Otis Elevator

Group 9
Monika Chauhan (034)
Utkarsh Sahu (122)
Chiragsovi S V (143)
How do the systems that comprise the e*Logistics program bake in an
institutionalized best practice?

Implementation of the e-Logistics information transformation project provided Otis’ IT systems with
the resources needed to “facilitate business process re-engineering that was taking place throughout.”
This was accomplished by taking the lessons learned from the initial Sales and Installation Process
(SIP), and integrating them into a company-wide IT solution geared toward its evolving business
model. The e-Logistics program was built over a two year timeframe by gathering information from
subject matter experts in the fields of “sales, field, and order management along with IT project
managers.” By doing this, Otis was able to demonstrate the ideals of Pearlson and Saunders when
they wrote, “In an organization that operates successfully, an overriding business strategy drives both
organizational strategy and information strategy.”

From an organizational perspective, the Project Proposal phase used a mandatory electronic pre-bid
checklist which had to be approved by both the sales representative and the field-installation
supervisor. Prior to e-Logistics, this was a manual process, and often times the field-installation
supervisor did not even see the checklist or know the requirements until it was time for install.
Instituting this pre-bid checklist ensured the sales and field organizations worked together from the
beginning of the process, increased process cohesion and allowed for minimal delays at install. From
an IS perspective, former manual systems, such as booking, validation and scheduling, became
centrally automated. This allowed for the e-Logistics software to automatically push data to
appropriate supervisory and financial personnel. Automated information sharing ensures each party
receives information efficiently and decreases the need for middle management.

The Order Fulfillment phase is another example of institutionalization, as field-installation

supervisors were responsible for relaying when job sites were ready for deliveries. The automated
email service within e-Logistics prompts supervisors to check in on sites, allows for status updates
and face-to-face interactions with contractors. This demonstrates how e-Logistics institutionalized site
preparation, allowing for the implementation of the “pull” system. Otis’ Tony Black said that the
automated email and reminder process, “forces critical steps of SIP and makes good process part of
the way you do business.”

By taking best practices from SIP and integrating them into the automated, e-Logistics program, it
ensured both present and future Otis employees would execute these best practices. This
institutionalized, “baked in” program prevents best practices from being lost in two ways: 1)
Mandatory use for nearly all employees, which helped Otis move away from many inefficient manual
processes and 2) best practices were now being held within the program, preventing an individual
leaving the company and taking job-specific or institutional knowledge with them.