The Importance of Standing Behind a Customer’s Goals

Oracle has solved the cloud; and NetSuite has solved ERP.  Because cloud ERP is relatively new and because mobile computing (iPad, iPhone, etc.) is even newer, ERP-native CMMS on the cloud is not yet solved. Shepherd, however, is solving it.

What this probably means for you, the end-user, is that you may now be using an on-premise CMMS solution, an integrated CMMS solution, or, what is most common, plain old Excel to manage your maintenance. It might shock you just how many firms have no real CMMS in place to operate and maintain tens and even hundreds of millions of assets.

Adopting CMMS: an opportunity

There’s a good chance you haven’t yet had access to sophisticated, native CMMS in the cloud, and so you probably have not yet thought through all of your processes, your maintenance regimes, their frequency and constitution.  Such is the most common scenario that Shepherd encounters with a new customer. Although it no doubt means that you are in for a lot of work, do not fail to see the magnitude of this opportunity.  Machines are likely a significant and perhaps even your most significant investment. Run them better and they will hold more of their value over a longer period of time.

Implementation in stages

Your Shepherd implementer will invite you to at least 3 personalization sessions over the course of your implementation.  The first session occurs so early on that it is useful only to introduce you to the product. We expect very little in the way of instruction from you at that point.  Your second session will occur around the middle of your implementation. By this time you will have had enough time to become a little dangerous with the product and, therefore, the session will help instruct you how better to make the product your own. Your third will come after UAT and just before go-live, when you still will not be an expert but will have enough experience to fine tune your personalization instructions from the previous session.

Knowledge through support and experience

There is, however, no substitute for the experience and bruises, 😉, earned when you go live. Towards the end of your first month live, Shepherd will offer you to share with Shepherd your use and command of the product. It is a reverse peer-review in which we invite you to consider and adopt features and modules as well as to better personalize your users’ experience.

Ongoing opportunities to learn and refine

Shepherd recommends that this process never cease as there are new, important features every second week. Stale implementations serve no one well. The beauty of Shepherd and NetSuite lies, in large part, in the fact that new feature roll-out is continuous and free.  Challenge your team, shake up your business, we will support you through the whole process. Your relationship with Shepherd should extend as long as you are on NetSuite… and, remember, NetSuite is your last ERP.