ABSTRACT
The Information Technology division at Con-way Enterprise Services includes departments for each of the three business units, plus infrastructure, the web team, and desktop services. The senior IT executive made a proposal to his managers in early 2008, outlining a vision for change based on Lean principles of cost reduction, waste elimination, standardization, cycle time reduction, and improved quality. The IT managers collectively met in a workshop to discuss the vision and identify key concerns, risks, and alternatives. One of the greatest challenges any IT operation faces is how to demonstrate the value that IT brings to the business. Boards and IT investment committees are normally interested in aggregate value for money for IT investment, so it is easier to report investment at the rolled-up group hoshin level rather than as a project-by-project fragmented view. IT resource planning, loading, and balancing are made easier by aligning and prioritizing the “wish list” projects from the development pipeline with specific hoshin plans.
