Partners in Progress
Within the FMS arena, fuel marketers, system implementers, and software vendors play different roles in the implementation process. Turner says the fuel marketer has to be the project sponsor and ensure that the people that are involved in the implementation from the marketer have sufficient time and authority to drive the project to its conclusion.
According to Murphy a fuel marketer sets the stage for change—communicates the plan to employees and customers. Marketers also make plans for the time required to setup, test and validate the changes before rolling out and advises customers of new exciting features that will be offered to them soon.
“The responsibility of a successful transition is in the collaboration with all concerned,” Murphy says. “Provide key employees the time to engage with the implementer so that they have a stake on the outcome and setup of the software to get optimal results.” Take the time to plan a ‘day in the life’ of your company and make sure that the employees have hands-on time before actually pulling the trigger; this will translate in a positive way to your customers.”
As such, the software vendor needs to provide experienced consulting resources to adequately guide the marketer to achieving their FMS objectives and training key staff to operate the software.
Essentially the software implementer is part consultant, part industry expert and has a wealth of knowledge on “how” to ask the right questions and to get the results needed.
“It takes a team to transform your business and daily practices,” Murphy says. “Project managers keep you on track and within budget, and implementers are the ‘troops on the ground’ who provide consulting, setup and training. They, together with your employees will help you to expertly navigate the well travelled path to the destination.”
Turner stresses that the software vendor has to be knowledgeable of the other processes that FMS touches, such as freight rating and BOL invoice reconciliation, not just the FMS process. The software vendor also needs to be responsive to product gaps that arise during the FMS implementation and promptly plan to address the gaps.
Likewise, the software company should fully understand the accounting and back office dimensions of an FMS and be prepared to implement in such a way so as not to cause rework once the FMS goes live.
“The software vendor brings a solid, definable track record to the table on similar business transformations with all the knowledge and experience that this implies,” Murphy says. “Understanding your diverse business needs and translating that into measurable outcomes allows the fuel marketer to move forward with more security and confidence.” The software vendor should be able to show measurable growth into diverse industries and historical collaboration with their family of customers in that direction.
The company implementing the system should be available and willing to engage in all critical decisions. “Testing the conversion of your data, and functional use of new features is critical to make sure that the outcome is what was expected and desired,” Murphy says. “Creating measurements and test scenarios will guarantee that the outcome of the planning and setup is as expected from the new software features.”
Lane’s experience has proven that a cross functional team on the marketer’s side, consisting of the owner/project sponsor, key employees from each division or business unit such as fuel, lubricants, cardlock, etc., general manager, controller/chief financial officer, operations manager and a key information technology employee, should be involved in the project from the initial data gathering phase all the way through to the final system implementation to ensure the system meets their requirements and the project stays on track.
“System implementers/vendors should provide ongoing project management complete with a minimum of monthly project updates to ensure visibility and identify any issues that may change the scope of the project or affect timelines,” Lane says.
Marketers should also be prepared to designate one high-level employee to be their overall project manager and one employee as a key trainer that their system provider can focus on educating to become their internal product expert.
“To ensure the implementation is successful, all parties need to confirm and document what the scope of the implementation project will cover with established timelines for completion of tasks,” Lane says. “The more work spent upfront during the initial data gathering and project definition stage will pay off in the long run and eliminate surprises.”
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