Ford Consumer eBusiness

Developed a PM system that doubled and redoubled the speed of website project delivery while maintaining effective control and cost.

The Client

One of the world's leading automotive manufacturers with sales of more than six million units and revenues exceeding $100 billion, employing 340,000 plus at sites all over the world, decided to tap the power of e-commerce as the centerpiece of its customerfocused market strategy. This meant redesigning its global web presence at Internet speed, and managing a portfolio of 15 programs with at least 40 individual websites - a huge undertaking that was successfully delivered using Microsoft Project 2000 and Microsoft Office to deploy portfolio management at the enterprise level.

The Challenge

"What business are we in? We're in the customer satisfaction business, pure and simple." That was the commitment and the challenge for Ford's Consumer eBusiness Group. The end goal was nothing less than global e-commerce dominance. Getting there was another story. E-business is a powerful tool that helps companies generate distinct branding and get close to the customer. To reap those benefits, a host of business partners had to be coordinated. This involved multiple divisional business units, each with their own creative agencies, web development teams, customer support groups, and dealer organizations'plus more than a quarter of a million employees at multiple sites around the globe. Ford also knew it had to leave 'brochure-ware' websites behind and let its customers choose vehicles, specify the options they wanted, and arrange financing online. Further complications included:

• The sheer size of websites'some were more than 100 pages long, and had to be revised and re-launched every three months
• Existing projects were being tracked using outdated tools that ranged from Excel spreadsheets to custom-drawn Visio charts
• Standard processes for new projects, tracking issues, and managing work were all but non-existent

Other key challenges included:

• Maintaining real-time cost control, including the ability to book cost by project
• Project work plans had to identify all known 'gives' and 'gets' required by each partner
• A high-level management view of all projects under development
• Consistent, repeatable processes to minimize new project initiation timeframes
• Ongoing communications between partners, project teams, and corporate customers

The Pcubed Solution

To ensure success, Ford's Consumer eBusiness Group selected world-class partners for strategy development, program management, software development and technology. To manage the partners and vendors interplay, Ford called on Pcubed'a Premier Microsoft Project Partner with a proven track record of innovative program management, to develop an Enterprise Management solution.

Pcubed's assignment was to double the speed of Ford's e-commerce implementation, and then double it again.

Pcubed divided Ford's overall effort into five major programs, all of which had to be delivered in a nine-month time frame. This was supported by the tracking and critical path analysis capabilities of Microsoft Project 2000.

Communication among business teams and partners was coordinated by a suite of web-based tools. Project work plans were developed to monitor progress and develop action plans to identify, manage, and minimize risks. In addition:

• Project management processes were defined and deployed to ensure consistency between projects
• An enterprise overview capability was developed in two stages to ensure that all critical development activities were included
• A Program Cost Management System was designed and integrated with Ford's purchasing activities

Key elements of the solution included:

• Reliable and consistent program execution
• Effective communication and vendor liaison
• Increased informed decision making
• Significant cost savings and reduction

This solution enabled Ford to double and redouble the speed of website project delivery while maintaining effective control. More than 85 projects were delivered on time and are now generating valuable business for Ford Motor Company.