Make Business Simpler
We believe that few projects are IT projects any more – they are business transformation projects that may or many not be supported by IT. The transformation process starts with defining the business outcomes required and uses tools and techniques to implement a real change in the manufacture of products and provision of services to achieve genuine business benefits.
Business transformation is a case of doing the right thing, through change management, and doing things right, through project management. And IT will only come into it if it is the right solution to an identified problem.
Case Study: Defence Logistics Organisation - Procurement Reform
Issue
Cardinair were engaged to work for another consultancy at a large Central Government department. In order to meet government targets to reduce total spend by 20% while having to meet operational needs. A huge investment had been made in e-business software to handle financial and procurement processes. While benefits were achieved at senior level in gathering, co-ordinating and using financial information, no changes were seen for individual buyers and logistics staff.
Solution
A transformation in their approach to procurement and a move to a “vendor category management” approach was proposed using the new software merely as a basis for common working across teams. For purchasing and logistics, this meant re-organisation into cross-functional teams with complementary skills and backgrounds. Cardinair took responsibility for:
- Design of training course content and materials;
- Training of staff in teamworking, communication and projects skills;
- Training of staff in “strategic purchasing” skills prior to their allocation to multi-functional business teams;
- Mentoring staff while they were working in those multi-functional business teams.
Results
Within months, the multi-functional teams were achieving significant results in two ways. Firstly, the focus on product categories meant that direct savings were made by applying volume discounts and better negotiation techniques to achieve better value for money. Secondly, savings were made to the indirect cost of running the purchasing process as all teams applied a slicker, optimised procurement process.