the governance also is split into two topics – governance

• during initial phases of the CORE Model definition and rollouts,
  and
• during the subsequent lifecycle of mature solution
  (enhancements, extensions and upgrades).

As these are two quite broad topics, I will split them into two articles.

We will start with the first one

MOM CORE Model and Rollout Program Governance

The minimum to start the COE was the OWNER. Someone responsible for solution internally towards management and towards business users. The person who will be driving whole program. The owner can play also role of Program Manager if is capable and have skills or these roles may be performed by separate people.

The other roles during a program start, are performed by either corporate or site employees, and those employees after first project (CORE Model definition) naturally become tied to COE and responsible for certain domains within the MOM solution (as Business Process Owners or as Key Users). Typically, they start performing those roles from either requirements definition phase during solution selection or during business blueprinting of CORE Model.

What is important...

MOM program is not “just an IT project”

...and cannot be driven just by IT.

As I mentioned multiple times – the MOM solution is a supporting tool to do your primary job (produce your product) better.
Hence, this solution has to follow your ways of working, and your ways of working are known to… Business Process Owners. It is Quality Manager, who knows how he wants to run quality operations at which moment to trigger inspections, not an IT administrator. It is Warehouse Manager or supervisor who will tell what replenishment methods are to be applied to which materials etc. Business Users / Business Process Owners must be involved from the beginning to get what they need and what will help them. Also, later on they will be advocates of the solution to their workers (change management) and support the adoption. They have huge impact on the success factors and realization of benefits from using the software that will support their daily tasks.

Despite their unquestioned value, their wishes also have to be tamed. Otherwise, project team will end up with lengthy “Christmas wish lists” that are impossible to be configured and enabled within the timeframe and estimated effort. Moreover, many of the wishes can be beneficial only in some extent, or to specific individual no to whole network of plants, so they need to be filtered and agreed upon their importance and benefits = prioritized. Hence there is need for governing body and an OWNER who looks at the big picture not only individual wishes.

Who is needed on technical side of things?

Form IT perspective, deployment and rollout work there is another split

After the initial CORE Model rollouts, as written in previous articles on these series, there start to exist :

• need to support existing plants,
• roll out new ones
• and carry on with enhancements.

Hence different tasks for different teams.  Their size will depend on decisions whether you wish to carry on with rollouts of CORE Model V1, or rather enhance it with every wave, how much sites you will support and in what manner. What are you willing to outsource what not etc. This (again) is very individual and depend per size complexity and company culture you have. So you will define your own way, I doubt there are two identical organizations of COE, but, as said before, they all share commonalities in structure or roles.

The topic of ongoing solution enhancement governance we will tackle in next article, meanwhile, feel free to comment what are your expectations or experiences with MOM program governance.