Small and medium-sized holding companies and their small subsidiaries often face the same problem: outdated ERP systems that are hopelessly behind. This was also the case with a medium-sized holding company with 4 divisions, €100 million in revenue, 150 employees, and €10 million in profit. The former CEO of the IT subsidiary had been tight-lipped about his knowledge and unwilling to share it with the company. This posed an enormous risk, as not only the subsidiaries but also customers used the system and development without him and without access to the data was impossible.
When I saw the problem on site, I offered the former CEO an extended employment contract to involve him in the process and calm his fears. At the same time, I separated the new development from the old business and assigned one of his trusted employees to the old business. Then, I began to take an interest in the ERP product and conduct data analysis. In parallel, I began to work on and refine the "development ruin Java Connector," which had already been started in Orbis, with the IT director of the holding company. In addition, a freshly trained apprentice took on more responsibility for the service desk, allowing the IT director to focus on the important development.
With Tableau BI, which I introduced in parallel, I was able to provide a good overview of the data, quickly identify errors, and advance development. By gaining a deep understanding of the data, I was able to ask the old software firm manager more targeted questions, making him more accessible and helping me to eliminate errors and complete my documentation. With my help, the IT director was able to complete the Connector.
In the end, we were able to not only connect the ERP to our own use, transfer the data from the subsidiaries to the analysis, and make it available for a possible ERP change, but also to "dock" a time tracking system, which was desired by many customers, to the outdated software. This brought the struggling subsidiary back on track and new developments were possible.