CRM Solution Programme Delivery & Change Manager for a global consumer packaged goods supply chain
The Situation
British Amercian Tobacco’s (BAT) Head of AME regional supply chain management needed an interim Solution Programme Delivery & Change Manager for a new business process and solution implementation. The role focused on the implementation of a customer complaints and resolution information solution.
BAT were to capture requirements during a discovery and then design and implement a supply chain complaints system in its Africa and Middle East (AME) region covering the end-to-end vertical from tobacco manufacturing, packaging, distribution through to final partner market sales utilising IBM Lotus Notes as the platform.
This system aimed to enhance the management of supply chain issues by providing a structured and centralised approach to quickly logging, tracking, and resolving internal partner customer complaints.
The use of Lotus Notes facilitated improved communication and documentation across various departments and regions, contributing to more efficient problem-solving processes.
This was part of BAT’s broader supply chain initiatives during that period included efforts to integrate planning, logistics, and service functions to improve operational efficiency.
For instance, the company worked on consolidating its factory footprint in Europe and introduced “production wheels” to simplify production planning .
Additionally, BAT focused on enhancing its logistics capabilities and implementing a common SAP platform across regions to support these transformations.
The Task
He was responsible for the business change implementation and project management of a new customer complaints and resolution information solution. This involved managing the change across 6 strategic supply chain areas, impacting over 100 customer country end markets.
Key responsibilities included managing requirements gathering and sign-off with leadership and stakeholders, overseeing the solution design, development, testing, and ensuring on-time and within-budget deployment of the Lotus Notes database and workflow application.
The Action / Approach
His key actions included:
* Business Change Implementation: Led the business change implementation process for the new customer complaints and resolution solution across the AME region’s supply chain.
* Project Management: Provided comprehensive project management for the entire lifecycle of the solution development and deployment.
* Stakeholder Management: Effectively managed a leadership and stakeholder group to gather, document, and obtain sign-off for the new process and data requirements.
* Solution Oversight: Managed the solution design, complaints workflow capture, system development, testing phases to ensure alignment with requirements and quality standards.
* Deployment Management: Oversaw the deployment of the Lotus Notes database and workflow application across the targeted supply chain areas and country markets.
* Budget and Timeline Management: Ensured the project was delivered on time and within the agreed budget.
The Result
His efforts resulted in:
* Successful Solution Implementation: The customer complaints and resolution information solution, based on Lotus Notes, was successfully implemented across six strategic supply chain areas.
* Global Reach: The new solution was deployed across more than one hundred customer country end markets within the AME region.
* Stakeholder Alignment: Requirements for the new process and data were effectively managed and formally agreed upon by the leadership and stakeholder group.
* On-Time and Within-Budget Delivery: The solution design, development, testing, and deployment were completed according to the agreed timelines and budget constraints.
* Improved Customer Complaint Management: The new system provided a structured and more efficient approach to managing customer complaints and resolutions within BAT plc’s AME regional supply chain.
