Grain exporting company IT systems projects

As a consultant for a now Big 4 accounting firm, Mr. White received an assignment to define requirements for a system to automate the then mostly manual systems of a $1 Billion plus grain exporting cooperative. This was a complex business due to hedging of grain purchases, rail transportation credits needing to be maintained for years to minimize shipping costs, and a number of other factors. The primary problem was the lack of an individual in the company who understood the overall information processing environment well.

Once Mr. White completed the engagement with this client, approximately 20,000 person hours of consulting was sold to other multi-billion dollar industry participants based on his understanding of the business.

The impact of systems projects to improve operations are not usually immediate, and sometimes unknown by the designer. In this case, Mr. White had the opportunity to visit with the management of one company five years after completion, and found dramatic results. The company had reduced its total staff by at least 40%, and had experienced significant internal efficiencies, and substantial volume growth through acquisition. It was the opinion of management that the system developed, had made them significantly more competitive, as well as cost efficient.

There are several factors that contributed to the success of the projects, including:

• Ability to respect, and communicate with, all levels in the organization
• Ability to combine broad perspective with detail orientation, to understand the place of the smallest detail in the overall design
• Understanding of accounting, transaction processing and IT systems technologies
• Ability to translate complex subjects into relevant, understandable communication to management as well as clerical and technical staff.