Project Study: Managing Across the Supply Chain

High security computer-based test centers

Results

  • “I want to give you a 10 on a scale of 10 for the planning work we’ve done on the project, the discipline you’ve brought to the process and for slowing me down when I was tempted to implement before planning.” – CEO

Situation

  • Project to build 200 high security test centers in 50 states and 5 off-shore US Territories
  • Client requested help to win the business and then guide the initial strategy
  • Major penalties for completing too soon, more severe implications for late completion
  • Several critical intermediate deadlines for number of centers completed and their geographical distribution

 

Project Right-Sizing

  • Articulated our client’s strategic value in the proposal to help close the business with the test center owner
  • Facilitated 3 levels of client relationship: our client’s team (the general contractor), the executive design team formed with our client and their client (the test center owner) as well as the requirements received by the test center owner from their client, the test owner
  • Facilitated a process by which the roles and responsibilities were defined across an alliance of 5 vendor companies that had not previously done business together, each from a different industry
  • Developed a “wave” strategy to satisfy the contractual requirements from the test owner while managing the costs and risks for the test center owner and also creating a structure within which the alliance of vendors would succeed
  • Incorporated pauses between select waves to reduce costs while meeting expectations from multiple stakeholders

 

Project Acceleration

  • On-boarded and cross-trained in-house team for the general contractor’s project management team which implemented the wave strategy
  • Combined resource leveling with formal delegation of authority to cut costs while simultaneously ensuring both quality and schedule
  • Introduced scenario planning to handle the possibility of a hyper-accelerated roll out, combining “waves” into a “tsunami” plan

Industry Buzz

  • “We anticipate relying more heavily on partnerships and adjacencies, and on innovating by listening to clients and developing solutions together.” David Mills, CEO, Ricoh Europe, United Kingdom IBM. Redefining Boundaries: Insights from the Global C-suite study. IBM Institute for Business Value. 2016.
  • “Almost more than any other risk a company faces, are the myriad of stakeholders involved in building cyber resilience. The board of directors. Multiple members of the senior management team, including the CEO, CFO, general counsel, CIO, head of HR, and chief information security officer (CISO). Your employees. Your vendors. The role of the board and each member of senior management, in particular, should be clearly articulated in order to enhance your organization’s agility to respond to a dynamic threat and avoid conflict. ” Cyber Resiliency in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Hewlett Packard Enterprise, FireEye, Marsh & McLennan. 2016.