TMS implementation: a go-live without stopping the operation

Context

Replacing the system that runs the transportation operation of a food company is not a technology project: it is a simultaneous change of process, routine and third-party relationships. The scope reached around 70 employees directly and more than 100 carriers, each with its own way of working. A failure at go-live would show up as a truck standing still and an order not delivered.

My role

Change management lead for the initiative, from impact assessment to post go-live hypercare, sitting with project management as the voice of HR.

What I did

• Impact assessment by area and function, to know exactly who was changing what on the day after go-live.
• Stakeholder mapping and engagement, including the carriers, who are not employees and do not respond to internal announcements.
• Communication strategy and plan, with separate language for each affected audience.
• Design and delivery of the training plan for the teams involved.
• Readiness assessment before the switch, to decide with data rather than gut feel whether the operation was ready.
• Champion network setup and facilitation, which carried first-level support through the switch.
• Go-live support and hypercare tracking, with adoption metrics.