Introducing the ERP system at BAM International
BAM International is one of the ten operating companies that are a part of Royal BAM Group NV. BAM International has its head office in The Hague and carries out multidisciplinary projects in fields such as concrete and maritime construction, non-residential construction and the oil and gas industry; the company is active in the US, Australia, the Middle East and Asia.
What was Anceaux Marketing commissioned to do?
BAM was switching to the Enterprise Resource Price (ERP) system in order to work more efficiently and economically at international level. Anceaux Marketing was given the interesting commission of introducing the ERP system throughout the entire organisation and encouraging its use worldwide. We were dealing with a variety of target groups and cultures in this process. The project consisted of an extensive internal campaign with a number of significant challenges, on which we worked with great pleasure for more than eighteen months. We were part of a project team that was responsible for the rollout of the ERP system and were able to concentrate our focus on the communication aspects of the change management.
What was our approach
We started out with a clear campaign strategy. What exactly are the goals? Who do we want to reach? With what intensity and which message? How can we go down from an overarching strategy to a segmented message so that we not only reach people, but also really affect them? In other words: how are we going to motivate people to embrace the ERP system and work with it, taking into account any problems and cultural differences. We received approval for the strategy from the board of BAM and other stakeholders and were able to start the rollout.
The heart of the campaign!
One of BAM’s suppliers developed an app. It was decided to divide the app into a number of headings. Users can subscribe to the sections they personally find interesting. This app sends news alerts to users through their smartphones. The app prevents endless sending of emails, something users generally prefer to avoid where possible. This app was at the heart of the campaign, and it was the medium we used to place all the information about ERP.
We then determined three levels of communication:
- Organisation level
- Regional level
- Individual level
Which news was distributed at organisation level?
General information was shared with everyone in the organisation at organisation level. That’s to say the ‘what, why and how’ for everyone, starting at the very top of the organisation (board and management).
1. Explanatory animated film
We developed an animated film aimed at explaining efficiently what exactly ERP is and what it does. The animated film was developed by Studio Ravivo. Reactions to the film throughout the various layers of the organisation were very positive.
2. Explanatory infographic
BAM makes use of offline channels such as magazines. It would have been a missed opportunity had we not placed an explanatory article about ERP in them. So Anceaux Marketing commissioned Studio Ravivo to develop an infographic in the same style. This was particularly successful in certain regions, such as Asia, where people love infographics.
3. Video series about the what, why and how of ERP
The video series explains the project from the points of view of the various stakeholders involved. We had the board explain the ‘why’, the process owners the ‘how’ and people playing a role in the implementation of the system explained the ‘what’. Thanks to a good mix of people within the various regions, we were able to reach the majority of targets. The video series was made by Starsound Productions.
What did we do at a regional level?
1. Users’ stories
We collected users’ stories from within the organisation. Genuine and honest users’ stories, including problems, solutions etc. We noted that these stories had the most significant effect within the organisation. It’s really interesting to read what a colleague feels about something. That feels more relevant than a story by a member of the board. In addition, it was a good counterbalance for all the ‘positive’ stories. It gives you a sound idea of the problems people faced during the implementation process. Such obstacles are only to be expected in such a process but mentioning them makes them tangible.
2. Events
We organised a ‘going live event’ per region, where once more the ‘what’, why and how’ of the system were explained. We did that not too seriously, with a quiz and of course cake. It gave us a great opportunity to zoom in on the enthusiasm and pride of the people.
What was the result?
How did we measure the result? We gathered data from the various channels and also took an internal survey. All these outcomes were discussed in detail with the board and stakeholders. Naturally, their input was welcome during the final evaluation.
The conclusion was that the campaign had demonstrably contributed to the successful implementation of the ERP system within all sections and layers of the organisation. We also left some recommendations behind for how BAM can continue to encourage the use of the ERP from a communication perspective.
Below are some of the responses from the survey, in which we assessed a number of matters to ascertain the effect the campaign had:
- ‘Good initial campaign and advertising of our intent’
- ‘Improvement/modernisation of software within the company is a good thing’
- ‘The introduction of the ERP promotes a sense of improvement for the company as an whole’
- ‘Communication round the project organised by a specialist, but extra here was hiring an external with lots of enthusiasm, energy and creativity’
Some interesting data was revealed with regard to the channels used, the knowledge of which we will be able to apply to make the following campaign even more effective.
More information? Get in touch with Natalie Anceaux: +31 641367744 of natalie@anceauxmarketing.nl
