Management and Innovation: Key Drivers of Success with Sumesh Menon

Management and innovation are important drivers of success in as we speak’s enterprise world. Leaders who possess a deep understanding of their trade, together with the flexibility to implement modern methods and drive change, are those who can information their organizations in the direction of development and success. On the forefront of such management is Sumesh Menon.

Sumesh’s intensive expertise in IT and provide chain administration, mixed together with his experience in digital transformation, technology-focused options, and modern methods, make him a thought chief in his area. With a confirmed monitor document of designing, managing, and main digital transformations utilizing the Oracle Suite of merchandise, Sumesh has the flexibility to supply advanced enterprise requirement options inside provide chain nodes, from procurement to manufacturing to distribution inside the Oracle stack.

Sumesh’s academic background from prime establishments equivalent to Harvard Enterprise College, Michigan State College, and Symbiosis, alongside together with his expertise in strategic planning and visioning, make him an professional in implementing and consulting on agile scrum, lean, TQM, and statistical evaluation, in addition to lean six sigma for purchasers throughout numerous trade verticals.

His proficiency in descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive analytics, knowledge evaluation, and enterprise reporting, alongside together with his skill to assist outline enterprise options utilizing Oracle expertise, are key components contributing to his success.

Sumesh has a confirmed monitor document in aligning a company’s platform wants with distinctive worth propositions, matched with core competencies based mostly on buyer segments and markets. Sumesh’s deal with disruptive innovation fashions that stand out from current processes, resulting in design course of pondering and course of enhancements, has helped purchasers obtain breakthrough options.

On this interview, we had the chance to talk with Sumesh Menon to be taught extra concerning the significance of management, staying forward of the sport, and embracing creativity to drive success.

It’s very thrilling to have you ever right here, Sumesh! Are you able to describe your expertise in driving digital transformation inside organizations, and the way have you ever ensured that technology-focused options align with the distinctive worth proposition of every group?

Thanks a lot. Driving a digital transformation journey comes with its personal set of challenges, significantly when the change is cross-functional. As digital transformation drives change throughout numerous features, effectively planning and executing stakeholder alignment, strategic motives, and curiosity alignment is essential.

The method begins by figuring out and diagnosing why the change is required, whether or not it’s as a result of a efficiency hole or a possibility hole. This evaluation ought to align with the corporate’s worth proposition for its prospects and its imaginative and prescient for transferring ahead.

Subsequent comes the design part, the place the scope of the transformation have to be decided. Selections must be made concerning whether or not the change needs to be incremental or radical, and if it ought to originate from a bottom-up or top-down strategy.

In the course of the supply part, the rollout plan is formulated. Components to think about embody whether or not the change needs to be localized or system-wide, and the tempo of the change – gradual or quick.

All through the method, it’s important to establish the talents required for profitable transformation. Daring strokes and lengthy marches have to be taken to maintain the change transferring ahead and overcome any obstacles.

By fastidiously planning and executing every stage of the digital transformation journey, organizations can guarantee they successfully navigate the challenges of cross-functional change and obtain their strategic objectives.

How do you strategy designing and implementing modern methods, and might you share an instance of a breakthrough resolution that you simply delivered for a shopper?

Innovation can thrive solely when a company embraces an agile tradition that helps digital transformation. Innovation can take numerous kinds, equivalent to radical, next-gen platform, enhancement, or disruptive. One instance value discussing is the novel change we carried out for one in every of our purchasers.

The method started with a enterprise case offered to the related stakeholders, showcasing the advantages that might yield higher ROI when it comes to money and time whereas enabling extra productive use of their time for different important day-to-day actions.

We developed a system that utilized a carousel for put-away and selecting operations inside the warehouse. The receiving dock might put away gadgets within the carousel by invoking a synchronous name to the carousel system, querying for rack bin availability, after which performing put-away operations within the respective rack and bin. Equally, when an order picker wanted to choose gadgets, they had been directed to the suitable rack bin within the carousel system. Because the picker entered the order for pickup, the carousel system would rotate and convey down the rack bin, permitting the picker to finish the selecting course of. This setup concerned two programs, the Oracle Warehouse Administration System and the Carousel System, speaking with one another to carry out warehouse operations.

With the arrival of AI, this course of will be additional enhanced, permitting for much more seamless integration and improved effectivity in warehouse operations. By fostering an agile tradition that embraces digital transformation, organizations can unlock new and modern options to optimize their processes and drive development.

How do you steadiness the wants of various stakeholders, equivalent to prospects, shareholders, and workers, when implementing change inside a company?

Acquiring buy-in from numerous stakeholders is a difficult process, however it’s essential for implementing change inside a company. The method begins with figuring out whether or not there is a chance or efficiency hole, and the way addressing these gaps will yield a return on funding (ROI) for every stakeholder. So as to carry stakeholders on board from the outset, it’s important to determine a way of urgency and create a guiding coalition. On this context, I needed to perform each as a beacon and as an architect.

The group’s parts – individuals, tradition, and formal programs – have to be introduced collectively to make sure that worth creation actions deal with effectiveness and align with the imaginative and prescient and technique supported by prime administration. The last word purpose is to ship worth and align the motives of all concerned events in the direction of a single course.

Communication is the important thing to profitable change administration. Over-communicating with stakeholders helps preserve them knowledgeable, engaged, and conscious of their expectations. By addressing the considerations of stakeholders and clearly speaking the advantages of the proposed modifications, organizations can extra successfully implement transformative initiatives and drive development.

Are you able to describe a time while you led a group via a difficult venture, and what steps did you are taking to make sure the success of the venture?

The initially step in any venture or change is correct planning, which begins with figuring out the venture’s scope. An in depth requirement evaluation is carried out and documented utilizing the Utility Implementation Methodology (AIM) strategy, which offers normal course of documentation and deliverables for every venture part.

This ensures that deliverables from the earlier part are frozen and signed off earlier than work begins on the following part. The method will be damaged down as follows:

1. Requirement Identification and Evaluation
2. Practical Documentation Preparation
3. Detailed Technical Design Documentation
4. Technical Growth
5. Inside IT Testing
6. Practical Integration Testing
7. Enterprise Testing
8. Log out for Manufacturing

Deviations from the venture scope at any part are usually not thought of until there’s a real want for the venture deliverable. This ensures that scope modifications are restricted and every part adheres to the established timelines and goals, permitting for the profitable completion of Agile story deliverables inside the set timeframe.

By following the AIM strategy, organizations can successfully plan and implement initiatives, minimizing scope modifications and preserving timelines on monitor to realize their objectives.

How do you keep up-to-date with the newest applied sciences and developments in your area, and the way do you incorporate this information into your work?

Remaining up-to-date with the newest developments and developments has all the time been my ardour. I observe just a few easy guidelines to remain knowledgeable and engaged:

• Obtain each day and weekly newsletters from the Harvard Enterprise College neighborhood and MSU boards, as an alumnus
• Learn tech blogs and articles
• Be a part of tech boards
• Attend tech occasions

I firmly imagine in attempting new issues and studying from the expertise, whether or not it succeeds or fails. This strategy permits me to check new concepts on the ground, bringing contemporary views to the group and gathering their views and opinions. This collaborative course of helps uncover extra concepts to implement and discover.

Embracing change as a routine a part of venture execution fosters a constructive mindset inside the group. By securing buy-in from my group and enterprise leaders, I guarantee their assist when exploring and implementing new methods earlier than committing to full-scale supply. This steady studying journey not solely retains me present but additionally drives innovation and development inside the group.

What’s your expertise in managing cross-functional groups, and the way have you ever ensured that totally different groups are aligned in the direction of attaining the identical objectives?

In a cross-functional atmosphere, it’s important to align group parts with group situations, which embody motivation, competence/talent, and coordination and collaboration. Group parts consist of individuals, group construction, and programs that allow people to work in the direction of particular objectives or instructions.

How do you make sure that options that you simply present are scalable and adaptable to altering enterprise wants, and might you share an instance of an answer that you’ve scaled efficiently?

As an IT skilled with intensive expertise in implementing and designing options inside the Oracle Suite, I’ve all the time targeted on creating options which can be scalable throughout totally different organizational models and simply adaptable. I want to share an instance of an answer supplied to one in every of our purchasers that demonstrates this strategy.

The answer was already functioning successfully for a distinct working unit inside the group. Nonetheless, we couldn’t use the answer as is for the brand new unit, because it required sure modifications to accommodate the brand new necessities. This necessitated tweaking the prevailing code repository to make sure that the answer could possibly be scaled with new configurations and allow the unit to perform seamlessly with the up to date performance.

By contemplating scalability and adaptableness in the course of the resolution design and implementation course of, organizations can leverage current options throughout a number of models, saving each time and sources. This strategy additionally permits for extra environment friendly integration of recent functionalities, guaranteeing that the IT infrastructure stays agile and conscious of the group’s evolving wants.

Cycle Rely Approval Extension for Different Orgs – Guide Paper Cycle Rely Approval Course of

State of affairs:

• To eradicate handbook paperwork and approval course of
• To eradicate human errors in course of
• Effectivity in course of execution

Decision: Motion

1. Approval Course of via Customized Type inbuilt Oracle ERP for Cycle Rely Approvals
2. Permit the approval to be despatched based mostly on the Share of Adjustment
3. Lower than 5% – Mechanically Authorized
4. Between 5% and 20% – Despatched to Level1 Approvers Outlined
5. Better than 20% – Despatched to Level1 and Level2 Approvers Outlined Sequentially

Worth: End result

• Customers will get automated approval notification on their dashboard that wants an motion.
• As soon as rejected the counter can be notified for automated recount.
• No human errors and want for handbook paperwork signatures.
• Man hours saved in the entire course of from distribution personnel to SCM managers.
• Rather more environment friendly course of.

Are you able to describe a time while you needed to navigate conflicting priorities and opinions from totally different stakeholders, and the way did you attain a decision that happy everybody?

Whereas planning is essential, unexpected conditions inevitably come up throughout venture execution. It’s throughout these occasions that agility and adaptability are important to assist cross-functional groups navigate challenges.

We skilled an identical state of affairs when a enterprise group from a distinct division encountered unplanned emergencies, inflicting disruptions to our deliberate timeline. Listed below are just a few methods I employed to deal with this example:

1. Collaborate: Step one was to carry everybody on board, perceive the state of affairs, and plan a workaround for a direct resolution till the urgent concern was resolved. We then communicated these modifications to the shopper group, adjusting their expectations when it comes to timeline and supply.
2. Schedule work successfully: We examined the workaround as a short-term resolution and adjusted our timelines accordingly to accommodate the deliverable.
3. Handle expectations: We set acceptable expectations for each the shopper and the group, guaranteeing that dangers had been calculated and mitigation measures had been in place.
4. Embrace agility and adaptability: Adaptive management was essential in responding to the state of affairs, fostering an agile tradition that might readily adapt to alter.

By using these methods, venture groups can successfully handle unexpected challenges, guaranteeing that initiatives proceed to progress in the direction of profitable completion.

Laila Azzahra is knowledgeable author and blogger that loves to put in writing about expertise, enterprise, leisure, science, and well being.