Technology Enablement
“We help clients make the most of their SRM investments in the shortest possible time.”
Technology Enablement
Organisations continue to search for business transformational opportunities enabled by technology. However, there are numerous cases of poorly implemented technology whereby ROI is diluted, leadership credibility is undermined and projects compromised.
The HICX technology enablement team are experts in the deployment of enterprise supplier technologies to optimise business processes, enable new opportunities, achieve scale and consistency, and enhance the ability to manage risk and compliance.
Whether implementing a HICX solution or another technology, the HICX team can bring experience across industries and enterprise functions to strengthen existing client teams or take the lead to provide advice and guidance throughout a deployment.
If you are considering implementing a supplier related technology and need to strengthen the team, click here to contact us.
Program Management
Our ability to deliver rapid, high impact results sets HICX consultants apart from competitors. Some key elements we expect to see accomplished at a program level include:
- Business case/cost of failure – Quantification in the form of money, material, time, productivity or morale. Depending on the project’s impact, leadership may decide to postpone or proceed with the implementation.
- Strategic Importance – Documentation of what is required and why it is important for the business to spend time, money and resources to change; in other words, the high level business case or why success is important.
- Problems to be Addressed – How the process is broken, the presenting problem or “Pain”.
- Project Boundaries – Binding the process with start and stop points or boundaries to eliminate project scope creep. When issues occur outside of the defined boundaries, the issues should be documented in the project parking lot for a later discussion.
- Project Deliverables – Defining what realistic results are expected from the project. Deliverables are nouns and include real, tangible savings when available, i.e. %, £/$ or time. Deliverables represent project success. All stakeholders and team members must agree on the deliverables in order for the Project to achieve success.
- Project Metrics – Once defined, metrics will need to be validated that they are within the project scope and a definition of who will track these metrics and how.
- Project Communication – Frequency and method of communication and distribution list (weekly one-on-ones, weekly status meetings, weekly emails, monthly newsletter, website, etc.) needs to be defined.
- Project Governance – Determine and document how the project team will be governed, i.e. steering committee. The governing body will ensure that project activities are aligned with project deliverables, resources are planned for and roadblocks removed. The Project Leader should report to the Steering Committee
- Financial Investment – Calculate the required investment to achieve project success.
- Escalation Protocol – It is important to define an escalation protocol (agreed by all) in the event of road blocks or issues that prevent the team from progressing with the project.
- Project Plan – As a team, develop a deliverable project plan.
If you need help establishing program management, click here to contact us.
System Design
Procurement technology has come a long way in the last 30 years and has particularly accelerated in the last 10 years in line with progression of the internet, software, and communications infrastructure. This has brought some challenges to procurement professionals through the variety of tools and platforms now available and the number of new entrants to the market.
Having a clear vision and a well-developed plan of execution is allowing best in class procurement functions to blend existing applications with newer technologies to bring suppliers and buyers closer together through portals, master data management, and global/local configuration allowing users to follow policy driven pathways that enhance process adoption.
HICX advise organisations how they can best align their existing procurement architecture and identify solutions that enable value creation.
If you would like guidance on how best to structure your procurement technology, click here to contact us.
Build, Test and Deploy
There are many methodologies for software development including waterfall, prototyping, iterative and incremental development, spiral development, rapid application development, and extreme programming. In addition there are different approaches or philosophies including agile, lean, Kanban to name a few. Furthermore are the wide ranging modelling languages available in which to work.
Knowing which methodology, approach and language is right for your objectives and organisation is not a simple choice as the consequences of poor selection may only become apparent after the project has commenced or at some later stage. HICX can provide executives with support in forming business requirements that will inform the best solution choice.
Having a robust and complexity-appropriate testing model is critical to successful deployment. HICX can provide support in the creation of unit, integration, system and acceptance test scripts and testing.
If you have questions around the coding approach and testing of your technology, click here to contact us.
Adoption and Sustainment
Each of the previous steps enable a successful implementation. However, there is now a need to think about what happens after everything is “live”. How to keep things going and ensure that the changes stick? This is what a sustainment plan addresses.
It defines the goals, objectives, activities and tactics necessary to facilitate sustainment of the change; and identifies individuals and defines roles for those individuals as part of a sustainment network (as necessary).
If you would like to improve system adoption and sustainment, click here to contact us.
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