Milwaukee Electronics Corporation

Milwaukee Electronics Corporation (MEC) is a design engineering and contract electronics manufacturing firm with manufacturing locations in Wisconsin, Oregon, and Mexico. They offer production volume and have innovative online quick turn prototyping services through the Screaming Circuits strategic business unit.

Situation

With the unexpected departure of their long time IT Director, MEC turned to VIE to provide a part-time Chief Information Officer (CIO) to guide the company’s Systems, Development, and IT efforts.

Critical Issues

There was an acute need for leadership, vision, and a clear direction forward for technology services. Key issues included:

• Fractured leadership and direction for IT and Development
• Inadequately managed projects, services, and changes
• Excessive risk due to lack of compliance focus and direction

Solution

Marc Hallquist was engaged as Fractional CIO and quickly got to work on a transformation program for Systems and IT. He assessed the current situation, got up to speed on business strategy, and identified immediate course corrections. Marc created a Systems Strategy including organizational design, governance, and road mapping. He led the IT response to the Covid-19 pandemic. He recruited a new Director, negotiated sourcing for managed network services, and initiated new project and service management programs.

Results

As a result of completing this engagement:

1. Senior management is aligned in the right direction, and Systems efforts are aligned with company priorities
2. MEC successfully shifted eligible workers to work from home and remained operational and efficient during the pandemic
3. Systems/IT strategy, organization and processes are structured to meet future demands to scale the business and adapt to changing customer needs and market opportunities