Establishing a retail PMO (project management office) is key for any retailer in today’s environment.  

When thinking about executing and managing projects within your retail organization, it’s important to ensure that you have the right team and processes in place. Only 58% of organizations fully understand the importance of having project management governance in place. However, those that do realize and utilize some form of project management see an increase of: 

• 60% of projects delivered on budget 
• 59% improvement in stakeholder satisfaction 
• 64% growth in project alignment to core business objectives.  

Establishing a Retail PMO?

Whether guided by a formal Project Management Office (PMO) or not, making investments to improve an organization requires careful orchestration. Effective program management focuses on the holistic measurement and consistent delivery to improve business operations. Effective project management understands the specific solutions, the end goal, and the importance that successful delivery plays in the realization of business objectives. When paired successfully together, strategy is more quickly defined, solutions are more quickly delivered, and real business value is more fully realized.  

The Importance of Strong PMO Standards and Adequate PM Coverage 

Given the pace of change within the retail industry, we have seen firsthand the importance of having program management standards in place prior to kicking off projects both large and small. Research also shows that over 80% of high-performing companies have a PMO in place. These companies also have 38% more projects meet original goals and 33% fewer projects resulting in failure.  

Effective program management focuses on the macro-level of the business by managing strategic business changes to derive business value. Having strong standards and governance can help to avoid common project challenges like communication struggles, lack of clarity among stakeholders, and loss of focus on the total strategy. Successful PMOs make decisions based on a clear and measurable business value linked to business strategies. 

Once overarching PMO standards are in place, it’s important to make sure your organization also has adequate coverage within the project management skillset to execute to those standards. Project management focuses on managing the objectives and solutions at the project level that feed into the bigger overall program. It’s crucial to have a person or team in place that can handle the day-to-day tasks like planning, scheduling, reporting, change management, and more to keep the project on track to deliver what’s needed to achieve program goals. Empowering a team to take the lead on project management will help streamline decision-making and keep a project on track to achieve value for the business.   

The importance of a strong PMO in retail can’t be overlooked. For guidance on establishing a retail PMO, connect with our program and project management experts today. 

Contributions from Jenn Woodbury