PROGRAMME MANAGEMENT FOR A MULTI-MODULE SAP IMPLEMENTATION

Large Regional Rail Franchise

The Client

Our client is one of the largest regional rail franchises operating over a wide geographic area in the north of England, employing over 4,000 people. In addition to providing train services, they also operate a large number of stations throughout their region and undertake train maintenence via three engineering depots in Newcastle, Leeds and Manchester.

The Problem

Following the successful upgrade of an existing SAP finance application to mySAP 2005, the business had decided to develop the platform into a more extensive ERP solution covering HR; Payroll; eProcurement; and Engineering Inventory Management.

As a result of a tender process to identify suitable technical integrators, the business was faced with the need to manage five external partners as well as an internal project team. In addition to a complex programme structure, both Payroll and Engineering modules presented significant risk since failure in either would be capable of halting train services.

The solution

We designed and managed a governance process specifically designed to work with a mixed supplier environment. In addition to formal programme management processes, we also provided additional support to client staff for whom project work on this scale and intensity was a new experience.

To support the technical integrators, we also provided additional business analysis throughout the programme to facilitate high-quality communication with all stakeholders, many of whom were unfamiliar with SAP.

Benefits

The project was delivered on time and on budget through a series of phased releases between December 2007 and April 2008.

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