Global Distribution and Repertoire Management

The Situation

Our client was struggling to maintain and grow its business due to a reliance on a core repertoire management system that was recognised as being no longer fit for purpose.   Our client had reached a pivotal point in its development, but its global ambitions and passion to be the best in its field were being hampered by outdated software and manual business processes.

There had been several attempts to develop a new repertoire management system that would allow the company to expand.  A lot of time and effort had been spent, but with little to show in terms of tangible results and change. There was a growing frustration about the lack of progress and the resulting impact this had on the client’s business.

We started working with this client as they were about to kick-off the first phase in the development of a new repertoire management system.  It became clear that for the project to succeed there needed to be a stated consensus amongst management and stakeholders of why the development was being undertaken and what they were trying to achieve in business terms. This necessitated some core thinking and discussion about where the client was looking to go as a business and the customers it was seeking to attract. These decisions had to be made alongside maintaining the momentum of the project, and delivering tangible outcomes for stakeholders who had seen previous projects halted.

Our Input

• Development of a roadmap that clarified the new repertoire system in the context of the business strategy and systems architecture; this was agreed by management and stakeholders and used to guide decision making going forward.
• Working with management and stakeholders to ensure that the rationale for the new repertoire system was understood and agreed.
• Helped the client to state the key success criteria against which the repertoire management project would be assessed; this allowed decisions to be made, and the project to move forward.
• Working with stakeholders to confirm the priorities and phasing of the repertoire management project, such that benefits could be delivered as early as possible, whilst maintaining alignment with the agreed roadmap.
• Established ways of working with the client and a 3^rd party software house to kick off the first phase of development of the new system and set in place the approach for future phases.
• Handover to client’s internal project manager for the continuation of the project.

Outcomes

• First phase of the new repertoire management system delivered and ready for testing.
• Established a framework in which future projects could be defined and prioritised in the context of an agreed roadmap.
• Facilitated an effective dialogue between IT and business stakeholders, setting in place a model for future projects.