top of page

CGS Business Solutions

 

Elevating Enterprises through Strategic Digital Leadership:

Unleashing Business Transformation and Program Excellence on a Global Scale

About CGS BusinessSolutions

Colin is an experienced Digital and IT leader with a proven track record in Enterprise Architecture and technology strategy, with a thorough understanding of end-to-end supply chain and manufacturing processes. Expertise lies in the application of technology to solve real business problems, creating value at the enterprise level. Successfully led a range of high impact programmes, from multi-year ERP deployments to innovative POC’s, embracing mobile solutions, cloud and hybrid platforms, real time analytics and IOT. Comfortable with budget responsibility in the tens of millions.

My key skills include: 

Enterprise Architecture, Business Process Improvement, Business Transformation, Team Coaching and Development, Vendor Management, Business Case Development, IT Programme Leadership, Solution Architecture

Agile and Waterfall project methodologies, Business Partnering, Budgeting and Forecasting, Annual and long-range Business Planning   

Projects &Career Highlights

My career highlights as an accomplished digital and IT leader include orchestrating the development of an enterprise IoT strategy for Britvic Soft Drinks, a technical lead for a £30 million SAP project at Coca-Cola European Partners, and spearheading a transformative business capability assessment post-merger. My commitment to strategic vision and technical excellence consistently delivers success in complex IT projects.

 Led an initiative to define the enterprise IOT strategy for Britvic Soft Drinks, encompassing customer-facing and manufacturing scenarios.

Acted as lead architect to make the strategy real leading to a first deployment within 5 months and an ongoing programme to create value through real-time customer insights, demand sensing and manufacturing efficiency.

Enterprise IIOT Strategy - Britvic Soft Drinks - 2020

01

Following a 3-way multi-national corporate merger of a soft drinks giant, there was a need to baseline the new company’s business capability and maturity.

I led a comprehensive business capability assessment of the manufacturing and engineering function, including interviews with senior stakeholders representing 48 factories in 10 countries.

The initiative identified a range of value creating opportunities that will move the business towards a world class manufacturing operation.

Built and shared a roadmap highlighting the need for foundational investment followed by the introduction of value creating digital capabilities over 3-5 years.

The roadmap formed the basis of the annual and long-range business plans for the manufacturing function.

Business Transformation (Coca-Cola - 2016 

02

Accountable for the end-to-end solution design of a £30m 3-year investment to replace Coca-Cola European Partner’s ageing legacy supply chain platforms in the UK with an SAP centric solution.

I had responsibility for technical leadership, high-level integration design, system landscape management, infrastructure, testing strategy, cut-over management, and post-live design revisions.

The solution has around 2000 users and is running Coca-Cola’s UK business.

The solution stack includes SAP ECC, APO, EWM, Mii, BI, Transporeon, Ortec LEO, Salesforce, and iOS mobile apps.

Enterprise Architecture (Coca-Cola)

03

My Clients

My Approach

When you work with me on a new assignment, you can expect a client-centric approach that is tailored to your unique needs and challenges. I typically begin each project with a comprehensive assessment phase, where I delve into your organisation's objectives, existing architecture, and pain points. This analysis lays the foundation for a solution that aligns with your strategic goals. Collaboration is at the heart of my methodology; I work closely with your team to ensure their insights are integrated into the design process.

My approach is characterised by a commitment to innovation and adaptability. I stay up to date with technology trends and best practices to ensure your architecture not only meets your current needs but is also future-proofed for scalability and sustainability.

I provide regular updates and clear communication throughout the project's lifecycle.

Ultimately, my approach is guided by the principle that enterprise architecture is not just about technology; it's about empowering your organisation to thrive in an ever-changing business landscape. Together, we will chart a course for success, leveraging the power of architecture to drive efficiency, agility, and growth.

A proven track record 

Facts and Figures

Years of Experience

30

Application & platform knowledge

17

Contract renewal rate 

100%

Project lead

£30m

Testimonials

What my clients say

Over the years and in the multiple European countries I worked together with Colin, he demonstrated strong knowledge in IT solutions and architecture. His view on strategic developments were a strong contribution in improving business technology. This together with the strong skill to work with business partners in international environments, made him a key player to deliver the transition plans in time and in scope

Colin was my main client/counterpart on the CCE project while I was working at Capgemini. He was responsible for an extremely complex SAP implementation at CCE GB as a solution architect.
While working with Colin I was very impressed with his knowledge and understanding of both the business and IT. He demostrated deep end-to-end knowledge of the entire supply chain and was always able to pick up on and resolve integration issues that would otherwise be missed.
His approach to leadership allowed the team to get on with the job and implement an excellent solution. Colin relied on the expertise of his team in each of the domains allowing them to use their skills to design the best solution possible. His focus, on the other hand, was on integration to ensure that the solutions designed worked well together and supported the business.
It was a pleasure working with Colin and I would highly recommend him.

Colin has a huge expanse of knowledge within SAP and an overall manufacturing and supply chain appreciation based upon years of hands on and also IT management experience.
He has an ability to learn, appreciate and guide not only in his core area, but all around the system landscapes, be them legacy or within a To Be destination.
Having experienced working with Colin on global projects, I can personally recommend him based on a very proven track record of complex implementations and even more complex system decommissioning.
A true gentleman, trustworthy and to the detail.

Colin was my boss during my entire tenure at CCE. Colin is an absolute pleasure to work for. I loved his unique "hands-off" approach to managing people. This approach gave the PMs under him including myself confidence and the freedom to execute and deliver several key projects which helped lay the foundation to shape CCE's IT vision for years to come.

In addition to managing people, Colin's biggest forte was to understand the key business problems and propose solutions without any technology bias.
I always believed that this unique ability will stand him in good stead if Colin were to take up a management consulting role in future.

I highly recommend Colin for any senior IT leadership role in any organization where he can lend his wealth of experience in solving business problems that will help companies shape their strategy and vision

bottom of page