Most supply chain professionals are familiar with the benefits of updating mobile computing in the distribution center. Real-time data collection improves decision making by eliminating the lag time in getting information into the system. If you're waiting for information to be keyed in by a clerk, you're not dealing with accurate data. Real-time information provides everyone throughout the enterprise with accurate data and gives the information needed to make the best decisions to the employees who are on the front line.

Whether you implement mobile computing in your distribution center hinges on a number of factors, including how soon you'll see results and whether the results are worth the investment in time and money. Assessing your distribution center for expanded mobile computing is a daunting task that many highly regarded companies have put off because of lack of time and resources.

One aspect of this assessment task is the performance audit. A performance audit is an analysis of how a facility is executing business processes and data collection transactions. It identifies areas that are underperforming. Take the example of printing labels before scanning. The performance audit can tell you if your vendors are compliant with your labeling requirements or whether you have to go back to a packing list to get part numbers.

I have set up performance audits for a number of clients, and I would like to share my insights into this process. I will walk you through the steps of a performance audit to help you analyze the "big picture" impact of mobile computing on your distribution operations.

The performance of your mobile data collection system is largely dependent on the integration between the SAP applications and RF data collection devices.

To facilitate this connectivity, SAP offers a communication tool called SAPConsole (or WebSAPConsole for the Web-enabled version) that was released with 4.6B, but the technology can be used with previous versions of R/3 if you have someone develop the transactions.

Through SAPConsole, you can access data on-site using RF devices, wireless CE-based devices, or a desktop computer. Off-site, a Web browser and a PDA or CE-based device with a virtual private network (VPN) client allows you to connect to WebSAPConsole through the Internet.

Essentials of a Good Performance Audit

An SAPConsole performance audit helps you analyze the realities and benefits of mobile computing in your operations. It gives you a clear picture of where real-time mobile computing might provide the best payback for your business. The keys to a successful audit are including the right mix of people, understanding the drivers for change, and identifying the business processes that an RF-enabling project will affect.

You want to have representatives from every department that the wireless project will touch. This may include manufacturing, quality assurance, plant maintenance, distribution, and IT. Plan for several people from each area to be involved because you will be creating a steering committee and a project team.

The steering committee generally consists of higher-level representatives from each department. They need to be knowledgeable and accountable, as they are responsible for developing the scope of the project and for keeping the project on course. The number of participants on the steering committee will vary depending on the size and time frame for the project. We've worked on projects with anywhere from two to fourteen people on the steering committee, keeping in mind that each participant has operations ownership of a specific area (i.e. — quality assurance, manufacturing, raw materials). The number of meetings generally follows a bell curve with more at the beginning and end of the project. With a more slowly paced project, steering committee members may meet an average of once a month, and with a fast-track project they may meet weekly or every other week.

The project team carries out the audit and generally consists of mid-level managers from each department who are familiar with day-to-day operations, including business processes and software transactions. The project manager leads the team and acts as the liaison between the project team and the steering committee. As with the steering committee, the number of people on the project team varies on the size and time frame of the project. We've worked with between one and eight people on a team. The number of meetings follows a bell curve over the life of the project, and during a fast-track project, meetings can be daily.

Both the steering committee and project team know and understand the drivers behind the RF-enabling project. They might include a company-wide mandate to move to SAP as a strategic direction for the company, or to reduce labor or support costs. The project manager is responsible for managing the majority of the communication on the project.

The communication needs to be clear, consistent, and continuous to all affected parties. The project manager needs to develop a formalized communication process, including a central information depository for quick and easy access to required forms, tools, templates, and status updates.

Conducting the Audit

The first step in conducting a SAPConsole performance audit is to discuss business goals, organizational structure, and high-level business processes. The steering committee and project team will agree on goals, resources, work environments, task assignments, and security.

The steering committee and project team should hold a kick-off meeting, at which point the project team begins collecting data to create a blueprint. The blueprint is a framework for understanding the business goals of the company and the processes required to support those goals. (If you would like a sample blueprint, contact Catalyst International by email at blueprint@catalystinternational.com.)

Vital to this process is knowledge of the new system capabilities, understanding the current situation, and identifying what needs to be changed to take advantage of the new system capabilities. The project manager drives the blueprint process based on the project scope, which is signed off at an executive level.

The actual blueprint document is a detailed technical description of the company's RF data collection business process requirements. The blueprint defines the high-level system design and outlines the appropriate data collection transactions and the SAP configuration required to enable the RF data collection business processes. You are conceptually designing the "as is" processes from a system perspective and mapping them into a SAP environment and into the "to be" processes.

To ensure a successful project, you need to focus the organization's best resources on the implementation. An ideal project committee is typically comprised of key stakeholders including the business owner, business expert, IT management, and appropriate external representatives such as a project manager who can provide an unbiased, objective perspective. Depending on the specific project requirements, however, some roles can be covered by a combined project team, where each staff member provides support for various roles.

One example of a very rapid implementation is REHAU North America, a global polymer processing company that supplies the automotive, industrial, and commercial industries. REHAU recently required the complete transition of all production and distribution of a key product line to take advantage of decreased freight costs and increased customer service. The challenge was that REHAU needed to find the facility, install the required physical infrastructure, hire and train staff, and complete the physical product move from Canada to Alabama, all within two months to take advantage of REHAU's slowest shipping period.

As a result, one key REHAU staff member played the dual role of both project manager and business owner, and the IT support team was required to wear multiple hats during the project. Additionally, the consulting firm Catalyst International provided supplemental support with both the business expertise as well as project management support.

In November, the REHAU project team elected to go with SAP Logistics Execution System (LES), which included SAPConsole to enable wireless data collection transactions. During the week of November 10, they configured all the RF transactions and the material master load. The next week they did business process flow reviews, developed and implemented the RF transactions and did testing.

The following week included issue resolution and more testing. During week four, documentation was developed and users were trained. As a result, the project was installed on time and within budget. "One of the key success factors was that the project was focused enough so that a core group of knowledgeable people could take the ball and run with it," said Lance Self, who is responsible for REHAU operations development in North America.

Identifying Processes for RF-Enabling

The blueprint tells you which processes to RF-enable, but it doesn't necessarily prioritize them according to the benefit returned. When determining which processes will provide the biggest payoff with RF-enabling, begin by looking for stacks of paper. Areas where paper tends to pile up are often good candidates, because they indicate a backlog of dated information that could be improved with real-time capabilities. Also, talk to the end users with first-hand experience. They can relay what has been done before and offer ideas on what could be more effective.

When analyzing current business processes, consider not just each task's efficiency and effectiveness, but how it affects other aspects of the organization. Throw out the old "but that's the way we've always done it" thinking and consider best practices and maximum effectiveness. You will want to review all processes and transactions that could be improved by RF-enabling and those that will be affected downstream. Tracking samples is one example. If at the time of receiving you have to manually select a sample, put it into a box, write it down, then take it to another area and set it on a shelf, it would take you a lot of time to locate that sample when the time came to find it. If the task is RF-enabled, the part would be instantly identifiable and easily retrieved. It's important to evaluate what's happening throughout the organization — including the physical environment, how you interact with data, and what data can be pulled from other areas.

Mapping to SAP

Once you have settled on best practices for your distribution processes, you will then map the business processes to the standard SAP mobile data entry transactions. These are often referred to as SAPConsole transactions, which support SAP LES functionality. At first glance, the SAP transactions may not appear to be what you need. However, with minor adjustments made through user exits, the standard SAP-offered transactions might save you money. (See the article, "RF-Enable Logistics Transactions for Automated Data Collection in Real Time," in the December 2003 issue of SCM Expert for more advice on customizing SAP transactions.)

Compare this list to the SAPConsole standard set of transactions that is available from SAP to see how they map to your business and learn what additional transactions are necessary to optimize your performance. The mapping process will show whether the SAP mobile data entry transactions will meet your needs.

Table 1 shows all in-scope business processes from the process group level down to the business process procedure level that might have a requirement for RF execution. If you find that you have functional gaps after mapping your transactions, you can develop custom transactions to meet your needs. You can develop them in-house or investigate the libraries of mobile data-entry transactions that some consulting companies offer. These off-the-shelf transactions can deliver the functionality you require with little new programming. Standard, predesigned templates reduce costs and accelerate your time-to-benefit by eliminating the need to develop custom SAPConsole transactions. Table 1 shows where transactions and templates from Catalyst International's library, for example, can be used.

A completed performance audit will include a detailed analysis of business processes and data transactions that could be affected by mobile computing, and will include recommendations and business process changes. Armed with this information, the next step is to go through a cost/benefit analysis on the business processes you are considering RF- enabling to determine the payback in time and money savings.