Our goal at Centric Consulting is to solve your business and technology problems with tailored solutions designed for your success. Meet your problem solvers from Chicago who always have your end goals in mind.
While helping find solutions to our client’s toughest problems, we’ve learned a thing or two. In this blog from our series, we share insights from our Chicago team of seasoned solvers on overcoming today’s business, technology and people-related challenges.
Business
Meet Your Problem Solver
Mark Paulson | Senior Manager, Chicago Team | People & Change
THE BUSINESS PROBLEM
A common problem I see across the clients I work with is a challenge to understand all the different components that make up their operating models (process, structure, performance metrics, information, technology, people) and how they work together. When clients make a change to any one of those operating model components, they often do not realize there are resulting impacts to other components they need to account for.
For example, an IT services client of mine recently decided they wanted to change their entire operating model from product-focused to functionally-focused. I had to help them understand that outside of defining the new structure and teams, they also needed to define the business processes required to enable the new structure.
OUR INSIGHT
To combat this challenge, I have a discussion with my client early on to identify potential effects the project will have on other operating model components. This conversation typically serves as a valuable education session for my client and helps firm up scope implications and watch-out areas on the project.
My clients often find these up-front discussions extremely helpful as they not only educate but also help them think more broadly about implications for their organization they may not have initially considered.
Technology
Meet Your Problem Solver
Suhail Ali | Senior Architect, Chicago Team | Data & Analytics
THE TECH PROBLEM
A poor or non-existent master data management strategy is the root cause of most client data issues I see. Often, organizations will try to solve this by addressing the symptoms (building a data warehouse, purchasing the latest tool, and so on) and not looking at their data strategy wholistically.
The size and complexity of data sources are also growing exponentially, and I see many clients fighting a losing battle relying on ensuring data quality through manual testing. They need to consider using machine learning data observability tools to augment their data quality efforts to build a high level of organizational trust in the data.
OUR INSIGHT
For my current client, we introduced Microsoft Purview as part of building a data hub solution to create a business glossary and data catalog. This hub allowed them to grasp the benefits of data governance and have a strategic conversation about data governance and broader organizational change in the future.
I’ve also helped current and past clients pursue the adoption of data observability tools such as Monte Carlo and Metaplane to help automate the process of identifying data quality issues. These tools can automatically identify data quality issues in production proactively and prevent downstream systems from using the data.
THE INDUSTRY PROBLEM
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are a common occurrence in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry. Successfully carrying out these transactions requires designing future operating models for the processes of invoicing to cash and ordering to delivery, as well as creating an execution plan to move from the current state to the future design.
Coordinating these plans with sales teams and customers is especially difficult due to the varying system requirements and set-ups of each customer.
OUR INSIGHT
To address this challenge for a CPG client, we established a formal, cross-functional group that focused on the customer and lasted the entire length of the transaction execution cycle. The group consisted of leaders from sales, invoice-to-cash, order-to-deliver, supply chain, sales planning, legal and the program’s transformation office.
Through effective communication and navigation, this group was able to help successfully lead customers through the transition process and create a cohesive transition plan that aligned with their needs. By adopting a similar cross-functional mindset, other CPG companies can optimize their transaction approach, ensuring a smoother process with minimal disruption for customers.
We partnered with Pharma Logistics to improve their technology and business processes, increasing fulfillment center processor throughput by 98 percent.