As companies and governmental organizations continue to choose to outsource the administration of their Information Technology (IT) department including the manufacturing software system, the efficient flow of data between contractor and client has become a specialty amongst IT professionals. From transition and beyond, successful data interface is of paramount importance to smooth and uninterrupted day-to-day operations.

Manufacturing Software System

Manufacturing Software System and Outsourcer Interface

How does an operation get from there to here, with there being pre-outsource and there being seamless manufacturing operations run by an outsourcer?
Procurement of hardware, software and maintenance by third party administrator, adds at least one additional layer to the IT administration onion and may complicate the establishment of viable interfaces between systems and applications.

When it comes to the ERP and/or manufacturing software system piece of a manufacturing company’s infrastructure procurement and purchasing personnel have to be completely head’s up to additional requirements and  catches associated with license ownership and interface provisions.

1.    Software and hardware licensing provisions prohibiting the outsourcer from making such purchases on their client’s behalf and can create conflicts that interfere with effectively linking systems. For instance, it may not be “legal” to link one application to another without first obtaining written permission, licensing amendment, and so on, from the software provider.  
2.    Third party tools are sometimes available and/or required to facilitate interface functionality.
3.    Maintenance and security certificate administration can be tied to hardware ownership and original purchase and affect connectivity.
4.    Be prepared for legacy issues associated with any previous outsourcer.
5.    Data integrity in a leveraged system can present a problem when the outsourcer’s server farm is not dedicated to a single client.  Cross-mixing of data is not unheard of during the transition process. Access to data and ownership of that data has come into question in the past. The outsourcer should be able to provide demonstrable proof that the leveraged system will not pose a problem.

In order to ensure a smooth transition and minimize interruptions that affect manufacturing software systems and business in general, it is important the client and outsourcer work together and provide as much transparency of action to one and other as necessary.

The outsourcer needs to understand the operations that fall under their responsibility umbrella. In turn, the client is entitled to understand the outsourcer to facilitate the most efficient use of the outsourced IT administration business model. Clarity in communications and consistency of procedure will minimize impacts to the transition schedule and day-to-day operations.  

The transition team bench has to be deep with experts.  Efficiency of the system and the transition to it cannot be over-stated.  Expert, experienced personnel, though expensive, are indispensible.  Establishing direct interfaces with manufacturing and business software is not always easy to establish, often requiring specific, high-level, expertise. Without successful interfaces, the primary goal of efficient transactions and resultant cost savings that outsourcing represents cannot be realized.

After all, a manufacturing company is in the business of manufacturing a product, not administering ERP and manufacturing software systems and hire outsourcers to administer IT while they stick to what they know and grow their bottom lines.

Written by :

tracey boxer