| | JULY 20188CIOReviewPEOPLE AND PROCESS FIRST, THEN ITWe live in exciting times of information technology (IT) innovation that will continue to transform businesses over the next decade. Among the pioneers of IT adoption, we can anticipate that some will not achieve the expected results despite significant investments. Why is that expectation a reality? What makes the difference between real business success and mediocrity when implementing new systems?In the current environment of IT innovation, it is quite easy to get caught up in sales presentations that focus on convincing IT and business leaders about the benefits of new software products. When leaders approach the exploration of IT from a system first mentality, then there is a greater likelihood that implementations will not achieve the expected business results. Recognizing this early in the implementation process and shifting gears toward a People and Process First approach, means the difference between failure and success. Let me share a personal account illustrating how to put People and Process First as part of system implementation projects.As the 2017 goal setting process was underway, I was asked to lead a Marketing Expenses system upgrade project. The old system was implemented nearly a decade ago and was no longer supported by the software company. The Finance function took the lead in the implementation and design of the old system, which met the basic marketing expense budgeting control and accounting accrual requirements. Therefore, the IT function concluded that we only needed to engage the finance team to upgrade the old system to the newest version. The assumption was that the finance team could explain the needs of the business, test the system, and voila ­ system upgraded and all of us can move to bigger and better things. The expectation was that this upgrade approach could be implemented within approximately 3 months. No doubt, following this approach was the path of least resistance because these assumptions were held by many groups within the company.Regardless, I stopped myself to ask if this approach meets the needs of our customer: the marketing team. As the business leader of a project to implement a system that would be used by other groups in marketing and finance, I informally requested people to tell me their honest opinions on the current system. It is amazing what people share when they feel they are being heard and their opinions matter! Rather quickly, I realized that the old system was not meeting the demands of the business. The various teams had to maintain numerous Excel spreadsheets to answer business questions, in addition to the planning and execution of marketing programs. Yes, Microsoft Excel was the innovation of the 1990's. But we needed to take the next step toward 21st century innovation. It became very evident that a system upgrade approach would not lead to value creation and satisfied customers.By Ted Delgado, Director, North America Controller, The Hershey Company
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