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 PERCENT 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

268 May 2018