The Client

Re-imagining the Future of Events

Building upon a 100-year legacy, this event logistics company is re-imagining events for a new era. Whether virtual, in-person, or hybrid, it leverages data-driven insights to drive audiences to action. In doing so, it has become the premier events company by investing in new technologies.

The Situation

Pandemic Underscores the Importance of Supply Chain Transformation

The pandemic put many digital transformation initiatives into overdrive — compressing what would have taken years to accomplish in months. Outside of helping companies thrive in an uncertain economy, digital transformation initiatives also enable companies to attain a competitive advantage, stability, and compounded growth.

This was the case for a leading events logistics company after experiencing several hardships brought on by the pandemic. This company saw an opportunity amidst the crisis and decided to invest in its future by initiating a digital transformation —starting with its supply chain.

Why? Without a strong supply chain, serving clients and keeping operations humming at the right pace would be impossible. It was also one of the fastest levers it could pull to drive growth. And here’s why.

Current warehouse logistic processes were outdated.Instead of automation, the company relied on manual processes. Without real-time data, it impacted the company’s ability to forecast demand and current usage of its products. So the first thing it did was modernize their workflows by investing in SAP SRM(Supplier Relationship Management), a market leader in software systems.

Through the software’s automation capabilities, the company could streamline its inventory management, invoice and purchase order creation processes, and bid and supplier management.

But that’s not all. The company also realized that purchasing a new tool isn’t as easy as plug-and-play. To ensure it was correctly implemented and adopted across the organization, it would need a program manager to ensure its execution. One that could:

• Own and execute the integration

• Manage key stakeholders

• Provide guidance to teams

• Mitigate and manage risks

• Develop presentations/slides

The Solution

An Experienced Program Management Expert Leads the Transformation

How do you find an expert with a niche skill? That was the question the company sought to answer. After conducting market research, it engaged an account executive (AE) on Graphite. The breadth ofGraphite’s expert network and white-glove service stood out.

After speaking to the company, the AE set out to find the right program manager for the project. Over 445profiles with relevant ERP modernization experience were presented via the platform. The AE then went a step further, narrowing down the list to four experts that fit the exact criteria the company was looking for.

Through the platform, the company was able to vet each expert before deciding to move forward with one candidate: a PMP-certified expert with experience working at global companies like PwC, Dell Technologies, and Accenture.

Results

A Supply Chain Transformation that Drives Results

The initiative was well underway when the independent program management expert joined the project. That’s because the company had an expedited timeline for executing the initiative.

Because the company has never undertaken an initiative of this magnitude, the project was at risk of meeting the timeline within the specified budget range. Knowing how important this project was to the company, the program manager set out to do what they knew best — bringing key stakeholders together by aligning around project goals and budget limits.

Having noted the lack of a centralized knowledge center, the independent expert started by quickly conducting stakeholder interviews, managing teams, and building presentations. In the long run, the company recognized that this initial quick thinking to revisit initially identified goals helped the company save time and money.

The result? The company not only executed the design phase at the time it had set, but it also had a new regional logistics model under its belt. Now all supply chain activities are automated and easily manageable under one platform. And that’s not all. Graphite worked with the company and the independent program manager every step of the way. Regular check-ins were conducted at key milestones of the project to ensure that both the expert and the company were on track and on the same page.

Given how easy it was to manage the program manager on the platform, the company decided to extend the project after the success of the first phase. Together, the company and program manager are collaborating to ensure the successful launch of the SAP WMS instance.

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