You Want Me To Manage 500 Projects? What Planet Are You From?
Written by Todd L. MichaudAugust 26th, 2009
When the CIO of a large national retail chain launches a chain-wide technology rollout, it can be a huge project, but it comes with a tiny number of comforts. IT can craft one plan and insist that every store follow it precisely. IT can also expect some steep cost savings, leveraging the efficiency of volume purchases. Alas, franchise IT directors have a very different experience.
A 500-store franchise chain, for example, could easily have to indulge more than 50 different POS configurations, given various owner demands. Each location is likely to have it’s own nuances and, in a franchise environment, each store will likely have different needs than the rest. So what do you do when you have 500 locations that each have their own needs? You need to think of the rollout as more like 500 little project plans. Asks Franchisee Columnist Todd Michaud: Now doesn’t that sound like fun?
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Our Comment SPAM system is getting very aggressive these days and has been blocking legitimate comments. If you post a comment and don't see it appear within 2 hours or so, can you please send a heads-up to customer-service@storefrontbacktalk.com? Ideally, please include the time you posted the comment. That will allow us to try and hunt for it. Thanks! P.S. We're working on fixing the system, but we don't want to lose any valuable comments in the meantime.
I have strong reservations about the 'individual' certification and posting of that information for merchants. Can you imagine the potential employee poaching that might occur? The implications when competitors can look up how many are certified with each of their competitors? 
-Christine
