PMC Retail – Invite a challenge mindset from your engineering partner
Building engineering partnerships that truly add value
Retailers are rightly very discerning when it comes to engaging with professional services partners.
Access to the relevant skills and a deep understanding of the retail sector are often the primary criteria when selecting a partner. It’s these factors that underpin the successful partnerships; the ones that ensure the outcomes deliver value for retailers and - in turn - to their consumers.
At the heart of the relationship with a technology services partners is access to the relevant skillsets.
There’s undoubtedly a greater need for more rounded teams involved in projects with retail clients than previously required. It’s no longer about having six Java developers.
Today’s retailers need access to a broad range of skills – with engineers that provide expertise in a range of specialisms, such as testing, web development, automation and technology architectures.
Retailers are looking for skillsets not just for today but also for the future. In a three or five year partnership, a retailer might require a team that integrates into their in-house team.
Alternatively, engineering specialists must also be able to deliver a separate work-stream alongside in-house activity.
Today’s demands of the CTO are certainly not going to be the same next year, or even next week for that matter.
Flexibility boosts client capabilities
Retailers are demanding flexibility in the provision of engineering services. It could be the case that a client buys a team of six engineers, but some months later might require an extra developer to be added, while a tester is taken off.
It’s important that the service provision can flex to accommodate such changes. Also, to rapidly scale-up teams, avoiding the needs to go out into the market looking for extra developers.
At PMC for a major UK transport agency, by way of an example, we initially put in just three people 9 years ago, and now the number stands at 60 people spread across the UK and India, who are involved in various projects and services.
For PMC customers, our operating model of IT specialists in both India and the UK eliminates the skills-sourcing challenges of cost - and sometimes scarcity – faced by retailers.
Our customers value our commercial model, which makes it easy for them to budget projects.
A customer might agree to spend a fixed amount over three years but over this time they can flex up or down the resources they require.
There could be a team of 10 assigned to a three-year contract but additional resources for an extra project can quickly be made available, giving them 20 engineers for a six-month period.
Ongoing engagement strengthens partnership
Monthly service reviews, project tracking and trend analysis are the bread and butter of engineering services provision.
True partnership also requires engagement and communication at all stages. Openness, honesty – and no surprises! Rather than simply delivering what’s asked for, expect your engineering partner to sometimes challenge the plan.
At PMC this might come from either our UK-based team or our engineers in India, and is possible because of the strong, trusted, and transparent partnership we build with our customers.
Our approach is one of shared success. It is very much about joint ownership of projects and ensuring the best outcomes can be delivered without any surprises along the way.
It’s not simply about implementing software to deliver a box ticking outcome but is based on thoroughly understanding a client’s business, its customer and operator journeys, and delivering an outcome that truly adds value to everyone involved.
If you’re not getting that from your current engineering partner, maybe give PMC a call!
About the author:
Steve Smart is Director of Professional Services at PMC Retail.
He has over two decades of experience in the IT Retail sector and uses his immense domain knowledge across the full project delivery lifecycle, from advising customers on IT strategic consultancy and selection processes to delivering highly skilled project and service capabilities in project management, business analysis, development, testing and automation arenas.
