Group IT Consultant - 1997-2000

Adare Printing Group are a leading supplier of business communication services to financial and other business organizations, providing data handling services (especially for marketing data) print management, direct mail marketing and facilities management, with interfaces to the clients’ internal systems.

Originally retained to lead a team carrying out a complete systems-based Business Process Re-engineering exercise after a recent takeover, and to project manage replacement of the existing financial and accounts systems (subsequently carried out two further due diligence exercises for successful takeovers by the Group). Team consisted of consultants from Ernst & Young and O’Connor and used the Ernst & Young Focused Business Improvement methodology backed up by the CASEwise family of business modelling tools designed to integrate business process and simulation with data analysis.

Role was then extended to cover a programme of business change projects for the other companies in the Group, promoting the uses and benefits of IT across the Group, using business modelling techniques to derive current business models and then carry out the change to future models dictated by industry change and changes in the structure of the Group. Carried out analysis, project management and consultancy on a variety of process improvement and business restructuring programmes for the Group, including project managing and installation of new financial and accounts systems for several subsidiaries and a one year programme to web-enable the Group’s subsidiaries including structural and business process change to accommodate the new business model. This programme required the creation and management of an “e-business group” comprising MDs, FDs and “e-business champions” in all subsidiaries.

Worked on changing the business models within the Group and at subsidiary level using IT/IS and, latterly, Internet technology as the lever. This involved a project to devise an Internet, Intranet and Extranet strategy to secure the Group’s supply chain and provide advanced on-line ordering, with provision of an Internet e-commerce front end covering 17 companies and with necessary dovetailing into back-end systems.  For this I made use of the e-business group: I did not have executive authority over these subsidiaries but worked by persuasion and the demonstration of the benefits that would accrue to the subsidiaries from process change.

Devised and implemented strategies and models for Customer Information System and Customer Relationship Management solutions for financial institutions served by the Group. Managed the implementation of ERP/MIS, warehousing and logistics strategy and selected systems to run on Intel, Unix and AS/400 platforms using SQL Server databases. Some involvement with Oracle 8i database. Dovetailed e-business front ends into back office systems.

During this time David worked with the Group’s Finance Director and the Financial Controllers of the individual companies on the financial feasibility of the various projects.

Project Manager
Programme Manager
Business Analyst
Consultant
Change Manager