The first benefit of implementing ERP is the realization of information visualization from the headquarters' perspective, and the acceleration of decision-making. By having bases in each country operate on the same system, real-time data collection has become possible, making governance by headquarters more efficient. It can be said that the establishment of such a global standard system has contributed to strengthening the management foundation of the entire corporate group.

However, behind this standardization, various issues have come to light at local bases. If these challenges are left unaddressed, they can undermine the very goals that drove ERP adoption.

Mismatch of Cost and Returns

There are many who say, "We are being charged high system usage fees, but we don't feel that the benefits are commensurate with the scale of our business or the actual usage situation." Even though advanced analysis tools such as Business Intelligence (BI) are provided, there is a lack of know-how and training on how to use them, and there are many cases where they are not being used to their full potential in the field.

Local Businesses are not Covered

As a result of headquarters leading the consolidation of functions into standardized systems, there are cases where local operations that are important to overseas subsidiaries are not given sufficient consideration.

For example, at one sales base, it was pointed out that the application of head office standards for credit decisions and credit management rules slowed down the speed of credit decisions and risk responses, resulting in missed business opportunities. Additionally, there were also complaints that it became difficult to grasp detailed transaction history for each customer, and that the ability of sales staff to respond declined because they were forced to enter data that was unnecessary for their base.

Stagnation And Rigidity of On-Site Improvements

Standardization has led to an increasing number of improvement proposals being rejected as being outside the scope of the standard system, leading to a growing _sense of resignation on the grounds that no improvements will be made anyway. The speed of improvement is also quite slow. Furthermore, even when the same system errors occur repeatedly, the headquarters does not provide sufficient explanations or responses, which leads to further frustrations on-site.

In such a situation, it becomes difficult to generate original ideas and improvement proposals from the field, and there is a risk that the flexibility and responsiveness of the entire organization will gradually be impaired.

In the future, the key to a company's sustainable growth will be how to balance maintaining governance by headquarters with autonomous optimization of local bases.

Recommendations for "Hybrid" IT Operations

• In core areas (ex: accounting and finance), we thoroughly implement ERP standards that enable global control.
• For non-core areas (ex: sales and marketing) and local-specific operations, we flexibly introduce light solutions such as SaaS that meet local needs.

With the trend towards lighter business areas where ERP is being introduced and the rise of SaaS solutions, this type of "hybrid" operation is effective.

Key Points for System Development

• Clarifying the division of roles and governance between headquarters and local offices
• Establish a system to accept improvement proposals from the field
• Facilitate locally led solution implementation and testing

It is important to establish a system that benefits both the head and local offices, such as a Business Relationship Management (BRM) function, or the establishment of a Center of Excellence (CoE).

Standardizing business processes with ERP at its core has achieved some success in the globalization of companies, but going forward, this alone will no longer be enough.

What is needed is a next step that not only increases control from headquarters but also increases flexibility and responsiveness at the workplace. How a company builds a flexible and sustainable global management system based on standardization will be a turning point that will determine the future of the company.