Macy's Mission Statement

Macy’s long-term goals and principal methods for attaining goals for the organization has not changed, it is their method of delivery that has been changed to address the needs of the consumer. Macy’s long term goals are aligned in their mission statement, “to be a retailer with the ability to see opportunity on the horizon and have a clear path for capitalizing on it. To do so, we are moving faster than ever before, employing more technology and concentrating our resources on those elements most important to our core customers (Macy's, No Date). “In 2008, Macy’s reached the top fortune 500 company listings as one of the top leading retail organizations in the country (Macy's, No Date). In 2015 Macy’s opened their fifth fulfillment center, offering the consumer rapid, efficient distribution of goods to customers (Macy's, Inc., 2017). With a mission of continued looking to the horizon, 2017 and beyond should contain lots of innovation and development for Macy’s.

1.2 Capturing innovative ideas and features

The interaction of Macy’s with their consumers whether it be

in retail store-fronts or online shopping is at the forefront of maintaining a great business relationship with their customers. One of Macy’s strategies is to make their products available online as well as through various computer and mobile device applications (apps). (Macy's, 2017). This initiative will make Macy’s available to any customer, in any location, at any time. After having some struggles coming into the digital age, Macy’s turned to Omni-Channel marketing (Omni-Channel). ‘Omni-Channel is the coordinated use of many communication channels to assist a retailer with sales promotion and customer communication’ (Maven, 2014). By utilizing various communications channels it seeks to direct customers thinking (through use of customer feedback and social media) and modify their perception of what their purchasing needs are. Omni-Channel makes all products available (even if it’s out of stock in store) by allowing the consumer to have a variety of options on how to locate item and how to purchase and retrieve them; whether it be at another store-front or online. ‘Omni channel customers have five times the value of single-channel customers’ (How Macy's Implemented a Successful Omnichannel Approach, 2016), allowing Macy’s to improve its lifetime customer value. This new innovative change is shown in initiatives such as ‘My Macy’s’ which allows the consumer to help direct the local product lines, ‘Omni channel fulfillment where algorithms are used to help us determine from where to pull inventory (Skorupa, 2013) with a goal of quick if not same day delivery, ‘Magic Selling’ which covers the training of associates improve selling and customer engagement techniques, and ‘Mobile Wallet’ for ease of purchasing.

2 Organization’s strategic capacity plan
Macy’s strategic plan includes modernizing advertising and promotions to address the managing of store-front businesses and also to utilize the $140 million that they cordoned off for investing in new business expansions, as well as new talents, to revolutionize their technological systems. These new innovations will help Macy’s catch up to their competitors and allow them to get back to their elite status. Their focus will include customers who shop through internet and mobile phones, and their desire will be to get their attention back to Macy’s and remind them of the convenience that Macy’s provides. Macy’s is one of the leading company’s around for retail as well as ecommerce, but they need to continue looking forward to stay that way. One lesson Macy’s has learned is how to maximize their resources.
2.1 Matches resource requirements
During 2012, Best Buy had experienced something very similar to what Macy’s is currently going through. Best Buy had their $50 trade stocks plummet to below $12. They slowly began shutting down store-fronts and were only used as a “showrooming;” which means consumers would go to the store-fronts and look, but then buy the product off line from Amazon. Yet, Best Buy had a strong come-back by price-matching, deep cost cuts, store rationalization and e-commerce trading investments is what allowed for them to withstand their down fall and come back to compete with their competitors. This is a technique that Macy’s is currently using. First step was to reduce their operating expenses by $500 million for over the next few years. Another strategy they’ve planned is an initiative to open stores within Macys. For example, they’ve joined forces with Lens Craters, and will open approximately 280 stores by end of 2017, To attract customers and increase business they have recently opened up an Apple Store within their New York Flagship store; trying to establish themselves as a department store and mini-mall of sorts, a ‘one-stop shop’. This also serves to address a growing trend in retail consumers, veering away from clothing and towards housewares and technology (NBC News, 2016). Macy's is also currently establishing themselves as a formidable e-commerce player. Macy’s generates approximately 20% of their revenue from online sales, and they invest heavily to position themselves for growth in the mobile/ e-commerce arena. Macy’s is creating for themselves a formidable project mix and showing an example of great portfolio management.

Figure 1.0 Flow Chart of Portfolio Process

2 Outline of Project Selection Criteria
Project selection is the determination of which projects works best for an organization. This is a primary component in the project portfolio management process. Understanding who is responisble for making these decisions is an important step. Macy’s prides itself on creating successful leaders and excellence in leadership. In 2012, Macy’s kicked off an interenal development program called ‘this leader is you’. Its aim was to strengthen its supervisors’ coaching, project management, and general leadership skills, as well as awareness of what it means to be a leader (ABR, 2012). A strong leader also needs to be supported by a strong team. Working together they will evaluate projects for selection, monitor project metrics, and produce progress reports to management.
To ensure that the correct projects are choosen, projects need to be carefully evaluated based upon organizational goals, costs, risks, and competitive advantage. Organizations, such as Macy’s typically ensure that they have forward looking strategies in place and develop them to identify to ensure the success of the company’s goals and purpose. They focus on change managemnt strategies so that Macy’s can identify any needed changes or needed improvements within the company.
Upon making their project selection, Macy’s must ensure that they are executing only the projects that servces the goals of the compnay. Therefore they need to prioritize their selection so that the implementation of these project will have the most significant benefit to the company. Macy’s will categorize the projects into two groups, investment groups and customer projects. Both inverstment groups and customer projects rely on the utilization of the company’s resources. As many company’s resources, such as money, time and employees can sometime be limited, it is important to have a clear understaning of potential conflicts. This is a primary reason why the selection of qualified projects are so important.
3 Program Management Plan

As stated earlier Macy’s mission is ‘to be a retailer with the ability to see opportunity on the horizon and have a clear path for capitalizing on it.

To do so, we are moving faster than ever before, employing more technology and concentrating our resources on those elements most important to our core customers (Macy's, No Date). In order to do this, the company must move fast. Employing more technology such as Omni-channel marketing and my mobile wallet, while continuing to look to the future at what advancements can be made to further refine the use of technology in the retail space. In addition to technological advancements Macy’s leadership teams will be utilizing the ‘voice of the customer’ and concentrating resources on the elements that are crucial to the core clients. They will also focus on the corporate structure and processes so that they are streamlining for efficiency and

effectiveness.
In 2009 Macy’s underwent some significant restructuring. They decided to move from a divisional management structure to a centralized organization for corporate structures such as buying functions, merchandise planning, and store senior management and marketing functions. As well, Macy's corporate marketing was integrated into the new unified marketing organization (Tode, 2009).
Utilizing good program management can allow for competitive advantage for Macy’s by providing the means to effectively navigate ambiguity and harnessing innovation engines for the firms. This would be done through establishment of a framework, well defined targets providing focus, employing effective leadership to cut through ambiguity, and determining agendas for stakeholders. It is also important for there to be an avenue for measuring metrics important to meeting Macy’s organizational goals and provision for continuous improvement. An example of this is provided in the Macy’s Logistic and Operations (MLO) Leadership team. The MLO realized that they needed to choose the right strategy for moving the business to the next level and identified Six Sigma as the right system to drive critical change initiatives. One thing that the Macy’s Process teams wanted to accomplish was a sense of local responsibility for performance and also an organizational coordination and communication of the distribution centers and functions. (Pivotal Resources). With Six Sigma processes and initiatives in place Macy’s will be able to increase efficiencies and cut costs associated with quality related issues. This proactive approach to identifying potential problems before they become issues and tackling their root causes creates an advantage that can be leveraged by the Macy organization.