Maximizing Return on Investment Using ERP Applications

THE EVOLUTION OF INTEGRATED PROGRAMS FOR CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

In the early 1980s, the era of quality programs started in industries in the United States. Drs. Deming and Juran would correctly say that this actually started at the end of World War II in Japan, as they were advising Japanese corporate leaders on how to improve reliability and efficiency in their industrial complex while the Japanese recovered from the war.3 However, the introduction of these programs effectively came to the United States 30 years later. These quality programs introduced many new concepts, from distinguishing the difference between “Cost of Compliance” and “Cost of Noncompliance” to the use of statistical methods to determine variability in processes both in manufacturing and in administration.4 This has continued with the introduction of Six Sigma, lean manufacturing, Lean Six Sigma, and many more. All of these programs brought tools that allow us to better understand logical relationships within a business. More and more, we became better at evaluating effectiveness based on reliability and consistency. As well, these tools help identify variability in processes and determine causes to be managed through tighter controls. Some had mathematical tools, others employee involvement, but all proposed steps that should be taken to implement their programs. At the same time, IT applications development made significant progress in designing tools to be used to support business changes. The merging of ...