IT Business Consultants are embedded within the business units and are continually working with their counterparts to evaluate the strategy for their units, and make modification to the IT roadmap as necessary. On an annual basis, the business consultants confer with their business stakeholders to determine the projects for the coming year and to identify the priority of the projects. Once all the requests have been identified, a recommendation is made to the Executive Board based on the anticipated benefits. The recommendation is evaluated in the context of the overall business goals and budgets, and changes are made accordingly. In order to facilitate quick decision making across the company, Ahold USA instituted a tiered governance structure, from a cross section of the business, to make decisions at lower levels in the company, up to the Executive Board, which makes the more strategic decisions. As IT is now viewed as an integral part of the business, there is a governance group that is dedicated to reviewing and managing the IT roadmap. The group meets regularly to review all aspects of the roadmap. As business goals change, there may be a need to re-prioritize or trade off certain initiatives in favor of other projects. Each project is evaluated on its own merit. The decision of what project comes off and what comes on is based on each project’s business value.

STEERING TECHNOLOGY

The most important piece of advice I can give is to take care of your employees by making sure they feel supported and have good opportunities for growth. IT is a generic function regardless of the industry which it is supporting. The skill sets, however, are very different from those of the rest of the organization. As such the career ladders and development requirements are different. One cannot apply the same skills and career ladders to IT as the rest of the organization. At Ahold USA, we have developed a special career framework that is focused on developing technical skills and capabilities, in addition to the traditional career paths. It allows for job rotations and helps retain talent by allowing associates, who are technically inclined, to grow their capabilities and careers without the management responsibilities found in traditional career paths. In an environment where the next generation workforce is looking for diversity, flexibility and quick growth in their careers, career paths like those established here help attract new talent. In addition to focusing on technical skills, there is a heavy emphasis on driving a performance culture. For example, as with many other companies, Ahold USA partnered with third party providers to outsource certain aspects of its IT operations. In this new way of working, the IT associates function as ‘general contractors’ to the business units and are accountable for the delivery of projects. The suppliers function as ‘subcontractors’ and are responsible for the delivery of their pieces of the project. Project success or failure ultimately rolls up to the IT associate in charge of the project. As a result, we have had to develop new skill sets within the IT team, to be able to effectively operate in this way of working.

Ahold is a world-leading food retailer with 6,500 stores worldwide and 3,75,000 people, serving 50 million satisfied customers a week. Ahold Delhaize’s companies in the U.S. include some of the country’s most established and best known supermarkets, along with some of its most innovative and successful online grocers.