As part of the annual planning process, the International Logistics Director of a major UK & International Retailer was required to put together a capital investment proposal for Change projects.

The Director requested assistance to put together the proposal in a format which would ensure that the essential projects were approved.

We agreed on an approach which would demonstrate the alignment of the Change Portfolio with Business Strategy:

I worked with the Director to create the Board paper. Each Change proposal was prioritised using MoSCoW principles with the following specific meanings:
‘Must’ – the Change directly & clearly supported a specific item in the International Logistics Business Development plan for the year. In each case the specific item was referenced in the proposal
‘Should’ – the change paid for itself within one year. The financial benefits were not only shown, but the budget line was identified and the savings ‘baked’ into the financial plan.
‘Could’ – the change aid for itself in the corporate standard investment period of three years. Again the budget line was identified and the savings baked into the financial plan.
‘Won’t’ – the change did not pay for itself within three years.
The paper submitted was supported by detailed analyses for each identified change.

I supported the Director in the presentation of the paper to the International Capital Board. A meeting scheduled for two hours concluded after 30 minutes All the ‘Must’ and ‘Should’ projects were approved.

The International Logistics function derived the following value from this approach:
– Greater acceptance of change, leading to quicker delivery
– Improved understanding of how the Change programme supported Business objectives
– Improved service, leading to better colleague satisfaction
– Improved understanding of the nature of the benefits of each change project to the Business