MCDONALD ’ S

“ The relationships that we forge with these partners is crucial as we work together on a number of levels . We need to be able to place the implementation of technology and operations into their hands , while simultaneously being able to work on a practical level in order to develop a roadmap together .”

Creating that roadmap has been a significant part of the journey to date , both internally across the franchises and of course with those critical partners . This roadmap would identify what activities and plans were in place for the future of McDonald ’ s and how Westling could incorporate IT services and technology into those plans .

This , he feels , meant that the early stages of this transformation were dedicated to “ getting the lights on ”.

“ Those first six to nine months were centred around getting this journey up and running , putting the implementations in place ,” he says .

“ We were having meetings with the franchises , explaining what we were doing and working internally on establishing IT services . There were many different areas that

42 % OF DINERS WOULD USE SELF SERVICE ORDERING KIOSKS IF AVAILABLE

we had to work on in order to improve the overall IT delivery .”

As the company continues to develop , Westling admits that it ’ s an ever-evolving process . Towards the end of 2016 and throughout the second quarter of 2017 , he admits that the organisation spent around 85 % of its time “ keeping the lights on ”, with the remaining 15 % spent on businesses development and implementing new initiatives .

“ At this moment in time , I ’ d say its now 65 % on keeping the lights on ,” says Westling . “ But it is a continuous journey , and this will

158 May 2018