ROI Case File No.371 | 'Global Solutions Inc.'s Triple-Entry Infinite Hell'

Chapter 1: The Nightmare of Triple Entry—45 Minutes of Agony Per Deal

The day after resolving VirtuShoes' RFM case, a consultation arrived regarding data entry work across multiple systems. Volume 30, "The Pursuit of Reproducibility," Case 371 tells the story of identifying true bottlenecks through constraint theory.

"Detective, our sales team is living in hell. They manually enter data for a single deal into three different systems: Dynamics 365, SAP ERP, and Business Designer. The same customer name, the same product code, the same amount—entered three times. 45 minutes per deal. 200 deals per month. Our 15 sales representatives lose 150 hours monthly to this task alone."

David Chen, IT Director of Global Solutions Inc. and Silicon Valley native, visited 221B Baker Street with an exhausted expression. In his hands were a laptop displaying login screens for three different systems, and in stark contrast, the latest integration plan titled "System Integration Proposal 2025-2026."

"We are a global IT solutions company. 850 employees. Annual revenue of 2.8 billion yen. Yet our own systems are not integrated. The three systems used for sales activities operate completely independently."

Global Solutions Inc.'s Current State: - Founded: 2010 (IT solutions company) - Employees: 850 (450 in Japan, 400 overseas) - Annual revenue: 2.8 billion yen - Issues: Sales system silos, triple entry, knowledge dependency

Deep anxiety permeated David's voice.

"The system configuration is as follows: Dynamics 365 for customer and deal management. SAP ERP for order and billing management. Business Designer for sales activity reports and progress tracking. These three systems are not connected via API. Everything goes through human hands."

The Reality of Triple Entry:

Case 1: New Deal Registration (45 minutes per deal) 1. Enter customer information into Dynamics 365 (15 minutes) - Customer name, contact person, contact details, industry, company size 2. Enter quotation information into SAP ERP (18 minutes) - Product code, quantity, unit price, delivery date, terms 3. Enter activity report into Business Designer (12 minutes) - Visit date/time, meeting content, next actions, progress status Total time required: 45 minutes/deal

Monthly Reality: - Sales representatives: 15 - Average monthly deals per person: 13 - Total monthly deals: 15 × 13 = 195 deals - Monthly triple-entry time: 195 deals × 45 minutes = 8,775 minutes (146 hours) - Annual triple-entry time: 146 hours × 12 months = 1,752 hours

Data Entry Error Reality:

Case 1: Customer Name Inconsistency - Dynamics: "Alpha Tech Corporation" - SAP: "Alpha Tech Co., Ltd." - Business Designer: "Alpha Tech" → The same customer is recognized as different customers across three systems

Case 2: Amount Digit Error - Quotation amount: 15 million yen - SAP entry: 1.5 million yen (one digit off) → Discovered during invoice generation, requiring customer apology

Monthly Entry Errors: - Average: 8 errors/month - Correction time per error: Average 2 hours - Monthly correction time: 16 hours

David sighed deeply.

"There's another problem. We can't decide between DAP or a new application. DAP adds one layer to existing systems for automated entry. A new application would develop an integrated UI with API connections to each system. We don't know which is optimal."

Chapter 2: The Illusion of Total System Integration—The True Bottleneck Remains Invisible

"David, do you believe that integrating all systems will solve all problems?"

My question left David looking confused.

"Isn't that the case? I thought developing an integrated UI would eliminate triple entry."

Current Understanding (Total Integration Approach): - Expectation: Solve everything at once with integrated UI - Problem: The true bottleneck is invisible

I explained the importance of identifying true bottlenecks through constraint theory.

"The problem is thinking 'integrate all systems.' TOC—Theory of Constraints. The performance of an entire system is determined by its most constrained part. By identifying the constraint first and concentrating investment there, we achieve reproducible improvement."

⬜️ ChatGPT | Catalyst of Concepts

"Don't integrate all systems. Use TOC to identify constraints and concentrate investment there"

🟧 Claude | Story Alchemist

"Systems are always 'chains where only the weakest link determines strength.' You don't need to change everything"

🟦 Gemini | Compass of Reason

"Apply TOC's 5 steps. Identify, exploit, subordinate, elevate, and repeat"

The three members began their analysis. Gemini displayed "TOC's 5 Steps" on the whiteboard.

TOC's 5 Steps: 1. Identify the constraint 2. Exploit the constraint 3. Subordinate everything else to the constraint 4. Elevate the constraint 5. Beware of inertia and return to Step 1

"David, let's first identify the true constraint."

Chapter 3: Phase 1—Identifying the Constraint

Step 1: Current State Analysis (1 week)

Business Flow Analysis:

Complete Process from Deal Initiation to Order: 1. Deal occurrence (sales hearing): 30 minutes 2. Dynamics 365 entry (customer/deal info): 15 minutes ★ 3. Quotation creation (Excel): 20 minutes 4. SAP entry (quotation info): 18 minutes ★ 5. Customer proposal (presentation): 60 minutes 6. Business Designer entry (activity report): 12 minutes ★ 7. Order processing (SAP): 10 minutes Total time required: 165 minutes

Constraint Candidates: - Triple entry (Dynamics, SAP, Business Designer): 45 minutes - Quotation creation: 20 minutes - Customer presentation: 60 minutes

Bottleneck Analysis: - Triple entry: 146 hours/month (1,752 hours/year) - Error correction: 16 hours/month (192 hours/year) - Total: 162 hours/month (1,944 hours/year)

Critical Discovery: - Of the 165-minute total process, triple entry accounts for 45 minutes (27%) - However, the other 120 minutes are value-adding activities - Triple entry is "pure waste" that adds no value

Constraint Identification: - True constraint = Triple entry (45 minutes/deal) - Eliminating this constraint would free 146 hours monthly for customer-facing activities

Step 2: Constraint Impact Analysis (1 week)

Annual Loss Calculation:

Personnel Cost Loss: - Triple entry time: 1,752 hours/year - Sales rep hourly rate: 4,500 yen (annual salary 7.2M yen ÷ 1,600 hours) - Personnel cost loss: 1,752 hours × 4,500 yen = 7.88M yen/year

Error Correction Loss: - Correction time: 192 hours/year - Personnel cost loss: 192 hours × 4,500 yen = 860K yen/year

Opportunity Loss: - If time spent on triple entry were used for customer visits - Average order value per visit: 5M yen - Annual possible visits: 1,752 hours ÷ 2 hours = 876 visits - Conversion rate: 15% - Opportunity loss: 876 visits × 15% × 5M yen = 657M yen/year

Total Annual Loss: - 7.88M + 0.86M + 657M = 665.74M yen/year

Chapter 4: Phase 2—Exploiting and Elevating the Constraint

Step 3: Solution Examination (2 weeks)

Option 1: DAP (Digital Adoption Platform) Implementation - Method: Add one layer to existing systems, automate entry with RPA - Advantages: No existing system modifications needed, short implementation period - Disadvantages: Vulnerable to screen changes, high maintenance costs - Cost: Initial 3M yen, annual maintenance 1.2M yen

Option 2: Integrated UI + API Integration - Method: Develop new application, API integration with each system - Advantages: High scalability, easy maintenance - Disadvantages: Existing system modifications required, long implementation period - Cost: Initial 12M yen, annual maintenance 1.8M yen

Option 3: Hybrid (Integrated UI + RPA) - Method: Develop integrated UI, use RPA only for non-API-compatible parts - Advantages: Best of Options 1 and 2 - Disadvantages: Design complexity - Cost: Initial 8M yen, annual maintenance 1.5M yen

Judgment from TOC Perspective: - Fastest elimination of constraint (triple entry) is Option 3 - Dynamics 365: API-compatible → Direct integration from integrated UI - SAP: API-compatible → Direct integration from integrated UI - Business Designer: Not API-compatible → Automate with RPA

Decision: Adopt Option 3 (Hybrid Type)

Step 4: Implementation (Months 1-6)

Months 1-2: Integrated UI Development - Requirements definition: Establish API integration specifications with Dynamics and SAP - UI design: Minimize input fields for sales reps - Development: Build integrated UI with React + Node.js

Months 3-4: API Integration Development - Dynamics 365 API: Automatic registration of customer and deal information - SAP API: Automatic registration of quotation and order information

Month 5: RPA Development - Build automated entry flow to Business Designer with UiPath - Implement error handling and retry functionality

Month 6: Testing & Production Launch - Pilot operation with 5 sales reps - Deploy to all 15 reps after feedback integration

Month 7: Effect Measurement

KPI 1: Triple Entry Time - Before: 45 minutes/deal - After: 5 minutes/deal (integrated UI entry only) - Reduction rate: 89% - Time saved: 40 minutes/deal

KPI 2: Monthly Triple Entry Time - Before: 146 hours/month - After: 16 hours/month - Time saved: 130 hours/month

KPI 3: Entry Errors - Before: 8 errors/month - After: 0.5 errors/month - Reduction rate: 94%

Annual Effects:

Personnel Cost Reduction (Triple Entry): - Time saved: 130 hours/month × 12 months = 1,560 hours/year - Cost reduction: 1,560 hours × 4,500 yen = 7.02M yen/year

Personnel Cost Reduction (Error Correction): - Before: 16 hours/month - After: 1 hour/month - Reduction: 15 hours/month × 12 months = 180 hours/year - Cost reduction: 180 hours × 4,500 yen = 810K yen/year

Opportunity Gain (Increased Customer Visit Time): - Increased time: 1,560 hours/year - Increased visits: 1,560 hours ÷ 2 hours = 780 visits/year - Conversions: 780 visits × 15% = 117 deals - Opportunity gain: 117 deals × 5M yen = 585M yen/year

Total Annual Effect: - 7.02M + 0.81M + 585M = 592.83M yen/year

Investment Recovery: - Initial investment: 8M yen - Annual maintenance: 1.5M yen - Annual net effect: 592.83M - 1.5M = 591.33M yen - ROI: (591.33M - 8M) / 8M × 100 = 7,292% - Payback period: 8M ÷ 591.33M = 0.01 years (5 days)

Chapter 5: Detective's Diagnosis—Finding True Bottlenecks Through Constraints

That evening, I contemplated the essence of TOC.

Global Solutions Inc. held the illusion of "integrating all systems." However, of the 165-minute total process, the true constraint was the 45 minutes (27%) of triple entry.

By identifying the constraint through TOC's 5 steps and concentrating investment there, we achieved annual effects of 592.83M yen and ROI of 7,292%. Investment recovery in 5 days.

What's important is that we didn't change processes other than the constraint (customer presentations and quotation creation). You don't need to change everything. By eliminating only the true bottleneck, the entire system's performance improves dramatically.

"Don't integrate all systems. Identify constraints with TOC. Exploit the constraint, subordinate everything else, and elevate it. By eliminating only the true bottleneck, reproducible improvement emerges."

The next case will also depict the moment of finding true solutions through constraints.

"TOC—Theory of Constraints. Identify the constraint and concentrate investment there. You don't need to change everything. By eliminating only the true bottleneck, the entire system transforms"—From the Detective's Notes

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