Consider supplementing your staff with additional project resources from RPE. Often it is assumed that outside resources are cost-prohibitive. For other consulting firms this can be true. With long-term planning, RPE demonstrates how to acquire the additional staff required without pushing budgets over the edge. One alternative is to establish a long-term relationship by interjecting resources periodically from our talent so resources are utilized only as needed.

RPE's Approach
A long-term relationship enhances RPE's knowledge of your business. You don't have to start from scratch on each project. Application and business process knowledge can be easily transferred between RPE associates when needed.

Think of RPE as the bench, where players sit on the sidelines waiting to go into the game. Bench time is free, staff is reduced and expenses are incurred only where needed. Contact RPE about establishing a long-term relationship. Identify potential projects now, for the near future and into the next fiscal year. RPE will work with you to create a master plan.

RPE resources have a variety of skill sets:

Retail Consultants typically address issues that are specific to retail in general or issues that do not necessarily tie to a particular vendor or application. They address business practices, process and procedures, software evaluation, selection and pre-project planning or advanced analysis of optimal methodologies and strategy.

Benefits. Our retail consultants provide key insights into retail processes, best practices and highlight potential problems. By working with many retailers, our consultants have a front-line view of the industry and common practices. As independent consultant, they often provide a more objective view.

Project Managers fulfill the traditional project management role for large and small scale projects. We can serve in project or team leader roles and work with internal or external staff. RPE implements its own project management methodology based on the System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) tailored for retail. We assume the leadership role and provide overall direction and guidance through the implementation based on prior experiences. RPE will manage from initial planning through post-implementation and the completion of the project.

Benefits. RPE recruits only senior level talent with retail expertise and a history of retail projects. Our experts can also work in a supporting role to supplement or assist existing staff on complex projects. RPE works with your staff to achieve goals. Our structured methodologies improve the process to ensure the highest quality. RPE is aware of the potential challenges of most projects, anticipates these impediments, plans for them and devises ways to avert unnecessary complications. RPE has been historically successful at keeping timelines intact and managing budgets according to plan.

Business Analysts conduct an in-depth examination of your company. They study, investigate, scrutinize and explore the inner workings of the organization and prepare detailed reports to help with the project. Using RPE resources can address very specific needs.

• Provide detailed processes and procedures or technical analysis of applications and data flow
• Audit functions, processes or data
• Business Processes, Organization & Systems
• Provide detailed audit trails for documentation purposes
• Functional or technical documentation including training manuals or business processes

Benefits. Documentation is often overlooked, highly constrained within a project and typically an afterthought. Yet documentation is a critical historical record, training manual or evidence within the context of change control. When working with applications, RPE can provide assurance as to the accuracy, reliability and therefore credibility of the software.

System Analysts supplement or augment existing resources. The staff is highly experienced, senior in tenure and offers a strong retail background. RPE resources do more than just code, but understand and specialize in retail application functions and detailed technical designs. Development resources are available within a wide variety of computer languages, databases, operating systems and hardware platforms. This includes:

• IBM iSeries (OS/400, DB2/400, RPG/ILE and CL)
• IBM pSeries or most other Unix platforms (AIX, Oracle, and SQL/Plus)
• Windows-based SQL Server (Visual Basic, .Net)

Benefits. RPE supplements your existing staff and addresses the overflow and backlog of projects to easily adapt to development standards of most vendors while providing a high degree of cohesion for source code.

Programmer/Analysts within our development staff have a multitude of computer language, databases, operating systems and hardware platforms. RPE works with your staff to achieve goals and become part of your team.

Benefits. RPE recruits only senior level talent with retail expertise. Our structured methodologies improve the process to ensure the highest quality. RPE has a time-tested track record for success and will provided references that will support our work.

Quality Assurance Analysts provide additional control over the processes and procedures of the company. Primarily, this is often employed during implementation of software or during projects, but this could be extended into many other areas. QA analysts observe, study, research, inspect and evaluate the processes and procedures of the organization and prepare detailed reports of their findings.

Benefits. Using RPE resources can provide some unique benefits and address very specific needs.

• Provide in-depth testing, including unit tests, acceptance tests, integration tests, stress tests and benchmarking
• Document functional and technical processes and procedures, technical analysis of applications and data flow
• Audit functions, processes or data
• Ensure transactions balance between systems, applications or modules.
• Ensure that applications, enhancements and updates will be installed and functioning correctly
• Provide direction on conversion items, data manipulation, menus, security and other issues that must be considered

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