Gaea has four primary focus areas with a wide range of solutions in each:
As a full service solutions provider that provides a spectrum of services ranging from operational strategy to system implementation, Gaea employs its tried-and-tested implementation methodology for solution deployment.
B.R.I.D.G.E. Implementation Methodology
B.R.I.D.G.E. is a world class implementation methodology developed by Gaea that provides a flexible and responsive approach to solution design, prototyping and implementation of supply chain applications. BRIDGE was developed based on decades of experience architecting supply chain and portfolio management products and implementing cutting-edge solutions for customers across many industry verticals. It provides for a robust and proven framework to help our clients efficiently and rapidly implement and improve their business systems while mitigating risk.
The core philosophy of our Implementation Methodology encompasses:
Business Objective Identification
The first step is to understand the objectives of the project – strategic and operational. In other words, the project should not merely be about implementing and configuring a business system. That is simply a means to an end. The key question is what does the business hope to accomplish from the project? What problems are they trying to solve? What are the key metrics driving this? What should these be at the end of the project and are they realistic? This is the key part of any project that informs and drives all subsequent steps. A fallacy of many implementations is that sometimes the strategic objective gets lost in the forest of operational details. We believe that keeping the strategic objective firmly in sight while making operational decisions throughout the project is critical to a successful implementation.
Requirements & Business Process Analysis
Once the strategic and operational objectives are agreed upon, the next key phase is the gathering of requirements. We ensure that we talk to everybody who has a stake in the decisions being made, from high level management down to the workers on the floor. We help our clients analyze their current business processes, infrastructure and operations as it is our strong belief that comprehensive understanding of the starting point is critical in achieving the end objectives. We view this as a process of discovery not only for ourselves, but for our clients as well.
Improvement
This phase is focused on identifying, aligning and refining the different points of views from the disparate stake holders. We utilize this phase to identify legacy holdovers and customizations (both in terms of systems and processes) that may no longer be necessary, winnowing out requirements that are not in support of the ultimate objective. We use our decades of industry experience to help analyze existing business processes to validate whether these are best in class and suggest improvements where necessary.
Design & Development
Once there is agreement on objectives and requirements, we work closely with our clients to design an overall solution that meets the stated objectives. We develop an implementation framework that is realistic in time and size. We identify key milestones and ensure that there is buy-in from all stake holders. We develop plans and timelines for the implementation of systems and processes, testing, comprehensive training, data conversion, backup plans (fail-safes), and documentation. We identify any gaps in the solution and propose alternatives where necessary.
Gradual Transition
We believe in executing projects in distinct, bite sized phases in order to minimize impact to existing operations and to mitigate risk. Upon successful completion of each phase, we evaluate the results and ensure that there is a feedback loop to allow for continuous improvements.
Execution
The best plan in the world is only as good as its execution. Our pool of highly trained consultants plan and execute to well defined, realistic timelines, refining the process and project plans as necessary to account for ground realities. Once the project has been completed, we perform a post implementation audit to verify whether objectives have been met and to spot opportunities for further improvements and modifications.
