PE-backed aviation group · Aviation and MRO · 2021–2023
Interim CIO: ERP, BI, and CRM delivered in parallel
Interim CIO, project lead for ERP and CRM, responsible for BI
- 3
- programs led in parallel: ERP, BI, and CRM
- 1
- mandate: CIO, project leadership, and BI in one hand
- Starting point
- An aviation group with an airline and its own maintenance organization needed to professionalize its entire system landscape, and fast. The business was growing, the investor’s timeline was tight, and IT had not kept pace. Three initiatives had to run at the same time without disrupting flight operations or maintenance.
- Approach
- As CIO, I led three programs in parallel: sales reporting on Power BI for the sale of air ambulance flights, AMOS as the ERP for maintenance operations, and a CRM for the entire group. Each initiative had different stakeholders, different timelines, and a different level of organizational maturity. I managed sequencing, dependencies, and change management across all three.
- Result
- For the first time, sales could see pipeline and closed deals in real time. Maintenance works in a structured ERP instead of relying on manual work. The CRM gives the group a shared view of the customers of both companies.
What I take away from it
Parallel technology programs in an operation that cannot stand still need more than project management. You have to understand the business well enough to make the right calls under time pressure: which initiative waits, which goes first, and which dependency you consciously accept.
How I lead implementations of this kind is described under ERP and BI Project Leadership.