The organization's merchandising system ran on a custom-built platform from the 1990s, and it had a hard technical ceiling: once store count hit four digits, the system could support no more. With the organization already at 921 of a 999-store maximum, and real growth ambitions ahead of it, replacing the system had become urgent rather than optional. The initiative had already stalled once, as turnover in project management, program management, and business analysis roles, on both the organization's side and its outside systems implementer's side, brought the work to a halt before we were engaged. The organization needed one of the largest efforts it had ever undertaken back on track, at the same time it was asking thousands of employees to trust a completely different system than the one they'd used for decades.
How a stalled ERP program restarted, delivered, and removed a hard growth ceiling.
This regional tire and automotive retailer was closing in on a hard technical ceiling built into a decades-old merchandising system, and the effort to replace it had already stalled once. We restarted the initiative, delivered it in two disciplined releases, and cut over every store without a single disruption to the business.
Engagement at-a-glance
Project & Program Delivery
Enterprise System Implementation
The system wasn't broken. It just couldn't grow past nine hundred and ninety-nine stores.
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A system approaching a hard technical ceiling
The legacy platform had a literal numeric limit of 999 stores. With the organization already at 921, the runway before the system simply stopped working was closing fast.
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An initiative stalled by turnover on both sides of the table
Turnover in project management, program management, and business analysis roles, at the organization and at its outside systems implementer, had already brought the effort to a halt once before this engagement began.
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A two-to-three generation technology leap with no shortcut
Moving directly from a 1990s mainframe-era system to a modern cloud platform meant a completely different architecture and interface, not an incremental upgrade old processes could simply carry over into.
Splitting a two-generation technology leap into two disciplined releases.
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1
Restarted a stalled initiative and gave the business a voice in a technical-led effort
Advocated for business stakeholders inside an initiative that had been driven primarily by the outside systems implementer, rebuilding the visibility and structure that turnover had stripped away.
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2
Converted foundational data in Release 1
Led the first release's data conversion work, moving data from the legacy system into the new platform and stabilizing execution enough to deliver Release 1 with minimal impact to the business.
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3
Designed transactional processes & tested in sequence for Release 2
Worked through discovery, solution design, and a sequence of functional, integration, and user acceptance testing to translate legacy processes into how the new cloud platform actually needed to operate.
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4
Managed the final data cutover during store downtime
Executed the cutover on a strict timeline during off-hours, with a rollback plan ready in case the deadline was missed, so no store opened the next day without pricing data behind it.
A generational technology leap completed without a single day of disrupted business.
Restarted an effort that had already stalled once
Rebuilt the structure and visibility turnover had stripped away, stabilizing execution enough to deliver Release 1 with minimal impact to the business.
Removed the store-count ceiling blocking future growth
Replaced a legacy system with a hard 999-store limit with a modern platform that removed the technical block on the organization's growth plans.
Strengthened communication between the business, technology teams, and the outside implementer
Created a work execution structure, built on the organization's existing tools, that brought visibility to planning and in-progress work across every party involved.
Executed the cutover without a rollback or a missed store opening
Ran the final data cutover on a strict timeline during store downtime, with every location open and pricing accurate the next morning.
Results that reflect the work behind them.
5
Dedicated consultants deployed to stabilize the program alongside internal teams and third-party implementers
18 month
Program delivered on budget and one month off its original go-live date.
2
Technical releases structured to isolate foundational data conversion from live transactional process design
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