The Value Of Team Work...Sports, Personally, And Professionally

Posted by admin on Jul 10, 2014 4:50 PM

 

My highschool son plays several sports which all require a large amount of team work.  I often find it crazy the amount of time these teams put into practices, scrimmages, and games.  But, without these, they aren’t getting better or growing as a unit.  Teams require each person to do their job to be successful as a whole.  They win together and lose together.  In sports and life teamwork equates to work done by an entire team - not if only a few members are carrying the load.  

I guess you are wondering what this has to do with EDI and business integration?

Teamwork1Professionally it’s a very similar scenario. Systems, departments, vendors, suppliers, and so on must work together mutually.  These different teams collaborate together in communication, coordination, contributions, support, and effort.

Some companies struggle with the implementation of EDI due to the initial set up cost and business process changes required.  Business processes currently in place for manual methods may not be suited for the new EDI environment.  It is key to select the level of integration needed to match your business requirements or be prepared to, as a team, adjust your business processes.

There are many EDI projects that I work on with clients.  With the business process changes often involved, it is key to ensure all the people this will affect are included on the project meetings.  The project group must understand the business processes and ensure they are using proper judgment as they are designed based on the parties impacted.

Other items which help a smooth implementation is having a team with:

  • Communication Skills
    • Must be able to have open and honest communications
    • Express options and suggestions that are beneficial to the project
  • Critical Thinking Skills
    • Evaluate information and situations
    • Think strategically to existing issues
  • Analytical Skills
    • Task assignments with deadlines

I also believe that using a firm which can help identify the right solution for your business and provide services around that need (i.e. training, install/configuration, support, etc.) is also key.  Here at REMEDI, we (resources as well as account managers) are very much involved in the project meetings to ensure everyone is on the same page.  Often times our technical experts drive the decision and direction for/with the client as they are looked upon as someone who has the experience and has been engaged with many different situations across many clients.

Do you have an initiative in which I can be of assistance?  Consider the following assessment offer...

Get a Complimentary Integration/EDI Assessment