The programme included the redesign of organisational and cost centre structures, the rebranding of internet and intranet services and physical signage. It also involved revising operating procedures for business continuity, crisis management and operational risk, as well as the underlying IT changes to support the new ways of working.

The challenge was the deadline – everything had to be delivered by the end of the retailer’s financial year end.

The client appointed us to provide an end-to-end programme management service to deliver their objectives within the timescale.  Work and teams were structured through the delivery lifecycle into manageable projects, work streams and work packages. We worked closely with key individuals to establish senior sponsorship from the business and set up a robust governance model, which allowed business stakeholders to develop the right level of assurance over the health, progress and status of the programme. This also provided a forum to review the programme risks and make judgements on any decisions that arose, so they could be resolved speedily and avoid down-time.   Given the size and scale of change, we also implemented an independent PMO function, which supported planning and sequencing initiatives.

Despite the ambitious timescales of delivery and the ‘hard stop’ end date, we successfully delivered the transition of the retailer’s shared service centre, in line with their objectives.  Whilst the timelines were challenging, our commitment to quality meant that both the go-live date was met, and there were no significant post go-live issues that required resolving.

The transition programme created a solid foundation for our client to undertake functional reviews, which will provide further productivity and cost efficiencies across the business.

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