The Best ERP System for Santa’s Workshop

Santa Claus runs a very complex operation in The North Pole. From the millions of toys they produce throughout the year to tracking the behavior of all the children across the world, Santa runs a multi-faceted organization that needs ample logistical support. Although he has the magic of Christmas and the elves on his side, Santa would really benefit from implementing an ERP system into his organization.

Let’s breakdown the components of Santa’s operations and dial in on which ERP software would be most beneficial to his workshop.

Naughty or Nice List

You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout, otherwise, you aren’t getting any toys. You will be getting coal. And regardless of if you receive a toy or a lump of coal, there is still effort put forth by Santa’s loyal elves to prepare your presents for Christmas morning. We’ll get to that shortly, but let’s start with the list.

All year, Santa keeps track of every child’s behavior across the world. Then, he needs to determine whether that child met the criteria to be on the naughty list or on the nice list. Once the list is solidified, Santa needs to check it twice. All these steps make the determination of a child’s status on the naughty or nice list a fairly robust task and an important one at that.

A child’s status on the naughty or nice list determines which workflow each Christmas gift will follow - the coal route or the present route. This is where it all begins, my friends. This is the first step in the long and intricate process of a successful Christmas year after year.

Toy Requests

Do you know how many letters are written to Santa with gift requests? How about the countless requests Santa gets when he visits the local mall? There are so many special requests that need to be documented, and following through on those requests is an important component to maintaining the belief of children around the world. Serious stuff.

Whichever ERP solution Santa implements in his workshop, it needs to be one that can keep these records on file at a global scale. The elves would need to be able to easily access this data as they begin the manufacturing process for all the toys.

Making Toys

There are hundreds of elves at Santa’s workshop working around the clock to produce toys for all the nice children across the world. Believe it or not, some elves actually work as minors, in a sense, to get the coal lumps ready for the naughty children of the world as well. With both sides of the scale seeing weight, there is effort put forth for every child across the globe - whether they are naughty or nice. There are roughly 2.2 billion children in the world. That’s a lot of children, a lot of toys, and, unfortunately, a lot of coal!

Aside from manufacturing the toys, the elves also need to do quality assurance and test each toy to make sure it works. Depending on if it works properly or not, the toy either goes to the gift warehouse to join the rest of the inventory until Christmas Eve, or it goes back to the workshop for repairs. Lots of intricate workflows here.

Delivering Toys

Santa is magical in every sense of the word, but specifically in how he manages to visit every single house in the entire world with the gifts his team has been working on all year. Although a digital transformation may not help him on the magical side of his business (ie. Flying through the air with a sleigh pulled by reindeer, visiting every single house across the globe within a 10 hour period, etc), it will help him keep track of the houses that he visits every Christmas.

Which homes he visited, what time he visited each home, the homes still awaiting his arrival, the time he needs to get to the next city in order to make it across the globe in a timely manner - these are all data points of the delivery process that can be automated to show real-time and efficient information that Santa can utilize to minimize any room for error.

There are truly so many benefits to an ERP implementation that Santa should truly consider. However, not all ERP solutions would be a good fit for this operation. What should Santa be looking for?

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There are a few options that would make sense for Santa’s operation. Santa could dial in on a best of breed model to take a more white glove approach. For example, implementing a manufacturing ERP software, such as QAD, and keeping the magic at the forefront to run the rest of the organization. However, if Santa is looking for a full scope solution to maximize efficiency across his workshop, Oracle ERP Cloud would be the best fit.

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Oracle ERP Cloud has proven to be a successful solution for many global organizations with complex operations. Over recent years, Oracle has grown their capabilities to provide more flexibility to organizations as they scale and pivot their operations. However, with this flexibility comes a strong sense of standardization as well, supporting the harmonies and overlapping processes across various facets of an organization.

Not to mention, Oracle ERP Cloud is a strong contender in automating processes for companies in the manufacturing industry. It landed as number 5 on our list of Top Manufacturing ERP Systems of 2020. Given the workshop’s high production rates and manufacturing capabilities, this is a critical factor to be considered as they dial in on the right software to manage Christmas.

If anyone reading this knows Santa, let him know that we are always happy to help him dial in the details of his digital transformation. We are also here as a sounding board for you as you evaluate software solutions for your company and embark on your digital transformation journey. Feel free to contact us directly with any questions or ideas. Happy Holidays!

Paresa_Noble
Paresa Noble

As a seasoned digital transformation, legal, and finance copywriter, Paresa has enabled businesses large and small to share their ideas and develop as thought leaders within their respective industries. Paresa's entrepreneurial agency experience has given her insights into the nuances of business development and the efficiencies that artificial intelligence and emerging technologies bring to the table.

Author:
Paresa Noble
As a seasoned digital transformation, legal, and finance copywriter, Paresa has enabled businesses large and small to share their ideas and develop as thought leaders within their respective industries. Paresa's entrepreneurial agency experience has given her insights into the nuances of business development and the efficiencies that artificial intelligence and emerging technologies bring to the table.
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