About BIMS
BIMS is a fully integrated ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) business management platform where each transaction automatically affects the other modules of the system. Among the characteristics that stand out the most in BIMS are:
Business Case
There is a wide selection of ERPs and business solutions available in the market. For those who have already gone through an implementation of these types of systems, these tend to be complex and long processes – spending four, six or more months before some components are even launched. These projects are also characterized by requiring several weeks of analysis by consultants and company personnel to define flows and processes and then adapt them to the software. This makes implementations of a considerable cost. It may happen that due to long lead times, resistance to change by staff, and other externalities to the software, there is not a good adoption of the new practices. This may place the project at risk, resulting in a failure or simply the tool does not fulfill its potential.
How is it that BIMS differentiates itself and manages to overcome these characteristics of many of the solutions on the market?
One of the great differentiators of BIMS as an ERP platform, not only the software itself, but the impact that the tool can have on the company through its design and implementation methodology .
When we talk about BIMS and say that it is “the Simple ERP”, it is not just a slogan, but the philosophy behind the comprehensive solution, not just the software. The catalyst for this “simple” approach was the participation and awards BIMS won at the Ireland Web Summit Awards in 2013. During that competition, the most valuable feedback received from the jury was to simplify the flows and design of the software. This triggered a drastic change and focus on the system, which continues to this day – it really altered the vision of what had already been a very powerful application.
Such was the impact of this new vision for the software, that after a very intense year in the reformulation of flows, redesign of the interface, as well as beginning to open the platform to simplify integrations with external systems, BIMS returned to participate to the Web Summit Awards in 2014 and once again wins its category awards.
The second differentiator, and likewise comes from the same philosophy of simplification, comes in the implementation process. The question had to be asked “How can we apply this same orientation to simplify to the other big barrier – getting the solution up and running for customers?”
The solution came in applying agile project management methodologies. Traditionally, projects of all kinds, and in particular those for the implementation of software solutions, tend to be using the Waterfall methodology. This is the one where we define a series of phases, sequence, made up of tasks, people in charge and the corresponding milestones to receive deliverables towards a final product.
By applying this methodology, it is possible to have a successful project. However, the techniques it uses require a large amount of time and resources, which by their very nature delay the start date of using the system, increases costs and can also create more room for user resistance to change.
When applying an agile methodology, such as SCRUM, in combination with a simple solution, start-up times are measured in days or weeks, not months. This is achieved through the technique of “Time boxing” or blocks of time, usually one week, where a mixed team is composed of consultants and client staff and where the team, not the project manager or the executives of the company, undertake to jointly deliver a product or a result at the end of this period.
The methodology defines the “product” as something tangible, which gives us something that can be used at the end of each cycle or Sprint, as it is known in the methodology.
As each Sprint runs, cumulative results are obtained and the process ends when the Client decides that the proposed objectives have been achieved. This ensures better control of time, high productivity by the team and in the same way the costs and scope of the project. You can even insert pauses in the process without strong repercussions, since each cycle delivers a product.
What is one of the most important differentiators of SCRUM? That the methodology embraces uncertainty, since in each cycle, or each Sprint, small adjustments or changes can be made on the fly. In the Cascade methodology, making changes has serious implications and costs, since many times it forces to resume activities of phases that had already been delivered and all this translates into risk for the success of the project.
How do we structure the Projects?
We start with a kick-off or kick-off meeting where all the participants and users of the system meet. In the meeting the system is introduced and a brief demo is given, since many times not everyone participated in the selection of the product, the methodology is explained, the members of the team are defined and some tools that will be used are explained, such as the company profile forms as well as templates for the capture of Master Data – these are the lists of Contacts, Products, Prices, Inventories, Account Catalogs, etc.
A week is usually given so that the internal personnel can complete the templates and resolve the corresponding doubts before starting the Sprints. During the Sprints, you start by doing the General Configuration and the Loading of Master Data. This results in modeling the structure and data of the company in BIMS, followed by functional modules: Sales, Purchasing, Inventory and Finance. Finally, the accounting configuration is carried out, since in parallel to the start-up of the various modules we begin with the training and thus the staff can begin to carry out practices, or in some cases, to operate in the system.
Finally, the unit tests are carried out, checking the proper functioning of the flows and the Load of Initial Balances – inventories, accounts receivable, accounts payable, inventories, bank balances and balances of accounting accounts – these last two are not necessary to count with them to start the system, since they can be updated as soon as they are available and BIMS adjusts the transactions to date. This helps to avoid having to have all the balances to start operating.
Why is commissioning in a short time so important? Because it takes advantage of the impetus of novelty, of the feeling of belonging to the team, of a shared achievement by the participants, as well as the renewed support from management when they begin to see the impact of their investment in a short time. Sure, there are adjustments, mistakes will be made and there will be moments of frustration, but they will be short and quickly resolved and in a few days the operation will stabilize and the project will achieve the expected impact.
BIMS began its journey in 2008. Today we have more than 800 companies as customers and more than 15,000 users who use BIMS every day as the basis for their business operations.
