1) The document discusses implementing supply chain automation in a pain-free manner by understanding employee fears about change, planning the implementation carefully, and introducing changes incrementally. 2) It identifies three typical stages of change adoption - decision, communication, and implementation. The communication stage involves getting buy-in by addressing concerns and allowing questions. 3) Implementation should happen gradually to prevent "change fatigue" and increase buy-in as employees see the benefits of the new processes. Automating order-to-cash is presented as a case study.

1. 1
Supply Chain Automation:
Does Change Have to be
Painful?

2. 2
Automatingyourorder-to-cash(O2C)processeswillrevolutionisethewayyou
runyoursupplychain.Itwillallowyoutomoveawayfromerror-laden,repetitive
manualprocedurestowardsaconsistentprocess-flowofautomation.
Whenyoumoveawayfromrelyingsoleyonhumanstoenterdata,itallowsstaff
tobecomecustomer-facingandcreaterealvalue.
However,thetransitionfrommanualprocessingtoautomationrequiresa
changeinday-to-daypractices,long-establishedsystems,andmindset.
Change doesn’t always go down well.
Wehavefoundthatthetransitionfrommanualtoautomatedsupplychain
processescanbemadeaseasyaspossibleby:
• understandingwhypeoplearefearfulofthechangesautomation
maybring,and
• planningtheimplementationwiththesehesitationsinmind.
Supply Chain Automation: Does Change
Have to be Painful?

3. 3
Challenging ‘Conventional Wisdom’ on Change
People fear change
Dotheyreally?Notnecessarily…
Iftheyreallydidfearallchangethenno-one
wouldevergoforapromotion,buyanewcar,or
bookaround-the-worldcruise.
Peoplelovenewthings,newexperiencesandnew
projects.
Peopledon’tfearchange.Theyfearchangebeing
forcedonthemiftheyhavenosayorcontrol.
Everyone responds
to change in the
same way
Nottrue.Whenyou’vetriedtoimplement
anythingnewordifferent(evenanewvenuefor
theofficeparty)somepeopleloveit,somepeople
hateitwithapassion,andeveryoneelse...
Well,whatabouteveryoneelse?
The‘everyoneelse’iswhereproblemslie
becauseyoudon’tknowwhatthey’rethinking.
Unfortunately,evenifyoudoyourbesttoshow
changeisgoodforthecompany–andoftenit
reallyisbeneficial,likeorder-to-cashautomation,
forexample)–noteveryonewillcomearoundto
theideaontheirown.
Change is
transformational
Itdoesn’thavetobe.
Infact,companiesthatembracechangemost
successfullyhaveadopteda‘changeculture’
whichmeans theyaimtoimproveona
continualbasis.
Changeisnotreallya‘onehitandwe’redone’
kindofthing.It’sconstant,evolving,butitshould
happenatapacethatismanageable–both
fromabusinessperspectiveandapersonal
perspective.
Thesethreethemesconsistentlyreappearinchange-relatedliterature.Butalthoughtheyseemlikecommon
sense,oncloserinspection,theycanbequestioned...
1 2 3

4. 4
3 Typical Change Profiles
Therearemanywaysofgroupingemployees(the‘typeA’,orthe‘introvert’or‘extrovert’,forexample)–
butforourpurposeswe’regoingtolookatchangeintheworkplaceandintroducethree‘camps’people
looselytendtofallinto:
The Challenger:
Theyarepassionatelyandvocally
opposedtoanychangeyoumaymake.
Theyarelikelytohavebeenatthe
companyformanyyears–perhaps
evenafoundingmember–andarea
mouthpieceforeverythingthatmaygo
wrongbeforeithappens.Theymayhave
influenceoverothermembersofstaff
and,shouldyoumessup,they’llgleefully
tellanyonewho’lllisten.
1
The Cheerleader:
Theyabsolutelylovetheideaofchange
andwillworkhardtodoanything
theycantomakeithappen.Likethe
Challenger,theymaybevocal.Unlikethe
Challenger,however,theCheerleader
willpreachthevirtuesofchangeatevery
opportunity.Avaluableassetforthe
company,you’llneedCheerleadersat
everylevelformaximumeffect.
2
The Silent Assasins:
Don’tassumethatjustbecause
peoplearen’tvocallyopposedthat
they’reactuallyonyourside.TheSilent
Assasinwillsaynothing,buthope
everythingwillgobacktonormalonce
thedusthassettled.
Youcan’timplementsuccessfulchange
unlessit’speople-driven,soyoucan’t
ignorethiscohort.
3

5. 5
Change, Primal Fear and the Loss of Identity
1
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/brainsnacks/201203/the-only-5-fears-we-all-share
Asksomeonewhytheyfearautomationandtheirfirstanswerislikelytobe‘becauseImightlosemyjob,or
myteam’.However,eveniftheirjobsaresecure,theconceptofautomationcanstilltriggerfearinemployees.
Thereasonforthisbecomesclearwhenweconsiderthefivebasicprimalhumanfears1
:
1 Extinction:
Fearofdeath–fearofheights,flyingetc.
2
Mutilation:
Fearoflosingpartofourbodyorfunction
(afearofspidersariseshere).
3
Loss of Autonomy:
Fearofbeingrestrictedorimmobilisedby
circumstancesbeyondourcontrol.
4 Separation:
Fearofrejectionandnotbeingvaluedbyothers.
5
Ego-death:
Fearofhumiliation,shameordiminishingof
one’sconstructedsenseofworthiness.
Unlessyouworkindemolitionorconstruction,fears1and
2(deathandmutilation)arenotanissueintheworkplace.
However,fears3,4and5are.Iffacedwithuncertainty
overjobfunctionandresponsibility,employees—even
seniorones—aregoingtobesuspiciousoftheunknown
andofmisunderstoodand/orimposedchange.
“Nice to meet you. What do you do?”
Thisisatypicalopeningquestionwhenwemeet
someonenew.We,inthewesternworld,liketodefine
peoplebytheiroccupation.Bearingthisinmind,isitany
wonderthatpeopletendtopushbackonchange?Ifthe
changeislikelytoresultintheirownuncertaintyabout
theirrole,itisachallengeoftheirveryidentity.Evenif
theydon’tliketheirwork,atleasttheyknowwhatitis.It
definesthem,andgivesthemasenseofwhotheyare.

6. 6
Acknowledging that
the fear of imposed change
is real is the first step towards
removing it. Fear is a barrier to
change; it needs to be acknowledged,
not avoided.

7. 7
The Biggest Obstacles to Change
In2013,theKatzenbachCentercarriedoutasurveyofover2,200executives,managersandemployees2
tounravelandunderstandproblemswithchangeintheworkplace.70percentofExecutiveshavestarted
DigitalSupplyChainTransformation3
.
Thetopthreebarrierstochange,accordingtotheirfindings,are:
‘Change fatigue’
Whenemployeesfeeltheyarebeingaskedto
maketoomanychangesatonce(orwhentheyare
undergoing‘initiativeoverload’–asdescribeby
Bain.com4
).
Lack of skill in
handling change
48%ofrespondentsclaimtheircompanies
lacktheskillneededforsuccessful,
sustainedchange.
Method of planning
and implementation
of change initiatives
Changecanstallifthere’stoomuchemphasisfrom
seniormanagementandnotenoughinputfrom
lowerintheranks.
2
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/brainsnacks/201203/the-only-5-fears-we-all-share
3
http://www.supplychaindigital.com/supplychainmanagement/4268/70-percent-of-Executives-have-started-Digital-Supply-Chain-Transformation
4
http://www.bain.com/publications/articles/managing-initiative-overload.aspx
Understandingtheseaspectsofchangeequipsyouwiththeknowledgetoimplementchangeintherightway:
awaythatwillminimiseemployeestressandgetyoutowhereyouwanttobemuchmorequickly.Inthenext
sectionwe’llseehowtotaketheseconceptsandputthemintoaction.

8. 8
Step-by-Step Order-to-Cash Automation:
Thisiswhatwerecommend:toeasethepainthroughchangemanagementbestpractice.
Whenitcomestochange,understandingwhatpeoplearescaredof(andwhy)willhelpyoumake
thetransformationalchangefrommanualtransactionprocessingtoorder-to-cashautomation.
IthelpstoworkwithspecialistslikeOmPromptwhohaveextensiveexperience
insupportingcustomerstomanagethistransition.Theyareaccustomedto
tailoringanimplementationapproachtofiteachuniquebusiness(a
changemanagementtechniquethataidschangeadoption).
i Learn about: Typical Stages When Adopting Change

9. 9
Stage 1: Decision
AtOmPrompt,westarttheautomationprocessfromthe‘decision’toproceedwithorder-to-cashautomation.
It’simportanttomakesuretheprojectisnotdoomedbeforeitisevenannounced.Therewill,nodoubt,bea
seriesofinteractionsinvolvedbeforeafinaldecisionismadesuchas:
• Meetings
• Impromptudiscussionsand
• Perhapsevenaboard-levelevaluationordecision.
Ifthisisdonewithanairofwhisperedurgency,furtivelooksandknowingwinksthenyouremployeeswillthink
there’ssomething‘up’andsteelthemselvesforbadnews.
Ouradviceis:havemeetings,talkopenlyaboutitearlyintheprocess. Informthemthatitwillfreethemupto
dotheverybestbitsoftheirjob,andremovemanual,repetitive,non-value-addedtasks.
Perhapsthemostcriticalpointhereisthatoncethedecisionisfinal,moveontostage2asquicklyashumanly
possibletopreventrumoursgettingoutofhand.
Three Typical Stages that Organisations go Through
When Adopting Change:
i Learn about the next step: Communication

10. 10
Stage 2: Communication
Thisiswherestandardchangemanagementinformationwilltellyoutokeeplinesofcommunicationopen,
telleveryonewhat’sgoingon,andmakesurepeopleareinformed.But,rememberpoint1underour
conventionalwisdomchallenges?Peoplefearchangebeingimposedonthem–notchangeitself.Youcan
communicateallyoulike,butifit’sdeliveredasa‘donedeal’,itwon’thelptoallayfears.
Instead,makethefocusofyourcommunicationtoachieveasmuchbuy-inaspossible.(Remember,you’re
unlikelyevertoget100%buy-in).Don’tjustfocusonmanagement,trytogeteveryoneonboard.
You’ll need to:
• Showthebenefitsofautomation
• Addresspeople’smajorconcerns(includingthoseabouttheirjobsecurity)and
• Allowthemtoquestionyou.
Remember:buy-iniskey.Oneofthebestwaysofachievingthisistogetyour
Cheerleaderstohelpyou,especiallyifthey’renotinmanagementpositions.
i Learn about the next step: Implementation

11. 11
Stage 3: Implementation
Makechangesincrementally,butdon’tleteach
actiondragon.Thiswillhelptoprevent‘change
fatigue’andincreasebuy-in,asyouremployees
willquicklylearnthatthenewrealityisactually
muchbetterthanwhattheyweredoing
previously.
“Will I lose my job?”
Automatingyourorder-to-cashprocess
doesn’tmeanthatpeopleareguaranteed
tolosetheirjobs.However,ifyourgoalis
toreducehead-count,thenitcansaveyour
businessmoney.
Inmanycasesautomationischosenbyagrowingcompany
sotheydon’thavetoincreaseheadcountanyfurther.Make
surepeopleunderstandtheimpactthechangewillhaveof
thempersonallyandreassurethemoftheirjobsecurity(ifyou
can).Youmayevenbringafew‘Challengers’onsideoncethey
realisetheyarenotonthewayout.Asaresultofautomating,
employeeswillbeabletospendmoretimeinteractingwith
customersandlesstimestrugglingwithdataentry.
http://v1.aberdeen.com/launch/report/perspective/8735-AI-order-management-automation.asp
28% of leading
companies are
currently evaluating
options with regards
to cloud-based
solutions for their
business processes
and 41% currently
have some or all of
their applications
in the cloud.
AccordingtotheAberdeenGroup5
5
http://v1.aberdeen.com/launch/report/perspective/8735-AI-order-management-automation.asp

12. 12
Did you know that “63% of
organisations still rely on manual
processes for converting quotes
to orders?
There is still plenty of room for
improvement!
AccordingtotheAberdeenGroup6
6
http://v1.aberdeen.com/launch/report/perspective/8735-AI-order-management-automation.asp

13. 13
Pain-free Order-to-Cash Automation
Here’s a 6-step breakdown of a pain-free order-to-cash automation
implementation, the OmPrompt way:
Start with your biggest
(typically, your most
important) customers
Rememberthe80/20rule?Typically,80%of
revenuecomesfrom20%ofcustomers.It’sworth
startingwiththesecustomers.
Thenfocusjustononeaspect,thelogical
beginning:processingcustomerorders.We
cangetyourbiggestcustomersfullyautomated
within5days.Yourcustomerswon’tseeanything
different,andwedon’tneedtotieupyourIT
resourceseither.
Keep Automating
Butcontinueautomatingcustomerorders.
Bynow(lessthantwoweeksafterbeginning
theproject)yourcustomerservicestaffwillbe
spendingalotlesstimeonmundaneorderentry.
They’llalsonoticethey’redealingwithfarfewer
ordererrorsanddeliverydiscrepancies.Wordwill
getroundthatthisisagoodthing.
Allow the dust
to settle
Yourcustomerservicestaffwillneedtimeuntil
thenewwayofworkingbecomesthenew
‘normal’.Duringthistime,focusonhelping
themgobackto‘grassrootscustomerservice’;
cultivatingrelationshipswithyourcustomers;
andhelpingcross-sellorup-sellotherproductsor
services.
1 2 3

14. 14
OmPrompt’s comprehensive
service meant the whole project
was up and running without
placing any significant burden
on our IT function.
OmPromptcustomer,globalFMCGbrand

15. 15
Build on the success
Younowhaveacustomerservicedepartment
focusedoncustomerserviceratherthanfire-
fighting.Youalsohavedata.
Accumulateddataonorderhistoryandbuying
behaviourcannowbeusedforthenextstageof
theimplementation–demandplanning
andforecasting.
You’llbeabletoproduceaccurateforecasts
basedonactualdata.
Analyse key metrics
Youshouldseefewerordererrorsanddelivery
discrepancies.Youron-timein-full(OTIF)metric
shouldhaveimproved.
Addupthecashsavedintransportcostsand
goodwillpayments.It’sgoodpracticetoshare
thesenumberswitheveryoneinthecompany,
andaddstothegoodfeelingaboutautomation.
Don’t Give Into Your Fears!
Add new elements when
it makes sense
Onceorder-to-cashautomationhas
demonstratedthatitdoesbringbenefitstoyour
company–onbothafinancialandpersonal
level–youcanintroducenewelementssuch
asautomatingPODs,GRNs,returns,claimsand
remittanceadvicedocumentswhenit’srightfor
you.
4 5 6
Beforeyou’veactuallyexperiencedorder-to-cashautomation,thevery
ideaofitcanseemdaunting.
Byintroducingtheconceptintherightway,you’llminimiseanxiety
amongyouremployeesandbeinapositiontogetthebenefitsof
automationalotsooner.Asyourfaithfulpartnerinautomation,
OmPromptcanhelpyouachievethis.
Steps 3 - 6 of a pain-free order-to-cash automation implementation the
OmPrompt way:

16. 16
It has definitely reduced
the workload of query
resolution. I think it just helps
the team re-focus their attention. Now
we spend a lot of time looking at the
orders, not just inputting them. Our
order input is a lot better and faster
than it used to be.
OmPromptcustomer,world-renownedalcoholicbeverageproducer

17. 17
Get buy-in
Beforeachangehappens,it’sworthconsultingtheteam/s
involvedontheirideas–e.g.aboutwhattoolstouseorapproach
totake.Bewarned,though,unlessyoucanusetheirideas–orat
leasttellthemwhytheyweren’tused,thiswon’tbesuccessful.
Consult
Ratherover-communicatethanunder-communicate,evenifthe
communicationis‘there’snoprogressatthemoment,wedon’t
knowwhentherewillbe’.
Be transparent
Peoplecanseethroughflimsypretextsforchange.Beashonest
aspossibleforwhythechangehastotakeplace–andgivepeople
reasonsforwhythechangewillbeagoodthing.
Listen
Before,duringandafterchangehappens–keepthelinesof
communicationopen:trulyopen.Ideas,suggestionsandcomplaints
canbeuseful–iftimeisallowedtoincorporatetheseintothe
changeplan.
Provide context
Changeforthesakeofchangeissuspicious.Putthechangein
contextandprovideinformationindifferentformats:visual,
writtenandaural.Ifpossible,givebothnumericalandemotional
reasonsforchange.
3 typical change profiles
TheChallengers,Cheerleadersandthe‘SilentAssasins’areall
importantchangeinfluencers.Knowwhotheyare,whatthey’re
likelytodo,andworkwiththemtomakechangehappen.
Under-promise and over-deliver
Changeisoftenoverblown–boththerisksandtherewards.Give
peopleenoughhopetoseethebenefitinthechange,without
promisingunrealistic,orundeliverable,rewards.
Be realistic
Noteveryonewilllikeoracceptchange.Somewillchoosetomove
on,otherswillcomplainaboutit.Beingtransparentandconsultative
willhelpmitigatethenegativegossip–justrememberthat
discussionisanimportantpartofpeopleadaptingtothechange.
Break it down
Largechangemayseemoverwhelming.Trytobreakitdowninto
smaller,moredigestablechunkstohelppeopleadaptbit-by-bit.
Give it time
Peoplewillcomearound,eventually,andbeforelong,thenewway
willbecomethe‘waywedothingshere’.
10 TIPS to help others embrace change

18. 18
About
OmPrompt
AsthepioneerofCustomer
AutomationManagement
(CAM),OmPrompthelps
agrowingnumberofthe
world’sleadingbrands
eliminategapsinthe
order-to-cashprocessof
theirsupplychainthat
havetraditionallyrequired
manualworkarounds.
OmPrompthasinnovativewaysof
automatingrepetitivemanualwork
inthecustomermanagementcycle,
enablingclientstofreeupresources,
managebyexception,remove
restrictions,andeliminateriskstotheir
businesses.
Ourintelligent,cloud-basedsolutions
aredeliveredasaservice,co-existwith
EDI-basedsolutions,arequicktodeploy,
easytoextend,andofferfastROI.
OmPromptallowsyoutoconcentrateonyourcorebusinessbyfreeingup
thetimeyourstaffspendsonprocessingcustomertransactions.How?
Wefocusonwhatwedobest:processingyourbusiness-criticalmessages;
soyoucandomoreofwhatyoudobest!
My team are now involved
in tasks such as ensuring that
goods arrive on time and in good
condition, proactively calling customers
to advise when a
delivery is going to be late,
tracking vehicle availability, and
promoting Arla’s products.
OmPromptcustomer,Arla,globaldairyco-operative

19. 19
I have come to the
conclusion that whatever the
integration problem, the
answer is...
OmPrompt.
OmPromptcustomer, internationally-recognisedFMCGbrand

20. 20
Ready to Embrace Automation?
(the Easy Way) – Get in Touch Now:
Tel: +44 (0)1235 436000
Email: info@omprompt.com
www.omprompt.com
OmPromptLtd
67InnovationDrive
MiltonPark,Abingdon
Oxfordshire,OX144RQ
UnitedKingdom
+44(0)1235436000
www.omprompt.com
info@omprompt.com
Contact