“I know your requirements Mr Customer – I specialize in your industry”
Imagine walking into an Architect’s office; he asks you two questions:
You answer and he says: “Yes, I specialize in your type of family and fully understand your requirements. In fact, I have the perfect house for you.”
When I first saw Steven Spielberg’s masterpiece, ET – The Extra-Terrestrial, I was fascinated by its simple yet profound storyline. ET, an alien of sorts, ends up alone on Planet Earth when his fellow aliens accidentally leave him behind after a visit in their space ship. Unlike the children in the story, the adults are obsessed with the order, structures and habits they perceive as ‘normal’ and become his worst enemies, hell-bent on destroying him. Meanwhile, all ET wants to do is “phone home” for his friends to come and fetch him from the inhospitable planet.
While on vacation recently, I visited an interesting restaurant with a large group of relatives. At the table a few clearly marked buttons were provided to request waiters to bring more water, clear used utensils, bring the bill, etc. I had never seen this back home in Vancouver. What a great idea to improve efficiency!
Every year, ballet companies all over the world revive The Nutcracker; the classical fairy tale set to the music of Tchaikovsky, drawing young and old to theatres and dazzling them for hours with its beauty, grace and captivating story line. Here the choreographer weaves together some of the most beautiful dances ever conceived to produce endless sequences of sheer ballet fantasy.
For several decades, material requirements planning (MRP) has been the standard method for manufacturing and inventory planning. But in recent years it has come under criticism, and any manufacturing shops have adopted other approaches, such as kanban or lean manufacturing.
I have a friend who works at a large home improvement retailer. He often tells me stories about customers who buy expensive and sophisticated tools, yet have no DIY experience or knowledge on how best to use them.
The frequency and the intensity of change in the business world, strikes me as similar to how we experience change throughout our lives.
The team that conquered Africa
For centuries, adventurers, speculators and explorers have found the allure of the unknown reaches of Africa irresistible. Many have tried to conquer Africa and perished – from James Bruce’s quest for the source of the Nile to David Livingston’s traverse of Southern Africa. Had they but known that the key to winning Africa was simply teamwork – so adequately demonstrated by Team SYSPRO over the past few years.
I found it interesting to note how two recent and completely unrelated events, both emphasized the growing impact of mobile devices in the world of computer technology. The first was a product survey that SYSPRO conducted amongst its customers across the globe. It produced an extensive number of individual responses to a wide range of questions; offering ample evidence of SYSPRO’s ability to understand and address the needs of its customers. Our intention was to listen to what our customers regarded as the key needs to be addressed in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions, to help equip them better for the future. We were also keen to get their honest comments on our existing products and services.
