Delivery Assurance is the process of objectively discerning how you should move forward, not whether you should move forward. Over ten years we have encountered only one program that warranted a “shut-down” recommendation.
Delivery Assurance support has been delivered across the implementation timeline, gaining traction when there is emerging evidence (and concern) that a program has lost its way and is somewhat-to-significantly at-risk.
Delivery Assurance support has been delivered across the implementation timeline, gaining traction when there is emerging evidence (and concern) that a program has lost its way and is somewhat-to-significantly at-risk.
The Principles guiding Meridian’s Delivery Assurance support include:
- We use our experience to deliver a clear view of where you are and what you need to do to succeed.
- We are committed to not slowing down the existing work-streams.
- We are committed to building on what you’ve already accomplished.
- Our aim is to ensure you agree that our assessment has materially contributed to your project’s ultimate success.
Six cases illustrate how we've helped clients pull out of the tech-disaster ditch.
Retailer
Mid-Program Assessment & Acceleration
A $5-billion retailer was overhauling all elements of its Supply Chain, moving from a Direct-To-The-Store Delivery model to a Just-In-Time/Warehouse-driven supply chain. To enable they were concurrently implementing ERP retail, financial, HR, and advanced Supply Chain functionality. The program was viewed as flawed by the business and, in the words of one SVP, “certainly a failure.” At the Board of Director’s urging we were engaged to assess the risks surrounding the program. We quickly pinpointed numerous technical, process, and project problems and built consensus from the C-suite through the project team around remediation. We were subsequently engaged by the project’s sponsors to provide support through the successful completion of this once-troubled program.
“The smartest thing we did during this project was to hire Meridian.” Client CIO
Consumer Products, Assessment One
European Go Live Assessment & Assurance
A $13-billion manufacturer of consumer products had a three-year ERP program underway. We were engaged by the President of European operations six weeks before their first Go Live to assess and help manage the Go Live's impact on pan-European operations. Our team identified five critical issues that needed immediate assistance and a host of other issues that could be staged around and following Go Live, significantly accelerating organizational preparations. The first Go Live was a strong success.
“No one else saw these issues, and you made the difference.” President
Consumer Products, Assessment Two
Latin American Go Live Assessment & Assurance
Based on our European success the President of Latin American operations engaged us to conduct an assessment of the organizational, process, and technical aspects of their pan-Latin American ERP roll-out. Our ‘frank, but honest’ (client’s words) assessment led to a significant improvement in the program’s implementation path, and two expert Meridian resources subsequently worked with the client’s chosen integration partner to deliver a successful, on-time Go Live.
Consumer Products, Assessment Three
North American Mid-Program Assessment & Acceleration
Based on our European and Latin American success the CEO of this global Consumer Products firm engaged Meridian to conduct an assessment of the organizational, process, and technical aspects of their North American ERP roll-out. This program was seriously at-risk due to an overly complex implementation strategy and some shortcomings in basic program management. Our “Assessment” turned into an intervention within the first two weeks, shifting from identification of problems to a very tactical, hands-on re-working of the program strategy, plan, and program management methods. This firm’s CEO had us certify the organization’s readiness to Go Live, an endorsement that “gave me the confidence to give the go-ahead to what has been an overly difficult and certainly overly risky initiative.”
Financial Services
Mid-Program Assessment & Acceleration
This Financial Services client had invested over $40 million in a re-engineering program targeting global financial and treasury operations. We were engaged eight months prior to Go Live to evaluate the extent to which the technology and the organization would be ready to work in an integrated environment. Key findings focused on specific, actionable features of the program that required immediate improvement. We were subsequently engaged to supplement the implementation team, providing expert resources to help accelerate the development of process contingencies, the completion of organizational preparations, and the development of Post Go Live support structures. We also served on the project’s Steering Committee.
Medical Devices
Mid-Program Assessment & Shut Down
Our client is a global manufacturer of a broad array of medical and surgical devices. This client committed to a hybrid custom development/off the shelf software implementation with the hopes of fostering a common approach to business operations worldwide.
We were engaged just before the programs expected mid-point, though in fact the program was far behind schedule. The shared assumption was the program was behind schedule and at-risk because of spotty support from their chosen consulting partner. Since the consulting partner had considerable executive support the CIO asked us to complete an objective assessment of all parties involved in the program, specifically asking us to help this executive team understand the issues they faced and the actions they needed to take to deliver success.
We completed an actionable global assessment in four weeks.
The company's CIO showed character and courage, initially challenging us to find ways they could advance the project but ultimately recommending project shutdown to the company's CEO.
