Reser’s Fine Foods is a leading manufacturer of prepared foods, including salads, side dishes, desserts, and classic American comfort food. A third-generation family company, Reser’s employs 4,000 people at thirteen facilities in the United States and Mexico.
Situation
Recent large, business-driven technology investments have raised concerns with Management. There wasn’t always a clear value proposition, cross-functional alignment, or enough oversight to achieve objectives. The IS Department was being pulled in many different directions. Faced with the need to effectively support and enable business growth, Reser’s recognized the need to transition from a reactive, back-office approach to a forward-looking, holistic approach to technology.
Critical Issues
Reser’s needed a system to ensure all business technology investments delivered on:
- Strategic alignment of IS with the goals of the business
- Value delivery to users and customers
- Risk management of projects, technology, security and compliance
- Effective resource management
- Defined and measured business value
Solution
Reser’s worked with Marc Hallquist to develop a customized business technology governance program. Marc interviewed executives and key stakeholders to assess current state, needs, values and culture. Working with Reser’s management, he introduced new processes for project initiation, IT investment prioritization, oversight of the project portfolio, and ongoing performance monitoring.
Results
Reser’s now has the right people at the table with the authority to make decisions and armed with the right ongoing processes to ensure value delivery.