Duplicate entry
The same data was re-keyed between production, stores, procurement, and finance.
Digital Systems Optimization
ERP Process Redesign for a Ceramic Manufacturer
How a mid-size tile manufacturer removed duplicate entry, shadow spreadsheets, and broken handoffs from an ERP that worked but was not trusted.
33%improvement in record accuracy
50%reduction in process time
≈33%fewer duplicate entries
The ERP process contained too many decision points, approvals, and duplicate records
Production, stores, procurement, and finance re-entered the same information in different places. Some approvals added delay without reducing risk. Item codes, units, and locations drifted, forcing manual reconciliation.
Client brief: Increase record accuracy and process speed by simplifying the SOP, removing non-value-adding decisions, and establishing one controlled transaction path.
Broken master data
Item codes, units, and locations had drifted out of sync across sections.
Shadow spreadsheets
The real business was quietly run outside the ERP, in spreadsheets nobody reconciled.
Minimize process time, duplicate entry, and record error while preserving required controls
Minimize processing time, non-value-adding approvals, repeated decisions, duplicate entries, unresolved exceptions, and reconciliation effort.
Decision variables
Data-entry point, process owner, approval gate, approval threshold, handoff rule, exception path, master-data owner, and reconciliation frequency.
Constraints
Existing ERP capabilities; financial and regulatory controls; required segregation of duties; risk-based approval requirements; department ownership; rollout continuity; existing data quality.
Lean SOP redesign, workflow optimization, and master-data control
Current-state mapping
Identifies every entry, decision, approval, handoff, correction, and shadow record.
Value-added analysis
Separates required control from delay, repetition, and avoidable management intervention.
Decision and approval rationalization
Removes steps that do not materially reduce operational, financial, or compliance risk.
SOP redesign
Defines a standard path, named owners, response expectations, and exceptions, with single-entry workflow assigning one creation point per transaction.
Master-data reconciliation
Standardizes item codes, units, locations, and ownership, validated through parallel-run comparison against legacy output before cutover.
The gains show up in record accuracy, process speed, and duplicate work.
Record accuracy33% improvement
Controlled master data, single-entry ownership, and clearer exception handling reduce mismatches between ERP records and physical operations.
End-to-end process time50% reduction
Lean SOPs remove unnecessary decisions, approvals, waiting, and repeated reconciliation steps.
Duplicate entries≈33% reduction
Re-keying between production, stores, procurement, finance, and shadow spreadsheets is removed or consolidated.
Redesigned inside the existing ERP, without loosening required controls.
No big-bang replacement
The ERP stays in place. Financial and compliance controls stay intact, and approval removal is risk-based, never a shortcut.
Owners before automation
Process and data owners are named before automation begins. High-risk master data is validated first; parallel runs continue until tolerance is met.
Standing monitoring
Accuracy, process time, approval volume, duplicate entries, and exceptions are tracked continuously after cutover.
The software is rarely the problem — the wiring underneath it is.
The value isn't a cleaner ERP interface. It's faster execution, fewer unnecessary decisions, more reliable records, less rework, and less shadow-spreadsheet dependence.
Best fitCompanies whose ERP is live but not trusted, with shadow spreadsheets, repeated approvals, duplicate entries, slow workflows, or recurring disagreement between the system and the floor.
Diagnose one slow or unreliable ERP workflow
Bring one transaction flow, its SOP, approval matrix, reports, shadow spreadsheets, and the teams that touch it.