Legal Ed Center Gets an Overhaul
An e-commerce overhaul strategically positions a legal education services provider for growth and market leadership.
From 1996 through 2001, the largest provider of continuing legal education services in the United States grew substantially. The higher volume of business meant new business processes and systems were needed to handle the increased capacity.
Additionally, new technology in the marketplace meant the organization needed to expand its infrastructure so it could deliver enhanced services online and compete with companies that had already moved to an e-commerce model.
The challenge
One of the biggest challenges facing the organization was the variety of businesses in which they participate. Its professional services include memberships, topical seminars, reference books, exam preparation courses, subscription-based publications and online learning courses.
Its primary goal was to reduce the number of disparate systems and processes employed by the organization. A complete business transformation, including policies, procedures, business processes and systems, was required to align the organization with the marketplace and its own strategic objectives.
The solution
The advisors at RSM McGladrey began work with a gap analysis that compared key information systems requirements and business requirements. After the submission and review of the gap analysis report, we worked with the organization to develop a comprehensive plan to outline the scope of the project.
The next logical step was an enterprise-wide business process improvement initiative. We reviewed and evaluated all of its internal and external (customer-facing) business processes. The primary goal of this effort was to reduce redundant activities and increase efficiency and customer service while limiting errors. The result was a set of clearly-defined business processes and polices from which a new information systems architecture could be developed.
Following the definition of the processes and procedures, we began a comprehensive systems design and development project. The primary design goal was to develop a Web-based architecture that presented a single, consistent interface to internal users and external customers. This architecture included a middleware component that integrated all the various application software products the organization used throughout its enterprise, including finance, customer service, program management, marketing, membership services and publishing.
Once the design was approved, we formed a development team that combined our own resources with the organization’s staff. Following the development phase, the final stages of the project included testing, data conversion, training and ultimately, the “go-live” cut-over.
The results
In 2004, the organization completed its business transformation by going live with our custom-developed application, as well as the new business processes and policies. We continue to provide ongoing support and advice to the organization to ensure its operations remain strategically positioned for growth and market leadership.
By aligning people, process and technology, we were able to minimize negative impacts of the change, maximize the benefits of the new processes and system, and achieve the organization’s strategic goals.
