Enterprise Consulting Leads North American Networks, LLC Through a Successful IFS Applications™ 10 Upgrade
About North American Networks, LLC
North American Networks, LLC is a consortium of 12 separately owned companies or Emerson Impact Partners (EIPs) that share North American Network’s IT resources. These 12 companies represent many manufacturers in the Industrial Process Management market space providing a significant sales and service presence in the local territories they represent. North American Networks, LLC implemented IFS Applications™ 8.1+ at each of the 12 EIPs initially, utilizing the concept of a “Golden Configuration” that was the standard for each company. Each Impact Partner then modified IFS to their specific needs beyond the baseline configuration.
The names and headquarter locations of the 12 EIP member/owners are as follows: Applied Control Equipment in Denver, CO; Caltrol, Inc. in Las Vegas, NV; Control Associates, Inc. in Allendale, NJ; Control Southern in Atlanta, GA; Cornerstone Controls in Cincinnati, OH; Equipment and Controls, Inc. in Pittsburgh, PA; Experitec, Inc. in St. Louis, MO; New England Controls, Inc. in Boston, MA; Novaspect Inc. in Chicago, IL; PCE Pacific, Inc. in Seattle, WA; Proconex in Philadelphia, PA; and Scallon Controls in Beaumont, TX.
Background
Enterprise Consulting was heavily involved with North American Network’s (NAN, LLC) initial IFS Applications™ implementation (Project Blue Sky), contracted by IFS. Following the initial go-live on IFS Applications™ 8.1+, Enterprise Consulting continued to support both NAN, LLC and most of the individual EIPs, providing IFS optimization and other IFS-related functional and technical needs. NAN, LLC and several EIPs also enrolled in Enterprise Consulting’s IFS On-Demand Support (ODS) program to provide rapid support to IFS customers on an ad hoc basis.
When the decision was made by NAN, LLC’s Executive Board (made up of an executive from each of the 12 EIPs) to Upgrade to IFS Applications™ 10, Enterprise Consulting was chosen to lead the sizable and complex effort.
The Process
NAN, LLC and the 12 EIPs established the key objectives for the IFS Applications™ 10 Upgrade, which were the cornerstones of the overall project’s return on investment. For the most part, NAN, LLC wished to utilize more of IFS Applications™ overall, relying on fewer standalone applications, as well as eliminate a sizeable number of IFS Modifications utilizing new IFS Applications™ 10 functionality that were deemed necessary with IFS Applications™ 8.1+:
Improve business partner (Emerson) integrations
Utilize and modernize Service Management (Field Service)
Utilize IFS CRM – digitalize customer data
Improve quoting timing, accuracy, and efficiency
Utilize WMS capabilities and improve inventory management accuracy
Keep pace with evolving technology
Utilize IFS BI effectively at the EIP level
Reduce or eliminate as many of the 15 IFS Applications™ Modifications as possible
Utilize IFS Portals and the new Aurena Client to improve customer focus
Enterprise Consulting selected the most experienced Project Manager on our team, both in terms of IFS Applications™ experience and NAN, LLC experience. With this Leader firmly in place, North American Networks, LLC next established a “Top Gun” team, selecting members from all 12 EIPs, based on their area of expertise, and the Enterprise Consulting team (both functional and technical experts). Similar to the original IFS Applications™ implementation, the Top Gun (or Core) Team developed the overall Upgrade Plan and schedule, determined site(s) where training and testing would be held, etc. and presented this Plan to the Executive Board for approval. From this Plan, Enterprise Consulting was able to develop the overall project estimates and assign the Team. With little modification, the North American Networks, LLC Executive Board approved the Upgrade Project and officially contracted with Enterprise Consulting to lead the IFS Applications™ 10 Upgrade.
The Project
The project kick-off was held in October of 2018. The overall plan was to perform an Upgrade to IFS Applications™ 10 as a “Technical Upgrade” only (meaning equivalent functionality would be uplifted without adding any new modules). There would, of course, be a significant amount of functional “Gap” training for the NAN, LLC Core Team on how to use the improved/changed functionality that comes with IFS Applications™ 10 within the scope of the IFS Applications™ modules currently owned and used. There would also be a significant amount of assessing and uplifting IFS Applications™ modifications, operational reports, and extensions. All of these areas were in scope at both the NAN, LLC level as well as at the individual EIPs. In addition, more complex technical support was required to uplift a number of third party application integrations, at the NAN, LLC level, such as Phoenix, Logistyx, Cedar Bay and Data Hub.
Not included in the original scope, but added over the course of the Upgrade Project at the request of North American Networks, LLC were two very key support items:
IFS Applications™ Software Support
IFS Business Intelligence (BI) Support
The Plan and schedule called for an end of Q3 2019 Go-Live, utilizing a “Big Bang” approach, with three staggered waves of EIPs going live across three months.
This Project was a joint effort between North American Networks, LLC and Enterprise Consulting, utilizing integrated project teams. The three primary responsibilities on the project were divided up as follows:
Project Management: NAN, LLC retained the ultimate Project Management authority for the effort, with Enterprise Consulting providing key Project Management support, functionally and technically.
Functional Solution Management: Enterprise Consulting took the lead role in overall Functional Solution Management/Gap Training. Various EIP Subject Matter Experts were used where available.
Technical Solution Management: Enterprise Consulting retained overall Technical Solution Management and provided guidance, direction and support to NAN, LLC resources who took on primary responsibility over each specific technical area of the project, including: IFS Security and Administration, Reporting, Extensibility, Integrations and Customizations (if any).
Enterprise Consulting used our proven Upgrade Methodology, which is divided into the following five phases:
Initiate Project
Upgrade Base Solution
Upgrade Solution
Verify Solution
Go Live
The Result
In November of 2019, the last wave of EIPs (a total of 12 in three separate waves) went live on IFS Applications™ 10, about one month later than the original schedule. This small push in the schedule was primarily due to the IFS BI software not being fully functional until IFS Applications™ 10 Update 4 was released and the subsequent required testing time. The original project drivers established at the beginning of the Upgrade Project were all successfully addressed by the upgrade. In addition, seven of the original twelve IFS Applications™ Modifications were eliminated. In the end, the entire Upgrade Project was delivered successfully and under budget by Enterprise Consulting to a very happy North American Networks, LLC and the associated Emerson Impact Partners.
