Copyr i g ht 2016, SAS Ins titut e Inc. All rights res er ve d. BUILDING A BUSINESS JUSTIFICATION

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1 Copyr i g ht 2016, SAS Ins titut e Inc. All rights res er ve d. BUILDING A BUSINESS JUSTIFICATION

2 PRESENTER Scott Sanders Director, Financial and Assortment Planning Support Sears Holdings Copyr i g ht 2016, SAS Ins titut e Inc. All rights res er ve d.

3 Building a Business Justification Scott Sanders Director of Planning Systems, Sears Holdings Thursday, February 25, 2016

4 ABOUT ME Director of Financial and Assortment Planning Support for Sears Holdings (Sears, Kmart & Lands End) Currently leads a team responsible for the user support as well as the technical, reporting and process solutions for the Financial, Assortment, Size Pack Optimization & Analytic applications In my 28 years at Sears, I have worked in the stores, in IT and in business support with a primary focus on Planning Systems; design, implementation, integration, training, adoption and support

5 Sears Holdings Corporation is a leading integrated retailer with full-line and specialty retail stores in the United States and Canada and the Home of Shop Your Way, a social shopping experience The leading home appliance retailer as well as a leader in tools, lawn and garden, fitness equipment and automotive repair and maintenance Key proprietary brands include Kenmore, Craftsman and DieHard, Lands' End, Jaclyn Smith and Joe Boxer, as well as Sofia by Sofia Vergara The nation's largest provider of home services, with more than 14 million service and installation calls made annually Recently named Mobile Retailer of the Year Recipient of the ENERGY STAR " Partner of the Year - Sustained Excellence Award" Named one of the Top 20 Best Places to Work for Recent Grads

6 So, what are we talking about? At last you found it, the perfect software solution to meet the demands of your business. Now, how do you convince your company and its leaders to spend the money to bring it in-house and reap the business benefit? How do you build a compelling business justification? How should you think-through, communicate, and overcome this common business roadblock? Look what I found in the dumpster! A perfectly good business justification! * Author unknown

7 Shall We Play a Game? Building a Business Justification The Game

8 BUILDING A BUSINESS JUSTIFICATION What s the Gap? Possible Solutions Prove The Value Confirm Assumptions Find Collaborators Whammy! Building a Business Justification The Game Your Story Bring it Home Misstep Gain Alignment The Audience is? Spread the Word

9 BUILDING A BUSINESS JUSTIFICATION What s the Gap? Possible Solutions Prove The Value Confirm Assumptions Find Collaborators Whammy! Building a Business Justification The Game Your Story Bring it Home Misstep Gain Alignment The Audience is? Spread the Word

10 FIRST THINGS FIRST, BUT NOT NECESSARILY IN THAT ORDER Rules - How to play the game How this begins This process often starts off informally Sometimes this process will begin before you realize it has started Your leadership gives you direction Don t look now, but you might see something at SGF What I outline is likely much of what you do already

11 BUILDING A BUSINESS JUSTIFICATION What s the Gap? Possible Solutions Prove The Value Confirm Assumptions Find Collaborators Whammy! Building a Business Justification The Game Your Story Bring it Home Misstep Gain Alignment The Audience is? Spread the Word

12 WHAT ARE YOU REALLY TRYING TO SOLVE? Here is where you really begin Understanding the business or technical gap -OR- is there something that can just be done better What is the cause? The root cause? Can this challenge be solved with a change in Process? Behavior? Ownership? Hardware / Horsepower If these questions can not be answered with quick, in-house solutions, then What s the Gap?

13 BUILDING A BUSINESS JUSTIFICATION What s the Gap? Possible Solutions Prove The Value Confirm Assumptions Find Collaborators Whammy! Building a Business Justification The Game Your Story Bring it Home Misstep Gain Alignment The Audience is? Spread the Word

14 WHAT ARE ALL POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS? Now that you completely understand the issue, the next step is to outline all possible solutions, no matter how outlandish or unlikely Add manpower? Building a solution internally? Commercial solutions available in this space? Compile all your options Research and define the likely costs, timelines, risks and level of favorability with the outcome Even if your choice seems clear understand ALL your options Possible Solutions

15 BUILDING A BUSINESS JUSTIFICATION What s the Gap? Possible Solutions Prove The Value Confirm Assumptions Find Collaborators Whammy! Building a Business Justification The Game Your Story Bring it Home Misstep Gain Alignment The Audience is? Spread the Word

16 IDENTIFY THE SOLUTION AND UNDERSTAND ITS VALUE Settle on your choice (don t throw out the runners-up) Determine the value this choice will provide Increase productivity? Decrease markdowns? Speed to market? Reduce costs? Remediate legacy systems? Mitigate un-suportability or technical risks? Relevancy Uncover the warts If you don t they will Prove The Value

17 BUILDING A BUSINESS JUSTIFICATION What s the Gap? Possible Solutions Prove The Value Confirm Assumptions Find Collaborators Whammy! Building a Business Justification The Game Your Story Bring it Home Misstep Gain Alignment The Audience is? Spread the Word

18 VALIDATE YOUR ASSUMPTIONS Your reasoning is now taking shape Your course seems clear Before you take your new proposal out for a drive validate/review your assumptions and thinking Validate your financials with finance Consult with counterparts outside your company or vertical Place a conservative value on the benefit, but don t sandbag What are the true risks Reach out to the industry experts - Software consultants Scope is aligned with your benefits Industry benchmarks Time to test the waters Confirm Assumptions

19 BUILDING A BUSINESS JUSTIFICATION What s the Gap? Possible Solutions Prove The Value Confirm Assumptions Find Collaborators Whammy! Building a Business Justification The Game Your Story Bring it Home Misstep Gain Alignment The Audience is? Spread the Word

20 ASSEMBLE YOUR TEAM Find an executive sponsor Find business teams that believe in this vision Find a project manager There is safety and success in numbers You are looking for more than a short term commitment you are looking for partners Start to establish trust Find Collaborators

21 BUILDING A BUSINESS JUSTIFICATION What s the Gap? Possible Solutions Prove The Value Confirm Assumptions Find Collaborators Whammy! Building a Business Justification The Game Your Story Bring it Home Misstep Gain Alignment The Audience is? Spread the Word

22 NO ONE EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION Whammy! Note: To be avoided, but to be expected

23 EXPECT SETBACKS Whammy! Understand your corporate landscape and the common pitfalls Confer with others who have been through this process Be your own devils advocate Learn from your difficulties

24 GO BACK TO START OR USE YOUR GET OUT OF JAIL FREE How you handle your issues will decide whether the game is over Here is where your hard won trust comes into play Whammy! Make Another Move

25 BUILDING A BUSINESS JUSTIFICATION What s the Gap? Possible Solutions Prove The Value Confirm Assumptions Find Collaborators Whammy! Building a Business Justification The Game Your Story Bring it Home Misstep Gain Alignment The Audience is? Spread the Word

26 COMPOSE AND PRACTICE TELLING YOUR STORY Create the long form (meeting room) and short form (elevator speech) story Practice telling it over and over Refine your delivery and your language Get to where you do not have to think about what to say and can concentrate on reading the room Your Story

27 BUILDING A BUSINESS JUSTIFICATION What s the Gap? Possible Solutions Prove The Value Confirm Assumptions Find Collaborators Whammy! Building a Business Justification The Game Your Story Bring it Home Misstep Gain Alignment The Audience is? Spread the Word

28 FRIENDS, ROMANS, COUNTRYMEN, LEND ME YOUR EARS Who What leaders hold the keys to approval? Who holds influence over those who hold the keys to approval? Enlighten IT they make a powerful partner How Get on their calendar One on One Get invited to a team meeting This is not a cappella - use all of your collaborators When Know when the budgeting process begins and ends Do not wait till the eleventh hour Spread the Word

29 BUILDING A BUSINESS JUSTIFICATION What s the Gap? Possible Solutions Prove The Value Confirm Assumptions Find Collaborators Whammy! Building a Business Justification The Game Your Story Bring it Home Misstep Gain Alignment The Audience is? Spread the Word

30 TAILOR YOUR STORY TO YOUR AUDIENCE The Audience is? If you are speaking to IT focus on If you are speaking to the end-users Technical benefits The positively impact the business result Integration Gains in productivity more focus on Legacy application remediation the job instead of the tool Reduced support Reduced data entry for IT it is integration, for the business it is not If you are speaking to Finance focus on The bottom line Not just next year, but long term having to double key

31 BUILDING A BUSINESS JUSTIFICATION What s the Gap? Possible Solutions Prove The Value Confirm Assumptions Find Collaborators Whammy! Building a Business Justification The Game Your Story Bring it Home Misstep Gain Alignment The Audience is? Spread the Word

32 ALL TOGETHER NOW Methods to get them on board Rational/Logical Presenting the facts and laying out an argument Gain Alignment Consultation Make them part of the solution and they become invested in the outcome Inspirational It is the right thing to do Partnership Make them see this project part of their strategic goals and in concert with other complimentary projects

33 BUILDING A BUSINESS JUSTIFICATION What s the Gap? Possible Solutions Prove The Value Confirm Assumptions Find Collaborators Whammy! Building a Business Justification The Game Your Story Bring it Home Misstep Gain Alignment The Audience is? Spread the Word

34 FOCUS ON THE FINISH Overcome last minute obstacles Consult and prepare CapCom/CapCon decks Negotiations Prepare timelines and potential go-live dates Ask for the sale I feel like this is something we should do, don t you agree? Bring it Home

35 BUILDING A BUSINESS JUSTIFICATION What s the Gap? Possible Solutions Prove The Value Confirm Assumptions Find Collaborators Whammy! Building a Business Justification The Game Your Story Bring it Home Misstep Gain Alignment The Audience is? Spread the Word

36 APPROVAL Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning. Winston Churchill

37 BUILDING A BUSINESS JUSTIFICATION What s the Gap? Possible Solutions Prove The Value Confirm Assumptions Find Collaborators Whammy! Building a Business Justification The Game Your Story Bring it Home Misstep Gain Alignment The Audience is? Spread the Word

38 THE END AND THE BEGINNING. Project Plan What s the Gap? Possible Budget Solutions Prove Resource The Value Plan Acquire Hardware Confirm Assumptions Install / Build Find Collaborators Whammy! Building Building a Business a new Application Justification The Game Test Your & Story Learn Bring it Home Deploy Misstep Fix Gain Open Alignment Issues The Audience Train is? Spread Build the Training Word

39 YOU SAY GOODBYE, AND I SAY HELLO Now the Hard Part Now that you got it approved, the real work begins Buy it, build it, test it, train it, implement it and support it Ask for a big raise

40 SAS RETAIL USERS GROUP SRUG is open to all users in the retail and consumer packaged goods industry Join the online community: Next meeting will be held at SAS Global Forum April 20 th from 6:30-7:30pm

41 QUESTIONS?

42 Copyr i g ht 2016, SAS Ins titut e Inc. All rights res er ve d. Q&A PLEASE USE THE? TO SUBMIT QUESTIONS

43 THANK YOU! Copyr i g ht 2013, SAS Ins titut e Inc. All rights res er ve d. sas.com