The Challenge

AlgaeCal is the leader in natural bone health solutions with exclusive global rights to plant-based supplements that reverse the effects of osteoporosis. Founded in 2002 as an ecommerce platform with fulfillment centers located in British Columbia and South Dakota, AlgaeCal doubled their employee headcount in the previous year to manage the organization’s rapid growth. As the organization prepared to embark on key transformation initiatives to re-invent their customer and service delivery processes, AlgaeCal recognized that organically developed legacy processes were no longer suitable. Faced with delays in project timelines, independent approaches to managing projects and a lack of unified tools, Propel was engaged to develop a project management toolkit and establish work structures to serve as the foundation of AlgaeCal’s future project delivery.

The Objective:

The development of the Project Management Toolkit was designed to address ongoing pain points and support AlgaeCal’s overarching objectives including:

  • Implementing Project Scheduling with Leading Indicators: Propel introduced a standardized Project Management Schedule that captured the core requirements and activities applicable across all new initiatives. The schedule supports the Project Manager in planning project phases, establishing timeframes and gaining visibility into delivery milestones. A corresponding Daily Operating Report was developed to measure the achievement of project activities, monitor variances to the schedule and identify outstanding tasks that serve as roadblocks to timely project completion.
  • Aligning the Organization to Drive Efficiency, Quality and Speed in Project Delivery: Propel developed branded templates to be used by AlgaeCal team members across the project management lifecycle including the planning, setup, execution and closing stages. Standardized project briefs, meeting assets and deployment checklists offer the AlgaeCal team clarity surrounding requirements gathering, resource allocation and inter-departmental communication through all phases of the project.
  • Developing Project Management Capacity and Defining Roles through Leadership Coaching: Propel delivered coaching support to AlgaeCal’s Project Manager on how to use the new management tools to identify and correct off-schedule conditions. Through developing new capacity and insights, the Project Manager was positioned to drive a culture of continuous improvement, sustain the management toolkit and facilitate communication across stakeholders to ensure successful project delivery.

The Results

Through the successful implementation of this cohesive project management toolkit, AlgaeCal created transparency around their project delivery and unified the team on a standardized approach to managing new initiatives. Project management tools equip AlgaeCal team members with the framework to manage their projects from conception to market while delivering on-time against planned objectives. As AlgaeCal continues their growth trajectory, the organization is prepared to methodically onboard and ensure the success of new ventures