10 Essential Questions for Brands Adding to Their Tech Stack (Part 2/2).

Welcome back!

Or not? If you missed the first instalment, it’s here.

Let’s get into it.

6. How do we know we’ve found the right system and partner?

We know why this is so important, right? I don’t need to cover that? OK — I’ll do it very quickly…

Simply, the right system implemented by the wrong partner won’t be right for the brand.

And, even the right system properly implemented but not supported into the future can’t grow with the brand.

So how do brands know when they’ve found the right system?

Here’s what to look for…

1. Functional fit

   1. Basically, the system can do what the brand needs it to do.

      1. Less basically:

         1. The system has the required functionality for now.

         2. The system has the required functionality for the future as well.

            1. Or the potential or plan to develop that functionality.

         3. The required functionality is accessible to the brands key users in a way which they are going to find viable! I.e, the UI/UX feels good to use every day.

            1. Key user buy-in is essential for implementation and post-live.

         4. The system gives the brand the data visibility they need.

            1. The system will likely contain data that the brand finds valuable — can they access it easily to derive insights from it? Or better yet, does the system have insights-giving capabilities built in?
               

2. Stability & Performance

   1. The system is performant enough to handle your data at peak volumes and at 1.5x, 2x and 5x. (Change the numbers to fit your projected growth volumes…).
      

3. Scalability

   1. The system can support every step of the businesses plan to scale.
      
      Opening new physical stores? No problem.
      
      Moving into new product lines? Fine.
      
      Expanding into a new market? Seen it all before.
      
      New sales channels? Completed it.
      

4. Ease of integration

   1. For brands with a dedicated integration partner — the system has a public API to work with.

   2. For brands without a dedicated integration partner — the system has the pre-built integrations you need.

For best results, brands cannot compromise on those four points.

So how do brands find a supplier to implement well in the now, and be invested in the long term?

Brands need to partner with suppliers they can go through adversity with — everyone (nearly…) can keep a relationship strong when times are good.

“Retailers in the UK say major ERP projects take 6 months longer than estimated to get live (an average 200-day delay)”

(enterprisetimes.co.uk).

Here’s what to look for on the partner side.

1. It’s obvious they know their domain extremely well.
   

2. They have a track record of delivering well for brands like yours, and customers that will attest to that.
   

3. There’s a ‘culture fit’ between their team and yours.

   1. When speaking to the partner team, think, ‘would I be happy to have this person, or these people, working directly in my team?’. If it’s an obvious ‘yes’, you shouldn’t have any issues working with them as a partner. If you’re not sure, you’ll benefit from resolving those uncertainties before you commit to working with this vendor.
      

4. They have a consultative, detail-oriented approach to sales.
   

5. They can convincingly walk you through their implementation process and field your questions.
   

6. They can evidence support statistics which assure you won’t face prolonged technical issues.
   

7. They can demonstrate that they operate with a partnership model.
   

8. They are open about where their business plan takes them, and theirs aligns with yours…
   

9. They can introduce you to several team members and all are knowledgeable in their domain.
   

These teams exist. Brands — go and find them.

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7. How Long is This Really Going to Take?

Project overruns are quite common.

Hubspot research in 2020 found that 47% of organizations did not complete their ERP project within the expected timeline.

Truly convincing data on implementation delays of retail-specific software isn’t plentiful, but available figures suggest anywhere between 30–50% of retail software implementations are delayed, which doesn’t sound outlandish.

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💡 The Standish Group CHAOS report from 2015 puts the number even higher for software implementation projects on the whole. 

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OK, you say. But… why?

There are so many answers to that it warrants a blog post in itself, but here’s the skeleton.

• The timeline was unlikely from the beginning.
  
  Possibly because the supplier didn’t want to scare the brand away with long timelines.
  
  Possibly because timeline pressure came ‘from above’ and just wasn’t realistic.
  
  

• Scope creep.
  
  Subjects of Project Managers anxiety dreams from least to most stressful:

  • Falling.

  • Being chased.

  • Wanton scope creep.
    
    

• Someone missed something in the design stage.
  
  Implementation projects can be complex and intricate.
  
  Miss one small detail in solution design and it can add weeks down the line.
  
  Miss a handful of small details…
  
  

• Project Management isn’t done properly.
  
  This will be a blog post by itself (!) so no elaboration available at this time...
  
  

• The project isn’t resourced properly.
  
  I’m looking at both of you here — suppliers and brands! See point 9 of this article.
  
  

• Unreliable 3rd parties.
  
  Ah… yes.
  
  It’s not just the brand and the supplier which need to be on their game.
  
  It’s all of the 3rd parties. Anyone who the implementation affects needs to be lined up and supporting effectively.
  
  

• Team turnover.
  
  Churn on the project team can kill momentum.
  
  Lose one key SME (subject matter expert) from the project and all of a sudden questions which one person can answer in 5 minutes now have to be answered by committee and take 2 weeks.

So what can the brand do to get a realistic timeline from the start from its vendors?

Ask for reference projects from the vendors and ask them how long those projects took.

Then, ask for an introduction to those reference brands so you can correspond the timeline (and experience) on those projects.

If the vendor can’t provide a single reference project that is comparable to the one you’re working on, it’s likely either because:

• They haven’t done one before (🚩), or;

• They have, but they don’t want you to speak to those brands (🚩🚩🚩…).
  

If the supplier can give great reference projects, and the reference clients correspond the suppliers timelines on those projects, then increase your confidence that the given timeline will be hit.

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8. How do we take everyone with us?

Imagine — the year is 300 BC, and you are a village elder in a Mapuche tribe living in what is now Chile. (Can you tell that AI didn’t write this?).

One day the tribe leader comes to you and explains that the volcanic soil around the Calbuco volcano is known to be better for farming, and that he plans to take the tribe North so that its agricultural output can flourish. You agree.

You hear nothing for some weeks.

One morning, the tribe leader approaches and tells you he and the others are leaving in 5 minutes.

You’d be forgiven by most for responding with … ‘frustration’.

Big change — the kind which affects someone’s day-to-day life, like them using a new system to deliver their work — happens better when you:

1. Involve all stakeholders early in the change process.
   

2. Clearly communicate your (killer) why — why is this change happening?
   

3. Keep reminding everyone of the benefits of the change through the process.
   

4. Give all stakeholders plentiful notice of key dates so they can prepare.
   

5. Deliver detailed, thoughtful training. And, resources to be used ongoing.
   

6. Identify those who are ‘with you’ in the change process and recruit them to your cause.
   

7. Regularly — and publicly — recognise positives/wins after launch.
   

8. Listen! Systems survive by evolution. Keep making the system better using the feedback you (make sure you) get, especially from users and management.

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9. How do we resource this project properly?

If you are the type of organisation that has meaningful conversations around this question, that alone is a great sign.

Some of your competitors won’t spend much time in this area, and they will be weaker for it.

The sub-questions here, are:

• How many person-hours will this project cost us?

• What skills do we need?

• What roles do we need to fulfil on the project?

• What roles will our supplier(s) fulfil on the project?

The easy one first — suppliers should give brands an estimate of how many person-hours the brand is expected to contribute to the project.

Given how well you did point 6 from this list, your chosen supplier probably volunteered this information and it’s probably accurate. However, if this info isn’t volunteered, ask for it.

Next, the roles/skills.

Brands should prepare to fulfil at least 4 key roles in a project.

(Note: one person could fulfil more than one of these roles.)

1. Project manage the implementation, especially when the implementation involves more parties than just the brand & one supplier. Why?

   1. Both suppliers and brands juggle multiple projects, often sharing key resources like time and people. If the brand doesn’t create a clear plan for everyone involved, no one else will — unless they’re specifically paid to.

   2. Without a unifying plan to align everyone, dependencies aren’t met on time, milestones are missed, and then delays, delays and deadly looks on Teams calls.
      

2. Provide an SME (or SMEs) to be available throughout. This person:

   1. Knows in detail what the project needs to achieve.

   2. Has the subject matter knowledge to get the supplier(s) aligned on what the system(s) need to do.
      

3. Provide a Key User representative to be available throughout. This person:

   1. Speaks for the eventual users of the system while the system is being designed and built.

   2. Sees things everyone else doesn’t see!

   3. Becomes a leader in the project during User Acceptance Testing, training and post-launch.

4. Provide an IT/Systems expert to be involved during the design, and on hand during the testing and launch.

Resource the project properly and it will:

• Be less likely to overrun. (Saving you money).

• Be more likely to deliver the desired benefits. (Making or saving you money, depending).

• Strengthen your reputation in the supplier industry. (This way comes perks and benefits…).

• Boost staff morale (being part of an elite team feels good).

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10. What is still abstract?

Even a rigorous process might not define everything.

Organisations run out of time. Or budget. Or have things they can’t yet finalise. Or just miss things.

That’s normal.

Before you sign, just take a moment to map out what you still don’t know.

Maybe you’ve left the very fine details of your returns process almost defined.

Or you’re waiting on approval from a tax authority to go bonded but don’t know when it’s coming.

You might be planning to change shipping options and haven’t yet taken the final decisions.

Whatever it is, own the unknown.

Find out what you still don’t know, and manage it.

Track it as a risk in the project.

Add it as an important action for asap.

Delay sign-off if you have to…

The final check can pay off big time.

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