Chris Allmond, DS Smith’s UK head of asset management, said: “This was a step change for us. Our business is packaging innovation, so we didn’t have the internal resource or skillset to do the training ourselves. But, just as importantly, investing in professional training by experts would show users that this was serious.”
Optimum’s brief was to train / re-train three audience groups – 270 frontline managers, engineers, and engineering managers and planners – on existing and also some new SPM functionality. Following a Rapidscope® exercise to define who needed training in what, when and how, there was an intensive development phase, including five days of knowledge transfer with Optimum’s consultants.
Dean Leivers, DS Smith’s SAP plant maintenance application specialist, said: “Their professionalism and systems knowledge really stood out. We had very specific needs, which they understood very quickly and created exactly the right training package for us.”
Optimum designed a basic introduction to SPM along with three courses, one for each specific audience. Covid-19 restrictions meant that the training had to be delivered remotely to users at each of the 14 sites. The pandemic brought additional complications as DS Smith encountered difficulties in sourcing and installing the hardware to carry out the training.
Shannon Norman, DS Smith’s training project implementation lead, noted: “We had to keep revising plans and rescheduling but nothing fazed Optimum. They were always flexible and positive, rose to any challenge and got everything done.”
Optimum’s brief was also to create a suite of materials that could be referred back to for refresher training and for new joiners. The deliverables ranged from a PowerPoint presentation available on SharePoint, to a recording of each course, videos, quick cards for key processes / light users and a detailed reference guide. In addition, Optimum produced trainer packs to give key users at each site the skills to support and mentor colleagues and to train new joiners.
The SPM training had an 88% attendance rating and feedback across the sites was positive. To measure the success of the project DS Smith will track how the system is being used group wide on an ongoing basis.
Allmond concluded: “We wanted a training specialist and a set of professional materials to go forward with. Optimum had the knowledge and the resources to deliver for us.”
