Sum t wp_workforce_expense_management_lean
Preview:
DESCRIPTION
Citation preview
- 1. Whitepaper Workforce & Expense Management Supports Lean
Manufacturing Initiatives Applying Lean Manufacturing Initiatives
to Workforce & Expense Management Todays successful
manufacturing organizations need to be agile and alert. Finding
creative and efficient ways to control costs and meet budget
requirements means process improvements that address changing
business needs while being There are responsive to market
fluctuations. For manufacturers with large, diverse workforces,
significant business better management of employee related costs is
often the single most impactful way advantages and to support the
principles of Lean Manufacturing and create lasting value for
customers. savings inherent in having the Executive Summary right
people with To meet the challenges of doing more with fewer
resources while remaining the right skills competitive and
increasing efficiencies, many manufacturing organizations have
available at the embarked on Lean Manufacturing Initiatives that
focus on eliminating all waste right time & at the in the
manufacturing process. During the normal course of business, even
the best possible cost. most disciplined manufacturing firms find
themselves with an overproduction of goods leading to unnecessary
and costly inventory, a mismatch of demand with output levels and
inefficiencies related to both the manufacturing and distribution
processes. These lean manufacturing initiatives and strategies can
also be effectively applied toward a manufacturers largest
controllable expense - its workforce. All too often, companies do
not fully recognize or utilize the skills and capabilities of their
own employees. There are significant business advantages and
savings inherent in having the right people with the right skills
available at the right time and at the best possible cost.
World-class manufacturers share a core focus on innovation,
responsiveness, quality and cost effectively meeting demand. Often
utilizing best-of-breed specialty solutions, these firms leverage
technology for maximum efficiency and contain costs through a
manufacturing process and supply chain network that ultimately
serves to enhance business performance. Empowering the workforce
adds strategic value by streamlining supply chain, manufacturing
and customer- centric processes to meet and exceed increasing
customer expectations. People are critical to driving business
performance and workforce optimization is a key element in
maintaining competitive differentiation. Automated enterprise-class
workforce and expense management solutions help manufacturers
reduce payroll preparation time, improve payroll accuracy by 1-5%
of gross payroll1 and optimize organizational performance,
productivity and profitability. Robust workforce and expense
management solution components consisting of time and attendance,
business expense management and employee scheduling and
optimization solutions, that are 100% Web-based, fully integrated
and scalable, help manufacturing organizations meet ongoing
business challenges by:www.sumtotalsystems.com 1
- 2. Workforce & Expense Management SupportsLean
Manufacturing Initiatives Better management of a diverse and
distributed workforce Generating tighter overtime control with
reduced payroll inaccuracies Driving productivity gains through
effective and efficient employee scheduling Supporting systems
integration to ERP, work order and payroll Addressing pay, work,
accrual & union rules while complying with regulatory
requirements Ensuring compliance with FMLA, FLSA and Sarbanes-
Oxley Increasing efficiency while modernizing workforce and expense
management processes to meet the needs of a diverse end-user
community This paper examines lean manufacturing workforce
management initiatives, the opportunities and benefits they provide
and the enterprise applications available to manage and support
them. Take Control Where It Matters Most Effectively controlling
costs and efficiently deploying a large diverse workforce depends
on an organizations ability to properly schedule staff, control and
track time and attendance, eliminate payroll inaccuracies and
integrate with existing Organizations that business applications.
Organizations that have implemented lean manufacturing have
implemented initiatives realize the value of workforce and expense
automation processes in lean manufacturing several vital areas of
their operations. initiatives realize the 1. Reducing Operating
Expenses by Controlling Labor value of workforce & and Expense
Costs expense automation processes in several Labor and expense
costs make up the largest part of a manufacturers cost of vital
areas of their goods sold. To remain competitive, firms need to
control and reduce costs to a operations. manageable level that
does not negatively impact product quality. To achieve better cost
control, manufacturers with integrated and automated workforce and
expense management systems are able to: Track labor costs in a
variety of configurations including across locations, cost centers,
positions, multiple work orders, departments and business units
Staff to business needs to minimize or eliminate potential
overstaffing and coverage gaps Address rate progressions, position
step-ups/downs, departmental cross charging of labor Manage highly
accurate Activity Based Costing (ABC) to know the real labor costs
in process Automate the entire expense reporting cycle from report
creation and workflow approval through audit and reimbursement
Automate union contract compliancewww.sumtotalsystems.com 2
- 3. Workforce & Expense Management SupportsLean
Manufacturing Initiatives 2. Improving Accountability and
Compliance The regulatory environment continues to pose demands and
challenges on businesses that did not exist even five years ago.
Compliance with external and internal regulations has become
critical for a firms survival. The documentation and recordkeeping
requirements of this increased level of regulation need to be
managed as closely as the production process. Manufacturers can
best meet regulatory demands through automation of the following:
Standardize and automate workforce management pro- cesses across
each plant or location Support union contracts and complex business
processes with workflow capabilities to manage pay, work and union
rules, scheduling, and accruals Support best-in-class corporate
quality initiatives by mea- suring time, attendance and scheduling
performance while reducing payroll inaccuracies and standardizing
scheduling across business units Achieve greater control over
costs, improved compliance and increased visibility into operations
through employee business travel expense data capture, reporting,
validation and documentation 3. Increase the Accuracy and Agility
of Production Scheduling Making plant operations more flexible and
responsive through lean initiatives is a fundamental priority. For
global companies, it is also crucial to apply lean thinking to the
broader, global supply chain that includes the workforce.
Responsiveness to demand fluctuations and market opportunities by
having the right products Manufacturers available at the height of
market demand has always been the desired outcome can best meet of
production scheduling. Manual or semi-automated workforce systems
do production not offer the real-time responsiveness needed and can
cause lost sales and requirements and revenues. Manufacturers can
best meet production requirements and market market demands demands
through fully automated systems to: through fully automated systems
Streamline operations through automated scheduling Meet production
demands while balancing cost control and efficiency Deploy the
right mix of people on fixed or rotating schedules to move orders
out the door while responding to demand fluctuations Focus on
leveraging real-time information for better management decisions
Improve employee satisfaction with schedules aligned with employees
work/life preferences Control scheduling variations with best
practice templates that reflect the most efficient staffing models
Find the right substitute at the best cost when managing unexpected
absences Provide support for overtime equalization by assigning the
lowest cost resource when scheduling
overtimewww.sumtotalsystems.com 3
- 4. Workforce & Expense Management SupportsLean
Manufacturing Initiatives Manufacturing Organizations Maximize
Service and Productivity Any system that requires extensive
training or that takes too long to deploy is not a best practice
solution. Successful Workforce and Expense Management solutions
should maximize the potential benefits by fostering rapid adoption
through ease-of-use along with offering a positive user experience.
In addition, rapid initial return on investment (ROI), along with
lifecycle maximization of ROI, are key factors to look for when
selecting automated workforce and expense management systems.
System providers need to know a firms goals and expectations so
they can support the business and develop the most cost effective
implementation plan to take full advantage of the technology,
minimize TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) and exceed business
objectives. Enterprise-class solutions give manufacturers the power
to accurately manage schedules and time and attendance for all
employees and contingent workers. Doing so means businesses can
adhere to lean manufacturing goals by effectively staffing peak
periods and addressing special scheduling situations to ensure
improved customer satisfaction and increased operational
efficiency. In addition, solutions for complex, mid- to large tier
manufacturers need to streamline operations, increase
responsiveness and agility and reduce payroll costs. Automated
Workforce and Expense Management solutions will help to improve
business performance and productivity whether the organization is
regional, national or global - while dramatically building employee
productivity and satisfaction. Business Expenses: Making the Second
Largest Controllable Expenditure a Top Priority After labor costs,
employee business expenses are regarded as the second largest
controllable expense. Expense Management Automation (EMA) solutions
EMAs are are increasingly recognized as critical components in
controlling costs and increasingly aligning regulatory requirements
with company expense policies and improving recognized as critical
bottom line performance. Employee expenses are no longer limited to
travel and components in entertainment costs paid by the employee
and reimbursed by the company, but controlling costs & also
include expenses and payment options from the entire range of
employee aligning regulatory discretionary expenses including
office supplies, mobile phones, meetings, MRO, requirements with
p-cards, corporate payment cards, fleet cards, direct vendor
billing and more. company expense Add to the mix a growing number
of mobile workers, rising costs of travel, tighter policies &
improving government regulations and uncertain economic conditions.
As a result, companies bottom line have come to realize that
enterprise-wide technology solutions are no longer luxuries
performance. but necessities. Optimization of administrative and
back office processes associated with employee expenses has taken
on a new urgency as firms realize the need to better manage and
control escalating employee business costs. Visionary companies
rely on highly acceptable, user-friendly, intuitive, best-of-breed
technology solutions that deliver bottom line results along with a
rapid return on investment (ROI). Expense Management Automation
solutions gives manufacturers the power to attack the high cost of
expense processing at its source: the employees point of spend.
These solutions allow automation of the entire expense reporting
cycle from pre-trip authorization, expense report prepopulation,
and workflow approvalwww.sumtotalsystems.com 4
- 5. Workforce & Expense Management SupportsLean
Manufacturing Initiatives and report creation through to travel
booking integration, audit, reimbursement, receipts management and
post-payment reporting and analysis. EMA solutions handle every
aspect of employee business expense processing and increases
efficiencies when integrated with existing back end General Ledger
systems. The Business Challenges of Mobility Often spending more
time outside the plant or office than within, business travelers,
especially sales representatives, technicians, managers and field
employees, constitute the mobile workforce. Manufacturing firms
today are facing increased requirements and challenges to enable
and empower their expanding mobile and/or untethered workforces
that are not connected to the company network during the course of
the work day. These challenges go beyond delivering Internet or
email access to mobile workers; theres a need to provide select,
critical business applications to this user community in a
consistent, secure and robust deployment. The goal of these efforts
is to bring the enterprise applications to these mobile workers
wherever they are rather than forcing the mobile workers to the
enterprise applications. Mobile and remote workers have the same
pressures as on-site employees to comply with existing corporate
policies, approvals and business processes. These employees need to
have secure access to enterprise-class applications in real-time to
help them perform productively and effectively, while adhering to
corporate policies and standards. Whether it is a day trip for a
regional plant manager or an employee working on an oil rig,
best-in-class solutions offer support for time capture, employee
self-service, labor distribution, expense reporting and management
approvals to address the needs of the growing mobile workforce.
Match Labor Supply with Business Demands Without a system in place,
the tasks of staffing, managing absence replacements and responding
to fluctuating business demands are laborious and can be quite
inefficient. Visibility into resource availability is limited and
without a dashboard (KPIs) that view of the current, available
workforce, businesses may not know if theyre provide real-time
paying for unnecessary overtime or scheduling employees to work
hours beyond visibility into the what is considered safe or within
contractual guidelines. status of cost With an automated workforce
management system in place, employers benefit and sales metrics
from the ability to track key performance indicators (KPIs) that
provide real- allowing for the time visibility into the status of
cost and sales metrics allowing for the most most productive
productive and cost effective staffing. Enterprises can optimize
schedules based and cost effective on business demand, and as a
result, realize an increase in productivity, while staffing.
enhancing operations and ensuring the right resources with the
right skills are available when and where they are needed.
Scheduling software delivers real-time information that enables
manufacturing firms to allocate staff according to
employee-to-revenue ratios, or other relevant metrics, such as
placing workers in certain areas, locations or in departments to
accomplish the tasks or service that generate better bottom-line
results within budget allocations.www.sumtotalsystems.com 5
- 6. Workforce & Expense Management SupportsLean
Manufacturing Initiatives Consider the example of a manufacturing
plant that needs to run production on a Saturday. From a schedulers
perspective, they need to not only identify workers who have the
right skill sets but also determine who is already scheduled to
work as opposed to scheduling others whose Saturday hours may
result in time and a half or double time. By utilizing a software
solution for this type of scheduling situation, managers can easily
gauge their resource availability and consider the costs of the
talent needed to ensure that production schedules are met. A
dashboard view of the workforce and insight into the skill sets of
the available staff enables managers to make the most effective
staffing and talent management decisions. This enterprise level
visibility ensures better alignment with contract requirements,
worker certifications and skills and shifts schedules to meet
forecasted demand, further enabling companies to meet their
business objectives. A workforce management solution with
scheduling optimization also eliminates errors that result from
time-consuming manual processes. Along with increased accuracy from
electronic data entry, a workforce scheduling solution ensures time
and attendance entries are correct, reduces time theft (resulting
from extended breaks, tardy arrivals and early departures) and
buddy punching (when one employee clocks in for another), while
enforcing adherence to business rules and facilitating compliance
with government regulations, as well as with internal policies and
union requirements. Since these business rules drive accruals, paid
time off, time accrued towards participation in retirement programs
and leave management, having them properly tracked and validated
can result in greater accuracy of benefits accruals and lower
payroll costs. The Solution: Versatile and Flexible Technology When
choosing a solution, companies look for applications that meet
their cost requirements. One option is the traditional in-house
license fee model. A more desirable alternative is the flexibility
of either an in-house model or an off-premise Technology
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model. The SaaS On Demand delivery
model speeds facilitated gains the implementation process at a more
affordable price. As companies evolve, can contribute having this
flexibility ensures the solution will continue to meet business
needs. to higher customer satisfaction levels, As competition
intensifies, manufacturers are turning to technology to improve
greater operational business processes whenever and wherever
possible. Data intensive manual efficiencies and or semi-automated
timekeeping, scheduling and expense report processing tighter
control practices are often prone to error and do not provide the
flexibility to address the of labor costs responsiveness a
manufacturer needs to display to remain competitive in todays for
manufacturers. business environment. Increased agility, enhanced
mobility and self-service and workflow capabilities are technology
facilitated gains that can contribute to higher customer
satisfaction levels, greater operational efficiencies and tighter
control of labor costs for manufacturers. Endnotes 1Trendline
Survey, American Payroll Association, June
2008.www.sumtotalsystems.com 6
- 7. Workforce & Expense Management Supports Lean
Manufacturing Initiatives More Information For more information,
send an email to connect@sumtotalsystems.com About SumTotal
SumTotal Systems, Inc. is the global leader of strategic Human
Capital Management (HCM) solutions that provide organizations with
a new level of visibility to help make more informed business
decisions and accelerate growth. Recognized by industry analysts as
the most complete solution, SumTotal provides full employee
lifecycle management, including a core system of record, from a
single provider for improved business intelligence. The company
offers customers of all sizes and industries the most flexibility
and choice with multiple purchase, configuration, and deployment
options. We have increased the performance of the worlds largest
organizations including Sony Electronics (NYSE: SNE), AstraZeneca
(NYSE: AZN [ADR]; London: AZN), Amway (KUL:AMWAY), Seagate (NYSE:
STX), Dell (NASDAQ:DELL), and Google (NASDAQ:GOOG). For more
information, or to request a demo, please call +1 (866) 768-6825
(US / Canada), +1 (352) 264-2800 (international) or visit
www.sumtotalsystems.comCorporate Headquarters EMEA APACSumTotal
Systems, Inc. SumTotal Systems, UK SumTotal Systems India Pvt. Ltd.
2011 SumTotal Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. SumTotal, and the
SumTotal2850 NW 43rd Street 59-60 Thames Street 7th Floor Maximus
Towers logo, are registered trademarks or trademarks of SumTotal
Systems, Inc. and/orSuite #200 Windsor, Berkshire Building 2B, Mind
Space its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries.
Other names may beGainesville, FL 32606 USA United Kingdom, SL4 1TX
Raheja IT Park, Cyberabad trademarks of their respective owners.
11_0802LSPhone: +1 352 264 2800 Phone: +44 (0) 1753 211 900
Hyderabad, AP-500081, IndiaFax: +1 352 264 2801 Fax: +44 (0) 1753
211 901 Phone: +91 (0) 40 6695 0000 Fax: +91 (0) 40 2311
2727www.sumtotalsystems.com 7