The impact as Enterprise Architect
July 2020
Information management, business intelligence and analytics are entirely Koen’s area of expertise. At the start of 2019, he received a vacancy of Enterprise Business Architect through an acquaintance from his network. The job title did not tell him much, but the description intrigued him immediately. It felt like that missing piece of the puzzle he had been looking for professionally, without realizing it.
Making choices in capabilities
Within Myreas, Koen assists in two major assignments from Colruyt Group. Within Product Information Management (PIM), high-quality product information is used to create sustainable benefits across the different store formulas (e.g. DreamLand, Colruyt, Okay…). We use this product information to properly inform customers (just think of the various different websites and apps), to make correct decisions and to ensure our business processes run efficiently.. The result? Less complexity and cost effective.
“This is a very important and relevant step for us. New applications are not just bought randomly. We always start from the strategy and then take a company-wide approach to realise our objectives.”
Moreover, Koen – together with a core team – draws up the roadmap within the Domain Product. Questions such as ‘Will our focus be on changing the business activities regarding sustainable packaging or rather take on product assortment management?’ are discussed here. “We specifically define which business capabilities execute these business activities and determine their target. Next, we take a look at the necessary steps to allow these capabilities to evolve towards their target. Then we prioritize and translate this further into projects and programs.”
Clear mandate
“The big difference as an Enterprise Architect within Myreas is that we clearly state our role here and receive a mandate. We are aware that our programs and projects should have a sustainable contribution to the strategic objectives of Colruyt Group. For us, it makes sense to also take the time to discuss this. We moreover believe it is important for someone to take responsibility to facilitate those discussions. That is exactly the role we as Enterprise Architect take on. We support and advise the team of directors on how the company in its entirety should evolve to meet the needs of tomorrow. After all, it concerns very large investments, so the impact is enormous. As an Enterprise Architect, we should continuously look forward strategically to ensure not ending up in a dead end after 5 or 10 years of investing.”
This story was written in collaboration with Koen Verbustel, Enterprise business architect at Myreas.