Building engineering partnerships that truly add value

Retailers are rightly very discerning when it comes to engaging with professional services partners.

Access to the relevant skills and a deep understanding of the retail sector should be the primary criteria when selecting a partner. It’s these factors that underpin the successful partnerships; the ones that ensure the outcomes deliver value for retailers and - in turn - to their consumers.

At the heart of the relationship with a Professional Services partners for Engineering is access to the relevant skillsets.

There’s undoubtedly a greater need for more multi-skilled teams involved in projects with retail clients than previously required. It’s no longer about just having developers. Today’s retailers need access to a broad range of skills – with engineers that provide expertise in a range of specialisms, from architects and designers to full stack developers, testers, automation and deployment skills.

Retailers are looking for skillsets not just for today but also for the future. In a multi-year partnership, a retailer might require a team that augments with their in-house team. Alternatively, engineering specialists must also be able to deliver a separate workstream alongside in-house activity.

Today’s demands of the CIOs & CTOs are certainly not going to be the same next year, or even next week for that matter.

Flexibility boosts client capabilities

Retailers are demanding flexibility in the provision of engineering services. It could be the case that a client engages a team of six engineers, but some months later requires an extra tester to be added, while a developer is taken off. It’s important that the service provision can flex to accommodate such changes. Also, to rapidly scale-up teams, avoiding the needs to go out into the market looking for extra engineers.

At PMC for a major UK transport agency, by way of an example, we initially put in just three people nine years ago, and now the number stands at 60 people spread across the UK and India, who are involved in various projects and services.

For PMC customers, our operating model of IT specialists in both India and the UK eliminates the skills-sourcing challenges of cost - and sometimes scarcity – faced by retailers.

Our customers value our commercial model, which makes it easy for them to budget projects.

A customer might agree to spend a fixed amount over three years but over this time they can flex up or down the resources and skills they require. There could be a team of 10 assigned to a three-year contract but additional resources for an extra project can quickly be made available, giving them 20 engineers for a six-month period.