Super Users Among Us
By Julie Srouji

ArCina Beard, a material support team member in Supply Chain Management, is a OneAero Super User.

ArCina Beard was enjoying the silent air of camaraderie in her cubicle in Fort Worth Bldg. 15 when photographers stopped by to snap her image. Smiles and quiet laughter characterize the area on any given day, but at the first camera flash, an unexpected shout permeated the cubicles as one of her teammates yelled, "ArCina's a celebrity! She's a star!"

ArCina Beard was enjoying the silent air of camaraderie in her cubicle in Fort Worth Bldg. 15 when photographers stopped by
to snap her image. Smiles and quiet laughter characterize the area on any given day, but at the first camera flash, an unexpected shout permeated the cubicles as one of her teammates yelled, "ArCina's a celebrity! She's a star!" or the past year, Beard, a material support team member in Supply Chain Management, has been a OneAero Super User. Selected by her leadership as a Super User, Beard has had early exposure to the many different things SAP can do and is helping her teammates adjust to the new system.

Known for her ever-positive outlook on the OneAero project and the many benefits it has brought her Supply Chain Management team, Beard is a real champion for change — in fact, a true "star."

OneAero: Your one-stop shop

Since 2008, the OneAero project has been transitioning Aeronautics from an aging suite of systems to an integrated enterprise resource plan tool based on SAP software. The first deployment was mainly focused on finance capabilities, and Deployment 2 (D2) will have several launches, based on site. The successful D2-Launch 1 in August 2009 was limited to the F-22 program in Fort Worth. Beard was a Super User for that launch.

In late April 2010, D2-Launch 2 converted the remaining programs in Fort Worth to OneAero. D2-Launch 3 will deploy SAP capabilities for Palmdale, Marietta and feeder sites.

Prior to OneAero implementation, the business ran on multiple systems with no common database. Through the SAP-based OneAero solution, employees will now have a one-stop shop for information.

Using the system

Over the past year, Beard has been a powerful advocate for the transition to the OneAero system, approaching it with a positive and open mind.

"Understanding the benefits is important," she said.

"The OneAero system makes it much easier to be in the role of a buyer now. Using the system gives visibility into other aspects of what drives a purchase order and what a purchase order drives."

She further explained that the OneAero system allows the user to see different screens, such as Accounts Payable, within the Purchase Order, thus eliminating the need to switch to different transaction screens.

Her role as a Super User

Responsible for training all D2-Launch 1 buyers, Beard hasn't faced an easy task. But her positive demeanor and willingness to embrace the new system has led to her success in the role of Super User.

"My role was to send out positive vibes to the population," she said, "To be an advocate of change and help them understand that change was not as difficult as they thought it was."

This attitude transformation from resistance to acceptance among end-users has proven to be Beard’s own personal gauge of success. "Once they see the ease, it is much easier for them to accept it," she said.

"Super Users are integral to the success of the OneAero movement," she emphasized, "as they are the cheerleaders
of change."

One of her key responsibilities was to help her teammates understand and maximize the system's many benefits.

"The end-users see our enthusiasm," she said, "and the apprehension is just not there anymore."

Offering increased usability

Through OneAero, Aeronautics will now have an integrated suite of applications residing in a single database, allowing access to data and updates in real time and providing visibility into beginning-to-end transaction processes.

Additionally, OneAero will provide consistent data across functions and sites within the organization and offer visibility to employees, customers and key suppliers.

There will also be a noticeable reduction in paperwork and data entry but an increase in traceability. Systems will be automatically linked, removing the need to manage manual linking processes - entering data and extracting spreadsheets from one system to insert into another.

In short, it will be a much more user-friendly tool.

Super Users among us

Beard is just one of many Super Users facilitating this change. In fact, there are Super Users in most departments (typically one per every 20 end-users), and because they come from our organization, they understand our business. Super Users are the first line of support for questions and issues and are helping Aeronautics transition from the way we do it now to the way we'll do it in SAP.

OneAero words of wisdom

Beard summarized the OneAero implementation saying, "Transitioning to SAP allows Aeronautics to adapt to the ideal company that Lockheed Martin is all about. It lets the user see the bigger picture of change. We cannot be competitive if we are not truly one company."

Looking beyond her Supply Chain Management team, Beard offers other users some advice. "Relax and go with the flow," she said. "Change is imminent, so we have to adjust accordingly. Resistance is futile."

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