CATEGORY CENTRALIZATION        (Learning Launch Tool)

Challenge & Selection     I work in a commercial department of one of the leading retail companies and to keep up  with the evolving markets, customer demands and expectations, digitalization, etc., using  Learning Launch Tool has become part of my life.   In order to increase stock availability, sales and footfall into our stores year on year, whilst  protecting the bottom line and profitability, as well as the limited budget and resources,  every new project is given a timeline and detailed critical path to keep the project  constructive and productive.   The last challenging project was linked to a particular category centralization (at that time  decentralized) and involved members of different internal departments and external  stakeholders, with the focus on implementation of centralization in 1 smaller regional  market within the 3 months. The purpose of Learning Launch is to get to the truth – identify  all internal and external challenges within the B2C workflow and the current ways of  working. The truth saves money, time and should the assumptions be correct, the benefits  for the category and the business would be substantial.    Application     The process started with the focus on the current ways of working, resources, processes,  systems, data and efficiency. Involving key stakeholders and decision makers of each  department/market, short structured meetings and surveys have been set up with clear  agenda to identify all the pros and cons, what’s available to us today and what’s not and  what would be the key elements to address, to overcome all potential block stopper. We’ve  set up a number of different teams and each team has been allocated specific tasks to  deliver within specific timeframe. All tasks have been reviewed and further challenged until  all the gaps have been clearly identified.   It was during this stage when it became evident that current ways of working, processes and  system constrains are the main challenges. Hence, we needed to create few workshops  during which all challenges were addressed, data quality and quantity has been reviewed  and in a collaborative way, new assumptions and solutions were identified.   The next step was to create a very clear critical path, prioritizing all the tasks, setting up new  processes and new ways of working (including training), with the aim to track / get detailed  visibility into the project and to deliver it within the given timeframe and budget.      Insight & Approach     Throughout the whole process, the top management were fully aware of all the  observations and assumptions that came out by applying Learning Launch tool, the  necessary steps that needed to be taken to meet the category / business needs. And rightly  so, on many occasions we were challenged back. By applying Learning Launch tool, no stone  should be left unturned.

The actual initial results and insights delivered further internal challenges, which we were  able to identify and solve within a very short time frame. And moving forward with the next  market centralization, we were able to incorporate them in the future planning process.   Learning Launch tool plays a significant role within our business or in any fast paste  environment. Reflect, Review, Incorporate. And as long as all the steps are followed,  reviewed and challenged and reviewed again, the future gains are unthinkable.


CATEGORY CENTRALIZATION ( Learning Launch Tool ) Challenge & Selection I work in a commercial department of one of the leading retail companies and to keep up with the evolving markets , customer demands and expectations , digitalization , etc . , using Learning Launch Tool has become part of my life . In order to increase stock availability , sales and footfall into our stores year on year , whilst protecting the bottom line and profitability , as well as the limited budget and resources , every new project is given a timeline and detailed critical path to keep the project constructive and productive . The last challenging project was linked to a particular category centralization ( at that time decentralized ) and involved members of different internal departments and external stakeholders , with the focus on implementation of centralization in 1 smaller regional market within the 3 months . The purpose of Learning Launch is to get to the truth – identify all internal and external challenges within the B2C workflow and the current ways of working . The truth saves money , time and should the assumptions be correct , the benefits for the category and the business would be substantial . Application The process started with the focus on the current ways of working , resources , processes , systems , data and efficiency . Involving key stakeholders and decision makers of each department / market , short structured meetings and surveys have been set up with clear agenda to identify all the pros and cons , what ’s available to us today and what ’s not and what would be the key elements to address , to overcome all potential block stopper . We ’ve set up a number of different teams and each team has been allocated specific tasks to deliver within specific timeframe . All tasks have been reviewed and further challenged until all the gaps have been clearly identified . It was during this stage when it became evident that current ways of working , processes and system constrains are the main challenges . Hence , we needed to create few workshops during which all challenges were addressed , data quality and quantity has been reviewed and in a collaborative way , new assumptions and solutions were identified . The next step was to create a very clear critical path , prioritizing all the tasks , setting up new processes and new ways of working ( including training ) , with the aim to track / get detailed visibility into the project and to deliver it within the given timeframe and budget . Insight & Approach Throughout the whole process , the top management were fully aware of all the observations and assumptions that came out by applying Learning Launch tool , the necessary steps that needed to be taken to meet the category / business needs . And rightly so , on many occasions we were challenged back . By applying Learning Launch tool , no stone should be left unturned . The actual initial results and insights delivered further internal challenges , which we were able to identify and solve within a very short time frame . And moving forward with the next market centralization , we were able to incorporate them in the future planning process . Learning Launch tool plays a significant role within our business or in any fast paste environment . Reflect , Review , Incorporate . And as long as all the steps are followed , reviewed and challenged and reviewed again , the future gains are unthinkable .