Here at Blue Ocean Systems we guide and support our clients through major business transformations when they make the decision to invest in an ERP system. This involves major innovation throughout all key processes and workflows and covers anything from operations and production line to payroll and accounting. By constantly helping our clients to evolve, we witness major milestones and successes in their business journeys and we are driven by this vital role we play.
So, when Blue Ocean Systems had the opportunity to exercise innovation for our own team and our own processes, we understood the value this could bring and were keen to learn more. We are fortunate in Singapore to have access to so many government programmes which help businesses grow in different ways. We recently participated in SPRING‘s SMART initiative and have already been able to implement some positive changes within our company. Here’s more information about SMART and how we have benefited so far:
What is the SMART initiative?
The SMART (SME Management Action for Results) initiative is part of the Capability Development Grant (CDG) – a business capability programme which supports Singapore-based SMEs in their productivity and capability activities. Support is provided by specialist consultants who work with SMEs to review their organisational strengths and areas for opportunities, then devise appropriate plans and strategies to make the necessary improvements. Initially we submitted an Innovation and Capability Voucher (ICV) which supports Technology Innovation, Productivity, Human Resources and Financial Management improvements; this is the first step in taking part in the SMART programme.
What happens during the consultancy phase?
Quek Aik Teng from ATQ Consulting Services LLP was our programme consultant and began by leading the BOS management team through a SMART assessment. This consisted of:
- Development of an organisational profile (including company values, vision, positioning, strategies and employee standing)
- Identification of BOS organisational relationships, structure, challenges and risks
- Identification of BOS organisational system including leadership, planning, information, people, processes and customers
- Review of overall BOS performance indicators, results and reports
Throughout the consultancy phase, the BOS team were encouraged to review our existing processes and to evaluate where the strengths were and how we could improve across all business levels.
What’s the next step once this information has been gathered?
Now that we have a much clearer idea of areas we can improve on, the next step is for BOS to collate all the information and present it to SPRING, hopefully for additional support in the key areas we need to grow. With this additional support, we will be better positioned to carry out restructuring activities, improve our technical capabilities, increase our employee retention and embark on a 3 year strategic growth plan.
What are some of the major benefits of participating in a programme like SMART?
For BOS, it was an opportunity to take the time and expertise needed to really take a close look at our current business model and practices; a luxury we rarely have time for, in such depth. Receiving outside, objective, assistance was also beneficial for our management team to be able to define and map our core processes, areas for growth and the viability of our future objectives in areas such as capital, labour, value add etc. We now have a solid basis upon which to move forward, in the right direction.
About Arun Devan, Managing Director
I lead a team of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) experts to provide tailored SAP Business One solutions for a wide variety of industry sectors with specialised functions and accessibility tools.
My proven track record of zero defect implementations, leveraging 25 years of expertise in SAP R/2, R/3 and B1 deployments ensures each and every client benefits from an efficient implementation of their SAP Business One solution to enhance their operational capacity and growth immediately. Blue Ocean Systems Singapore implements and integrates customised SAP Business One Solutions to help our clients increase profitability and improve operational efficiencies.
Specialising in the implementation and support of SAP enterprise applications for small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs), we combine extensive experience and an unblemished history to deploy the right solution quickly for immediate improvements.