How do we define mastery?

We think about mastery as a three-legged stool.  If each leg is secure, we can claim “Mastery” in what we do.  It’s how we measure our overall success and the contribution of each staff member.

Knowledge of retail is the first leg.  Over the years, we have been involved in hundreds of successful projects for mid-sized retailers.  From these successes, we’ve acquired a deep knowledge of what retailers’ value and how they measure themselves.  We know the many challenges retailers face managing disparate supply chains and diverse inventories across multiple demand channels.

The second leg is our project management depth.  Mid-sized retailers rarely have dedicated project managers on staff.   They might assign project management to a colleague inexperienced in managing tech projects.  On top of that, this employee might retain his or her current responsibility.  Such an assignment ignores the high stakes of retail modernization and puts the project at risk.

Project management requires a rare blend of technical skills, organizational skills, and special training.  Inexperienced project managers find themselves facing failure and the threat of derailing their promising careers.  It takes skill and refined process to manage change, organize timelines into well defined tasks, motivate staff, and respond to the unexpected.  Makira does all this for our clients, thereby reducing risk and accelerating the prospect for a successful project outcome.

Data integration is the third leg.  In most retail modernization projects, this element almost never gets the attention it deserves.  Every successful innovation should fit like a glove into the retailer’s environment.  Furthermore, data interchange between the new and old must be automatic and highly reliable.  Otherwise, the project will fail, or worse, limp along, without realization of the executive vision.  Often, we observe that the client’s tech staff wants to work on the shiny new software or the high-impact user interface.  When Makira takes over the data integration responsibilities, they can. We specialize in data integration and, frankly, excel at it. That’s why we are so successful in achieving our clients’ vision.  

Jennifer Deschamps. Director of Strategic Partnerships at Aptos explains how Aptos values Makira’s unique mastery.  “When we bring Makira into a project, it is amazing how they jump in and become ‘experts in action.’  This is especially true of our mid-sized retail clients who are trying to modernize their retail operation but lack the skills and resources to manage technical projects and fully integrate our software innovation with their existing systems.  Working with Makira brings the best collective experience to our clients and achieve our goals for customer satisfaction and revenue recognition.”

‍