Project Management as a Service: Three Projects for a National Retail Company
Challenge
A high-profile national retail company with a thriving ecommerce department was having difficulty executing their entire project pipeline, so they sought to expand their project management office (PMO). They had attempted to expand the team through staff augmentation services but were having difficulty finding the expertise they needed for their top projects. As a result, they had missed important deadlines to begin certain projects, and were eager to get them back on track.
With mostly project coordinators on staff, they were seeking very senior project management professionals with expertise in certain specializations who could take the team to a higher level. The initiatives the company wanted help with included application services, data and analytics, and enterprise applications (Salesforce CRM). The sought-after project management leaders needed to bring deep knowledge to the team in those specialization areas, along with the ability to manage multiple projects at the same time.
The company had worked with our team in the past and INSPYR Solutions had quickly become their primary partner for data and analytics initiatives. Since they had previously trusted us to deliver their most strategic initiatives, they reached out to us again for assistance with expanding their PMO.
Solution
A top priority for the company was finding a partner with deep specialization to help deliver initiatives in specific business areas – data and analytics (supply chain), application services (ecommerce), and enterprise applications (Salesforce). Each project manager needed prior experience in the specialized initiatives. The initial ask was for a three-person team where each one would be part of a different project. The right people to lead these projects would also need to have deep knowledge of how the business functioned in addition to a strong project management background.
Our team understood how important this was to the client and focused our efforts accordingly. These areas fit neatly within our Professional Services practice areas, so the team was able to respond rapidly with ideal people. For example, we deployed a great project manager for the supply chain initiative in just a few days when the company had been trying to fill that position for several months. Our team had the experience and connections to get the right person in place very quickly so these projects could get back on track.
The supply chain initiative consisted of a project to add new subject areas to the company’s enterprise data warehouse. Because the company did not have this integration in place yet, they sought help with project management through their PMO. We had already provided a technical team that was working on this project via a separate channel, so everything came together with the addition of the project manager provided by INSPYR Solutions. We had a deep understanding of the project already, which helped us provide the right team member for this project. Our project manager was able to hit the ground running because they had extensive experience with supply chain, warehouse, cargo, and freight management as well as managing projects related to these areas.
Another initiative that we provided project management as a service for was an Application Services project for the ecommerce department. The leaders for this project needed to have an excellent understanding of how to integrate sophisticated new features and sections into the public-facing ecommerce website. Another component of this project was that the company wanted a full-time project manager as well as a fractional project manager to accommodate the needs of two separate workstreams for the project. This was something that other firms had been unable to provide, but INSPYR Solutions was easily able to fulfill through our Project Management practice.
The third initiative was an enterprise applications project. While the company had been using the Salesforce marketing cloud, they wanted a project manager to come in to oversee and own an implementation of Salesforce from the ground up. This service would include strategic design, planning, and implementation utilizing best practices, which in turn would allow the company to utilize Salesforce’s capabilities to the fullest.
Outcome
Not only did INSPYR Solutions provide a bolt on solution to enhance the company’s ability to manage these three projects, but as the company’s success in delivering initiatives through their PMO grew, we were asked to provide another group of project managers that increased their PMO side by 110% over the course of two years. The company also took advantage of our offer to keep two of the project managers by taking them on permanently. This is a feature INSPYR Solutions offers where certain team members can stay on with a client, bringing with them the knowledge and experience they gained through our organization.
Our ability to scale to meet the company’s project needs as well as our project managers’ ability to manage multiple projects across disciplines made this a perfect partnership. For example, there were times when we redeployed a project manager from one project to another and then back again depending on the phasing of the various projects. These people were highly flexible, and redeployment within the organization also meant they had the institutional knowledge necessary to easily transition from project to project.
Throughout our time working with this client, we supported a variable workload through a flexible and scalable PMO as a service, ultimately increasing their project velocity over 100%. We doubled the size of their team and were running almost all the most strategic initiatives. In addition to these outcomes, we made an impact by serving as the catalyst for an Agile transformation in the PMO. Through our specialized partnership with the client, we were able to provide a variety of services to support the organization’s PMO and more.
Client Profile
The client is a well-known retail and ecommerce company that supplies products and services to meet the needs of consumers and businesses worldwide. The company is one of the leading suppliers in the industry and is well-known for its online presence and ecommerce website catered to meet the demands of modern business.
Technologies Supported
Salesforce, Jira, Microsoft DevOps, Azure, Power BI, Azure SQL DB
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