CIO
Electrocomponents plc
Total years of experience :47 years, 6 Months
March 2010 - to date - Electrocomponents plc
(Market Cap £1.3B, Rev £1.3B, 69 Countries, 6600 employees)
Group CIO - member exec committee reporting to CEO
• Implemented single SAP instance globally to provide back office platform and market entry capability
• Created new digital systems architecture with front, middle and back offices driving pace and agility in the customer facing front office while delivering stability in the middle and back offices.
• Helped design and deliver systems to support organisational transition to global operating model and transformation from Catalogue to a Digital business
• Improved multi-channel capabilities (online business grown from 46% to 60%) through improved navigation, search, SEO and content.
• Introduced monthly ecommerce releases through agile methodologies for pace
• Leader providing direction, strategy and IT enablement through a 5 year period of globalisation from decentralised federalism to a single global entity. Critical success factor being the development of an IT strategy and operating model that delivered efficiency in the back office but flexibility in what remains a largely decentralised front office. This was achieved through a revised operating model that focussed on business engagement, world class planning, excellent execution, underpinned by revised governance and relevant KPI’s.
• 1200 FTE’s 800 contractors with annual budget of £350 Million operating in 183 countries (including annually repeatable savings of £50 million over a 5 year period from 2002 to 2007) .
• Developed strategy and business case for consolidation of 62 ERP systems (110 countries) to 6 which was successfully executed within 5 % of £78 Million budget (SAP) including both process and data standardisation. This has proven visionary as the platform existed to support the subsequent regionalisation efforts which were not planned at the time.
• Created global IT Services company (annual volume circa £170 Million) by consolidating services units out of each operating unit. Developed strategy and ‘sold in’ to business unit heads. Once transferred in, converted to highly leveraged outsourced entity by first consolidating and selectively outsourcing commodity components and exploiting labour arbitrage. Two external international awards for best mature shared services organisation in 2007. First Global line function in BAT
• Created global business engagement function (through Central, Regional, Area and Local deployment) to service business needs back into services for delivery. This function was designed to identify, shape and drive business transformation.
• Created change agenda and business case for development of global Trade marketing and sales and distribution solution with £150 Million deployment currently in progress.
• 300 Fte’s, 300 contractors with annual budget of US$ 100M
• Converted fragmented function into single line function, consolidated data centres, infrastructures and outsourced as appropriate. This success was then used to drive similar consolidations across other support functions.
• Successfully implemented new Field Order Management and Trade Marketing system enabling new and improved processes (and additional routes to market e.g. telesales and web ordering) for 2000 reps.
• Created a cross functional Business Information function that took responsibility for entire companies information needs.
• Downsizing and outsourcing initiatives cut headcount (with improved service) by 300 (half FTE and half contract).
• Sold in package approach and replaced 37 significant applications with SAP (US$ 40M project with outstanding payback). Used initiative to further standardise data and processes across multiple locations enabled by single shared system.
• Head of IT for most diverse BAT Region (87 Countries)
• 220 Staff, Annual Budget US $23 Million
• Established role and addressed most significant business issue facing the Region (product quality) by establishing MRP programme which took the Region from poorest in the Group to leader in Group in 3 years. In excess of £5 Million to bottom line in savings and product quality issue resolved.
• Regional infrastructures and information flows established in some of the most challenging countries in the world.
After the formation of ‘single’ global company there were a number of key priorities of which communication was key. No standards were in place (and everything was different) so, after successfully lobbying the Board and Regional directors implemented common email, desktops and infrastructures facilitating global communications while the rest of the company were thinking through how to operate (this included 183 countries).
Providing IT Services to Head Office of Tobacco and Financial Services Group.
Employed with initial brief to set up pan European dealer communication and systems in parallel with consolidation of mainframe systems to a single location in Europe. Good experience with no long term future
Number of positions held in IT and Finance which included the systems responsibility that delivered Shell’s financial consolidations and results. Also included the responsibility for the development and provision of mid range interactive decision support systems.