Key challenges
Google were facing a number of challenges with their global data center facilities, such as:
End of Life: Google’s data center facility assets had reached end of life and the end of their warranty period, hence needed to be upgraded.
Decentralized procurement: The existing procurement process of the asset upgrade for the 180 Google Data Centre locations globally had been disrupted.
Limited visibility: Bottlenecks with new asset supply had caused a delay in upgrading programs.
High number of suppliers: Causing minimal control of cost and constant price escalations.
Lack of talent: Absence of a program team and suppliers that could complete the programs globally.
Our approach
TMX worked with the client to:
Portfolio Asset Management Software: Developed and implemented a portfolio asset management software program to track the 180 Good Data Center upgrade programs.
Implement a PMO: Oversee the appointed program managers and track status and progress, whilst also involving the development of dashboarding and reporting modules.
End-to-end review: A thorough review of the security asset infrastructure supply chain, with a focus on procurement, supplier engagement, inventory planning, fulfillment, and delivery.
Implementation: Implemented an optimized security asset supply chain that can be used for other Google upgrade programs globally.
The results
TMX were able to deliver on a number of outcomes for Google, including:
- Market procurement and implementation of an asset management software solution customized to Google’s program requirements.
- Setup and development of a PMO structure, processes, and governance, as well as development of program reporting and dashboarding using automated reporting from Power BI and Smartsheet’s.
- Development of an optimized procurement and supply chain solution that involved the centralization of Google’s pre-purchased inventory, managed within a single third-party logistics supplier across 3 regions globally. This has reduced the bottleneck in asset supply and provides Google Program teams the visibility on assets availability to meet timelines.