Pleasance House Consulting - Retail
Systems Consultancy
Pleasance House Consulting has a wealth of experience "on both sides of the fence", having worked for a retailer and a software house for over a decade each. It is therefore very well qualified to work on retail systems development projects for:
- Retailers who are
reviewing current systems
- Retailers who are initiating
a new retail systems project
- Retailers who
temporarily require high-level resource to manage an in-house development
- Retailers who
temporarily require resources to implement a package solution
- Software houses that
temporarily require extra design expertise and/or implementation resource
- Other consultancies or
systems integrators that require additional resource on a specific project
The work that PHC can undertake for each of these possible client types is:
- 1. A review of existing
retail systems that will certainly not take longer than one week. The
deliverable is a report that will detail:
o
Particular strengths
that exist
o
Weaknesses that
represent the greatest risks
o
The likely longevity of
hardware and software currently in use
o
The ability of support
staff, suppliers and others to guarantee continuous operation of existing
systems
o
Tactical suggestions to
gain maximum competitive advantage at the lowest cost in the short to medium
term
o
A clear statement of
long term direction designed to drive down costs and improve efficiency
- 2. PHC can
provide an assortment of required skills on either a part-time or
full-time basis throughout a project
o
Overall project
management
o
User group liaison
o
Business systems
analysis
o
Business process
re-engineering
o
Feasibility studies
o
Systems integration
expertise
o
Analysis and design
o
Project documentation
- 3. Particular
skills and expertise are required when major development work is
undertaken in-house:
o
Team-building, setting
achievable goals and objectives
o
Designing the
development environment
o
System Testing
o
Documentation
o
Arranging support
- 4. Implementing
a package presents other problems that have to be overcome:
o
Working with users
to select the best solution for the business
o
Performing a gap
analysis
o
Prioritising
required amendments
o
Designing the
complete business system
o
Specifying changes
o
Working with
suppliers to control costs
o
Managing the
implementation
- 5. Working for
a software house on design or implementation requires additional special
skills:
o
Bespoke design can be
tailored exactly to a single customer's requirements but package design
requires extensive retail industry knowledge as it must be suitable for the
entire target market
o
It is all too easy to
let implementation costs run away. Customer expectations must be set and
managed. Change control procedures must be put in place.
o
It is also all too
easy to compromise a system by loading it with rubbish from legacy systems.
Comprehensive data manipulation skills are essential to cut timescales without
cutting corners
- 6. Being able
to contribute to a joint project effectively requires:
o
Ready acceptance by
peers
o
A reputation for
excellence
o
Commercial awareness
o
A desire to get the
job done
o
Flexibility,
particularly in commercial aspects
To check out the costs of the consultancy services on offer click here.
