HR’s role in implementing JTI’s global ERP system: How HR’s focus on change management was key to a successful ERP project
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14754390580000818 |
| Published date | 01 July 2005 |
| Date | 01 July 2005 |
| Pages | 24-27 |
| Author | Khalil Cotran,Ursula Buchmeiser,Jean‐Luc Seguin, BillPelster |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour |
T INTERNATIONAL (JTI), IS part of the
world’s third largest manufacturer of tobacco
products, Japan Tobacco. JTI is five years old and
culturally diverse, with almost 12,000 employees
from 90 different nationalities in 40 locations
worldwide. Employees speak over 20 languages and
work across more than a dozen time zones.
Over the past four years, JTI has invested over
US$200 million – its largest ever project investment –
in a major Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP – see
sidebox, right) project. At its foundation were new
global processes built on one of the most complex and
geographically widespread SAP implementations to
date, taking in 13 factories, 50 markets and almost
5,000 end-users. Allied to that were huge efforts in
process redesign and change management.
The project was rolled out to an aggressive timeline
worldwide, in three geographical waves. Each went live
smoothly and the project was completed on time and
under budget. Senior resources and considerable effort
were devoted to change management, training and
communication. The change management effort is the
focus of this article and we will attempt to share some
of our lessons learned about what HR can contribute.
Unifying disparate companies
JTI began life in 1999 when Japan Tobacco acquired
the international operations of the American tobacco
giant, RJ Reynolds. At that point JTI was a group of
disparate, inward-focused local companies. Its markets
and factories, spread over 100 legal entities, had many
different IT systems and individual business practices.
The new company’s business strategy was to position
for growth by bringing all 40 locations together with
common systems and processes, universal business
practices and shared service centers. The global ERP
system was to be a fundamental part of JTI’s
transformation into a modern multinational.
HR’s role as global change management team
HR became involved in the ERP project in the role of
global change management team when the pilot phase
– held in Turkey – was coming to an end. The pilot
began in January 2002 and successfully went live 10
months later. A global rollout was then planned in
three waves, with an aggressive timetable:
24 Volume 4 Issue 5 July/August 2005
HR’s role in
implementing
JTI’s global
ERP system
How HR’s focus on change management
was key to a successful ERP project
In 1999, JT International was comprised of over 100
disparate companies. A global ERP system was vital to
transform the company into a modern multinational.
Find out how HR and the change management team
focused on the “people” side of change to ensure the
four-year project came in on time and on budget.
by Khalil Cotran, JT International
and Ursula Buchmeiser, Jean-Luc Seguin and Bill
Pelster, Deloitte J
Wave Timeline Region
1 October 13, 2003 Europe (including Geneva HQ) and Russia
2 June 13, 2004 Eastern Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Greece and Asia
3 November 13, 2004 The Americas
The change management team had five key areas of
focus:
1. Managing the transition from old to new ways of
working.
2. Defining the global organization’s new structure.
3. Caring for the ERP project teams.
19096 SHRR run 30/6/05 3:01 pm Page 24
© Melcrum Publishing Ltd. 2005 For more information visit www.melcrum.com or e-mail info@melcrum.com
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