Knowledge Management Systems Knowledge Management

Knowledge Management Systems

Knowledge management strategies need to stay agile enough so enterprises can react quickly to market conditions while being stable enough to support ongoing operations. This paradox of knowledge management is exacerbated by the need to continually capture tacit and implicit knowledge as well. Of the many industries that face knowledge management challenges daily, those in the high tech industry are among the most challenged for the need for intelligence and knowledge. Apple and Dell, two very well-known brands in high technology are the basis of this analysis. Both have extensive knowledge management systems (KMS). At Apple, the challenge is on quickly launching the many products they have produced and also transforming tacit and implicit knowledge into presales, sales and support training materials (HRM International Digest, 1998). Apple is also heavily reliant on their suppliers for the latest information to guide the next generation of iPads, iPods and iPhones. The myriad of data, information and intelligence that Apple relies on for new product introductions is commonplace across the high technology industry (Lynn, 1998). Knowledge management systems are critical to their long-term competitive advantage.

Another high tech manufacturer that has extensive KMS platforms and workflows in place is Dell. Their entire value chain is predicated on a very rapid, accurate flow of tacit and implicit knowledge throughout their manufacturing operations (Gunasekaran, Ngai, 2009). Dell's approach to product customization through their build-to-order supply chain is also based on an extensive knowledge management system that encompasses suppliers, product development teams, distributors and their extensive sales and service organization (Holweg, Pil, 2001). The entire business model at Dell is predicated on a successful knowledge management series of workflows and processes that are all aligned to provide the customer with the exact configuration they want on the date they order it. Dell has pioneered the development of constraint-based logic workflows and software engines that can selectively apply product knowledge and insights to each product sold (Gunasekaran, Ngai, 2009). The use of sales and product configurators are commonplace throughout the Dell value chain and across its many websites used for selling into global markets

(Holweg, Pil, 2001). Of the two companies, Dell is therefore much more adept at managing and uses knowledge to accelerate the attainment of their key goals and objectives. The entire business model from Dell is entirely dependent on knowledge management and its effective use as part of their build-to-order strategy (Gunasekaran, Ngai, 2009).

Part 2: The Senior Manager, Enterprise Systems at Cincom Systems interviewed for this second part of the paper. His name is Louis Columbus. This manager uses a wide variety of tacit and implicit knowledge management techniques and tools to capture the specific configurations of customer systems installed, in addition to capturing the lessons learned from each customer implementation. This person's role in the organization is to combine tacit and implicit knowledge into a common framework which can be used by the professional systems organization to better serve customers. This person's role is also highly focused on making sure the sales and support teams have the necessary information they need. Their role crosses between it and sales, marketing and professional services often. It is evident that the many configurations and customizations of systems that Cincom sells takes an inordinate amount of effort to catalog and measure their many options and also capture customer-specific requests. The Senior Manager, Enterprise Systems is heavily involved in cataloging these using a standard database. The tacit knowledge is captured in database form, while the implicit knowedlge is captured in text-based files appended to the database. This is inefficient and looses about 70% of the value of the data.