Labatt's knew they had good business processes. They also knew they had good programs and solid players. However, Labatt's were also well aware that gaining control of information was a critical element in understanding if these established business processes were actually working.. With millions of dollars in investment in multiple geographic areas and multiple channels it was important to know that process was being followed and programs weren't bumping into one another affecting the strategic plan.

The question posed by Management to the Marketing Department was: "What do we have planned for July". All of the information was there, and available, but it was fragmented in a variety of formats. How to pull all that information into a clear, consistent view for everyone, to make that information more meaningful to all stakeholders, and reduce redundant work effort was the task.

Labatt manages all of their advertising and promotional activities by brand. Each Brand Manager directs these activities and manages the budget for their brand and portfolio of brands. The existing system was highly fragmented using a variety of inconsistent Excel type formats and Word documents. This hampered the company's ability to manage work flow, timing and execution. As well, a substantial amount of repetitive and redundant work effort was required to meet the needs of various supporting stakeholders.

IDBT recommended an Internet based centric solution to manage all the information gathering, data-transfer, historical trend analysis and management reporting. In addition the system has evolved to include idea/concept creation and budgetary approval as well as execution performance. This system would also automate the workflow of the approval and detailed brief process and capture all stakeholder notifications and supporting stakeholder comments.

"It's all about 'Accountability and Ownership'. Who's responsible? How much is the investment? Where's it being spent and why? Is the investment aligned with our strategic plan? Is the initiative complex or is it simple to execute against? The Initiative Management System allows us to answer these questions up front prior to capital investment and / or human resource expenditure."

National Performance and Control Manager
Labatt Brewing Company Ltd.

Initial fact-finding meetings took place with all parties over a period of three months. A design plan was crafted and added / amended as the iterative process proceeded. A sign-off procedure was instituted and each step of the process was audited. Elapsed time for planning, design, testing and implementation was approximately one year. Labatt's has been live with the system for approximately one year during which further modifications and additions have taken place.

Labatt's report outstanding results with substantial improvements in workflow management, idea to in-market execution, approval's process, knowledge and human resource management, budget approvals, strategic plan compliance and portfolio balancing.

"Gaining control of information is a critical element of understanding if established business processes are actually working. This is particularly important when companies have numerous customer and consumer programs that account for millions of dollars in investment for the purpose of driving return. With all that activity in multiple geographic areas and multiple channels it's sometimes difficult to know if your business process is being followed or if programs are bumping into one another.

With the Initiative Management System we gain control of information by seeing everything that's planned, by brand, by region, by manager, by time frame, by channel. Most importantly we see planned investment and planned return of such activities."

National Performance and Control Manager
Labatt Brewing Company Limited