The sun was setting steadily on the steamy horizon. Its rays penetrated the mist covered mountains projecting beams of light settling on broad-leaf equatorial landscapes. Through the trees, there was the sound of cackling noisy pitta’s and the hissing of insects. Nature’s sounds were temporarily disturbed by the thud of our 4×4 hitting rough patches whilst dodging and dancing avoiding potholes, the size of which we could easily hide our 4×4 inside.
My driver, chewing for the whole 4 hour journey on betel nuts, a mild stimulant and narcotic that most Papuans enjoy, accompanied his chewing antics with another of his vices, drinking beer while driving. It was during this SYSPRO trip to Papua New Guinea that I truly reflected on the broad global cultural differences we live in. As the driver grinned broadly to me, revealing red-stained lips due to the betel nuts, I remember being strangely calm and relaxed. It was a combination of the dense equatorial forests, the exquisite postcard landscapes and the ruggedness of the wilderness which reminded me of Africa; and home.
On arrival at our destination, a sugar plantation and mill, the strangeness of my Papuan sojourn quickly aligned to what I knew and understood, that being a business. We could have been anywhere in the world at that very moment, and still recognize the same tell-tale signs of a business system requirement – the same issues, the same inefficiencies and the same levels of uncertainty. Importantly, the language of translating the promise of ERP, its benefits and the extraction of the value, is a universal language.
With the rapid onset of globalization, a sugar refinery in Papua New Guinea will increasingly be competing with another across the globe. The global village should not be seen as a threat but an opportunity. An opportunity where an organization such as the sugar refinery visited in Papua New Guinea, with the implementation of an ERP system such as SYSPRO can compete on an equal footing, realizing the benefits, taking advantage of the operational alignments and gains in efficiencies.
So thus begins my blogging journey. A personal account of my SYSPRO sojourn. A reflection of experiences, lessons and nuggets accumulated and shared so as to assist you extract and realize the value promised by ERP, should you be already an ERP user or evaluating one for your business.
