Project Management Support for an International Retailer
Project management support was the focus of a recent Clarkston Consulting partnership with their retail client. The client is a travel experience company turning the world of travel into a world of opportunity by being the “Traveler’s Best Friend” in more than 1,000 stores in airports, commuter hubs, landmarks, and tourist locations. The business’ 10,000+ team members care for travelers as friends at travel convenience, specialty retail, duty free and food & beverage destinations. At the intersection of travel and retail, they partner with landlords and vendors, and take innovative, commercial approaches to deliver exceptional value.
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After the development of a new, centralized Project Management Office (PMO) and an urgent need to drive critical business initiatives forward in a structured manner, the client needed to build out the PMO by supplementing current project managers with additional support to drive oversight and guidance across the IT project portfolio – including cybersecurity, infrastructure, field services, enterprise applications, and digital programs.
The client partnered with Clarkston Consulting to manage over 24 projects across the project portfolio and support PMO governance on a project, program, and portfolio level. This led to the management of the client’s newest IT program, Digital Retail Technology, as well as several project go-lives including a new POS implementation, centralizing and simplifying legacy architecture, successful PCI & SOX audits, implementation of next-generation store technology to increase customer intimacy and engagement, and management and oversight of acquisitions expanding the footprint and breadth of store portfolio.
The primary objectives for this project included managing internal projects through various methodologies including waterfall, scrum, KANBAN, and agile. The team provided governance and oversight on the project, program, and portfolio level. Implementing best practices for transparency and consistency within communication among leadership and key stakeholders was a goal for this project outcome, as well as create a repeatable model to apply to the client’s future acquisitions. The resolution produced a successful delivery of retail project management support to critical business initiatives within the client’s digital program, enterprise application program, and cybersecurity program. Overall, communication was improved with the addition of newly developed templates for project and program reporting, a reduction in delayed projects and increased project completion, and IT portfolio project management support.
