Expertise :
Change Management/Consulting & Processes
Technological solution:
ptc flexplm, PLM
Business sector:
Retail and Mass Distribution
DIY
Project duration:
24 month
Day/man:
Team of 3 people – 1000 days
The projet
As part of its strategy to unify its brands and improve operational performance, Kingfisher sought to structure its product data management and optimize the use of its PLM across the group.
To address these challenges, the group called upon the experts at 💎Cristal Optimisations💎to audit existing practices, align business processes, and support teams in implementing a unified product repository.
Thanks to this approach, Kingfisher was able to strengthen collaboration among its international teams, improve data reliability, and significantly enhance the efficiency of its product development.
The contexte
As part of its growth strategy, Kingfisher aims to unify its private label brands (Castorama, Brico Dépôt, B&Q, etc.) to generate economies of scale and strengthen the consistency of its product offering across Europe.
However, despite implementing a PLM system, several major obstacles remain:
- Business processes still largely managed using Excel
- Fragmented and unreliable product data
- A lack of collaboration between teams (design, sourcing, development)
- Heterogeneous practices between countries and entities
- Difficulty in fully leveraging the PLM system’s capabilities
👉 Result: a loss of operational efficiency and an inability to achieve unification and performance objectives.
Faced with these critical challenges, Kingfisher called upon Cristal Optimisations to audit the situation, structure the processes, and support the transformation toward a high-performing and industrialized target model.
The mission
Cristal Optimisations supported Kingfisher throughout its transformation, acting as an interface between business operations, IT, and the group’s strategic objectives.
The intervention began with an analysis of existing practices, highlighting the gaps between business needs and the capabilities of the PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) system. This diagnostic enabled the structuring of workshops with business experts to redefine harmonized processes adapted to an international organization.
In a complex, multi-stakeholder environment, Cristal Optimisations played a key role in aligning teams and streamlining collaboration.
In concrete terms, the support provided included:
- Structuring and formalizing business requirements
- Facilitating workshops with various areas of expertise (design, sourcing, development)
- Aligning stakeholders internationally
- Supporting user acceptance testing (UAT) phases to ensure the solution’s security
- Preparing teams for new uses (training and adoption)
Finally, particular attention was paid to long-term adoption to guarantee effective and consistent use of the PLM system across the entire group.
The benefits
✔️ 30-40% time savings on data management
✔️ Significant improvement in product data quality
✔️ Enhanced collaboration between international teams
✔️ Adoption of PLM standards (lifecycle, sourcing, bills of materials)
✔️ Accelerated global deployment
Let's talk about your project
Kingfisher Group
I had the pleasure to work with Stephane GAILLARD in a large PLM Trasformation programme. His advise, experience, talent and dedication were absolutely crucial for a clear design and successful implementation of the PTC-Flex solution across a very complex client’s dispersed matrix global organisation.
Besides proving strong engagement management and PM skills, Stephane showed also great human touch, empathy and amazing soft skills all along the project and have been always a great support especially in the most delicate moments.
He demonstrated to be a real value added to me and the client. I would enjoy very much working with him again and I strongly recommend him.
