Valassis - Rescuing Programs Too Big to Fail
OPM Experts LLC played a pivotal role in Valassis' transformation, steering the largest target home-delivered print advertising company in the U.S. through a critical service delivery redesign and system integration. By conducting thorough assessments and implementing strategic management policies, OPM Experts ensured the program's on-time completion and established a sustainable project management capability in Valassis. Our efforts resulted in a robust PMO, backed by executive leadership, propelling Valassis forward with enhanced operational efficiency and a strengthened project management framework.
“OPM Experts are recognized experts in project management and particularly skilled in the areas of organizational project management maturity. They bring to the table years of experience having worked with companies and project offices of all shapes and sizes. I have known and worked with them since 2004, including their transformation of Valassis, and would highly recommend them to any organization seeking to understand and advance project management and organizational capabilities.”
A Project Management Office (PMO) ensures mission critical projects and programs succeed.
Challenge
Valassis is the largest target home-delivered print advertising company in the US, with revenues of nearly $1.2 billion and shared and solo advertising programs reaching on average 67 million households weekly. They had undertaken a large program to redesign their service delivery and implement an integrated system to automate processes. They wanted a PMO to govern the redesign program and to create a sustainable project management capability within the company.
Solution
OPM Experts performed an assessment of the organizations that comprised the redesign program including both in-house employees and vendors. The assessment was conducted rapidly through a series of one-on-one interviews in order to identify currenct project management processes, practices, and behaviors. As a result, new management policies were implemented and stop-gap measures were taken. The schedules of the projects of the program were replanned and integrated. Processes were documented emphasizing Integration Management, Scope Management, Time Management, Communications Management, and Risk Management. These were deployed through a PMO web portal. Status indicators were negotiated with executive sponsors, and performance was reported and forecasted weekly.
Results
With our help, Valassis successfully implemented its mission critical service redesign program on time. The PMO remained in place, and an executive was recruited to manage it going forward, continuing to build the company's sustainable project management capability.
Valassis has established itself as the leader of data-driven multi-channel media planning.