What is Three Tier Problem Resolution, and how is it different than solving the problem?

Problem-solving sounds simple enough: figure out what’s wrong and fix it. But in business, it’s not just about solving the immediate issue—it’s about ensuring the problem doesn’t happen again. This is where problem resolution comes in. It’s a strategic process that helps organizations learn from challenges and take steps to prevent their recurrence. We use a method called Three Tier Problem Resolution, and it works like this:

1. Correct the root cause of the problem.
2. Fix any data impacted by the problem.
3. Ensure key stakeholders are alerted immediately if the problem reoccurs.

Let’s break this down with a real-world example.

The Problem: Vendor Performance Data Inconsistencies

A company using SAP Business One added user-defined fields to their purchase order (PO) lines. These fields allowed the purchasing team to track critical metrics like product quality, delivery efficiency, and responsiveness by vendor. While these fields were added to streamline vendor performance evaluation, management later discovered that they were often left blank, rendering the data unreliable.

Solving the Problem with Three Tier Problem Resolution

1. Correct the root cause:
   Make the fields mandatory to ensure all new transactions have complete data. This quick fix eliminates the problem for future entries.

2. Fix the impacted data:
   Missing data in past records requires cleanup. Here’s how to approach it:

   • Small data set:
     Run a query to identify PO lines with blank fields. Export the results to a spreadsheet and have the purchasing team manually update the missing data.
   • Large data set:
     Use SAP Business One’s Data Transformation Workbench (DTW) to bulk update the records:
     • Export the query results to a spreadsheet.
     • Have the purchasing team complete the missing data.
     • Merge the updated spreadsheet into a DTW import template.
     • Test the import in a test database, validate with users, and then import into the live system.
     • Run the query again to confirm the data is fully corrected.

3. Proactively prevent recurrence:
   Build a safeguard into the ERP system by creating an alert based on the query for missing data. This alert notifies the purchasing team and power users daily if any new PO lines have blank fields. If all data is accurate, no alert is triggered. This proactive measure ensures the issue is caught immediately if it reoccurs.

Building Business Rules into Your ERP System

Three Tier Problem Resolution is a common-sense, proactive approach that helps embed your business rules directly into your ERP system. Over time, it enhances operational efficiency, ensures data accuracy, and builds organizational resilience.

If you’d like to learn more about how this approach can help your business or need assistance implementing it, contact us today.