Successful software implementations require more than just great technology - they need expertise, best practices, and an understanding of the unique needs of different industries. At Intact, that’s where the Project Management Office’s (PMO) Centre of Excellence (CoE) comes in!
The CoE team acts as the quality control ‘engine’ behind our project delivery across three core verticals:
- Builders Merchants: The largest vertical Intact serves that has the most extensive breadth of businesses within it.
- Electrical Wholesalers: A growing industry sector that suits the functionality that Intact iQ provides.
- Wholesale Distribution: It's a crucial part of the supply chain, linking manufacturers and suppliers with businesses, contractors, retailers, and consumers. With expertise in industries like food and beverage, electrical and lighting, and tools and fixtures, we've developed a platform that ensures a perfect-fit solution for your needs.
With vast experience in each of these industries, the CoE team leads ensure that every Intact iQ implementation is tailored to meet the precise needs of businesses in the UK, Ireland and USA markets.
Now for the fun stuff...
Our CoE team leads go through 4 ‘design excellence checkpoints’ during a customer’s project life cycle. These checkpoints are to ensure customers avoid any unnecessary risks, rework, and difficulties during deployments.
The first checkpoint takes place following your discovery workshops. During these sessions, a consultant will have met with you to thoroughly understand your business processes. They will demonstrate iQ's standard functionality and map it to your processes, identifying any additional configurations needed.
1. After your initial discovery workshops: The CoE team do a crucial in-depth review of all your requirements. But we don't stop at just checking if the proposed iQ solution matches what was discussed. Our CoE leads lend their vertical expertise to analyse whether there are any potential gaps, oversights or areas where your processes could be improved and streamlined even further. We compare the specifications to current best practices and benchmark standards in that industry vertical. By using our CoE team's domain knowledge upfront, we ensure Intact iQ hits the ground running with a configuration that pushes you ahead of the curve in your industry, not just catches you up to it! Stuart Newman, Managing Director of Setra Wood Products attests to this approach on their own Intact iQ implementation:
“The beauty of when you go live with Intact - it was more about making sure that everything was set up in the right way from the start.”
2. Post Configuration: Checkpoint number 2. Any gaps, risks or inefficiencies are identified and resolved. This critical quality gate means you don’t need to worry about basic fixes or realignments during User Acceptance Testing (UAT). During UAT, you and your team can test the software in real-life scenarios, all within the safety of a test server. This attention to detail provides assurance that your system has been precisely configured to push your operations to the leading edge for your industry!
3. Full end to end run-through: Once all feedback from your User Acceptance Testing has been thoroughly reviewed and incorporated, your project reaches another critical checkpoint. At this stage, your lead consultant will walk you through every configured process from start to finish in a comprehensive end-to-end system test You can confidently launch knowing that your system has been expertly prepared by professionals with extensive experience in deploying solutions for your industry.
4. Pre-Go live: Last but not least, the CoE team conduct one final review to validate every initialisation check is complete. They work through a comprehensive go-live readiness checklist refined from hundreds of previous deployments across the vertical. No stone is left unturned to identify potential risks or gaps that could derail a smooth launch. However, we’re not leaving just yet. We remain involved to oversee the initial go-live period and incorporate any insights back into Intact's product development lifecycle. The CoE team analyses real-world data flows, process orchestrations and user experiences within each deployed instance to identify opportunities to make iQ even better tailored for your vertical.
Within the CoE team, we strive to be more than just software implementers - our aim is to become true partners with you. Our extensive knowledge of each industry vertical we work with allows us to tailor your implementation to smoothly align with your unique processes and requirements.
Reflecting on our implementation approach, Sam Herd, IT Manager at Specialist Tiling Supplies, provides insight into our collaborative process:
“Our initial close work with our Intact consultant really helped us to understand our business needs better. With them on-site, we were able to give them feedback as they built the system, making it more suited to our requirements. We also involved all our staff in testing which meant a smooth transition and it led to minimal changes afterwards. Overall, it was a great experience from start to finish.”
While delivering successful individual projects is our core focus, we also aspire to have a broader positive impact. The CoE team's deep industry insights help inform and guide the future roadmap for Intact iQ. This allows the product to continuously evolve to better address emerging needs across the verticals we serve.
Our aim is to deliver more than just exceptional project results; we strive to provide an innovative platform that is dedicated to shaping the future. We don't claim to have all the answers, but we will apply our sector expertise throughout our engagements to strive to make your implementation as seamless and value driven as possible. For any business looking to modernise with Intact iQ, the Centre of Excellence team provides invaluable assurance - your implementation will be in the hands of seasoned experts whose sole focus is delivering excellence!
I hope you found this blog article helpful and learned a little more about Intact’s Centre of Excellence and our approach to implementing ERP projects for our valued customers!
