Project One and Defence v1.1

Delivering the UK Defence Advantage

UK’S LEADING MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS 2025

Organisation & Change

Aerospace & Defence

Delivering Defence advantage across the UK MoD

We are living in a world of increasing change, where previous certainty can no longer be taken for granted. Recent global events have highlighted that the UK MoD must respond more quickly, take a greater leadership role, be more flexible and adapt faster than ever to the developing geopolitical situation. We have seen new funding commitments from the UK government, assuring 2.5% of GDP by 2027 and increasing further in the next parliament. Spending this well will be critical and as with any large complex programme, be it for digital capabilities or military equipment, you need to ensure world class Programme Management, Change Management and governance to help deliver on time and to budget. All areas of the UK Defence supply chain therefore have a responsibility to support the MoD (national) effort in ensuring our front-line forces are best placed to gain an advantage over adversaries. The UK MoD supply chain through the Prime contractors to their supporting organisations need to bring forward more effective and efficient ways of working that are focused on the enablement of the ‘UK Defence Advantage’.

Project One has a proud history of delivering advantage across Air, Land and Sea. Our experience puts Project One in a strong position to help push forward the adoption of new capability and functionality. Our transformation services can support the full MoD supply chain. One of our key differentiators is that we can join the dots across the complex supply chain of the defence industry and help ensure world class governance is deployed, the right outcomes are achieved, and Defence advantage is delivered.

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Reform of the MoD Taken from the 2023 Defence Command Paper, it stated that additional resource alone would not be sufficient to meet the challenges faced by the MOD, and that reform is necessary, particularly in relation to procurement. Two current reforms that will need focus are:

The Strategic Defence Review for 2025

Acquisition reform, anticipated following the launch of the Integrated Procurement Model in February 2024, which “set out procurement reforms to increase the pace and agility of equipment acquisition, including, for example, by reducing bureaucracy and embedding ‘spiral’ development, whereby projects deploy a minimum capacity more quickly and iterate the design over the project life”. It is critical that the SDR will evaluate that approach “with the aim of building on them to drive more pace and better value for money in equipment acquisition in future years”. Enhancing international partnerships , with the government emphasising the need to enhance the UK’s defence partnerships, which includes planning for a UK-EU security pact. Existing international programmes including AUKUS, a trilateral security partnership between the UK, the US, and Australia, and the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), a partnership with Italy and Japan to build a next generation fighter aircraft, have also received explicit support from the new government.

The Strategic Defence Review (SDR) announced by the government is due to be published in the first half of 2025 and promises a “root and branch” review of UK defence. There are several key trends and issues that it anticipates either becoming or remaining prominent within UK defence:

Shifts in investment strategy The government has committed to spending 2.5% of GDP on defence where economic conditions allow it. UK authorities have noted “it is likely that these increasing resources will be invested differently to the past”, with lessons to be learned from the war in Ukraine, and “the need to move away from basing acquisition primarily on large, multi-year physical equipment ‘platforms’. Instead, investment should be prioritised in software as much as hardware, including cutting- edge technologies (e.g. autonomous vehicles and direct energy weapons) and research (e.g. Artificial Intelligence), as well as in the new domains of cyber and space capabilities”.

“Project One is one of the best, if not the best consultancy I’ve worked with in all my years. You moved my team on massively. Your rigour, thoroughness and people skills are outstanding, and you have done a great job sharing your wisdom and experience. We have built a great relationship and I hope and expect us to work again together soon.”

Head of Transformation Global Defence Business

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Supporting Armed Forces communities The government has committed to put the Armed Forces Covenant fully into law and establish an independent Armed Forces Commissioner. This aligns with statements within the SDR Terms of Reference that “all defence personnel – in and out of uniform – are at the heart of defence’s plans”, with improvements to service life (including recruitment, education, training and retention) being explicitly recognised as an objective of the SDR.

Nuclear deterrent The government has reaffirmed its “total commitment to the independent UK nuclear deterrent” as one of its parameters within which the SDR will take place. It is commonly understood that the nuclear deterrent is likely to occupy “an increasing proportion of total defence spending” over time. Skills With increased investment into the UK defence industry, people and skills will be critical to enabling the UK to execute against a backlog of demand throughout the defence supply chain. Maintaining the right skills and knowledge has always been difficult where there has been a reducing demand, this is now changing. There is a real opportunity to build the skills in Engineering, Manufacturing, IT, Cyber....the list goes on. To ensure that the pipeline of new skills is built, the defence industry needs to invest in the people and processes to attract the best. The correct culture, technology, leadership is all part of creating a workplace that attracts the best people from a broad range of backgrounds that industry will need, to reduce the current skills gap.

“The Project One team have helped me transform the programme. They have left their badges at the door and worked where needed across the programme to keep us moving forward at pace. We have struggled with Business Cases in the past, so to write the business case in 3 months and to have such positive feedback from the Assurers is a great achievement. I look forward to continuing to deliver the Programme with Project One.” Head of Business Integration

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Delivering the Defence Advantage

Our team work shoulder-to-shoulder with the defence industry to deliver the outcomes of the 2025 Strategic Review:

Reform of the MoD We’re supporting a multinational initiative to deploy the next generation fighter. A programme hugely significant for the security, political and economic prosperity of each nation.

Secure by Design

Read how we facilitated a UK defence company to embed Security by Design into its systems and operations.

Click here for the full customer story

Nuclear deterrent Find out how the Project One team delivered world- class programme management to help safeguard UK national security.

Supporting Armed Forces communities

Project One and Babcock joined forces to support national defence.

Click here for the full customer story

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Driving supplier value in UK Defence The Challenge Our customer, a leading UK defence company, is now in the initial design phase for a next-generation nuclear-powered attack submarine programme, as part of a trilateral agreement between the UK, Australia and the US. This will eventually see Australia and the UK operate SSN- AUKUS submarines, which will be based on the UK’s next generation design, incorporating technology from all three nations, including cutting-edge US submarine technologies. The current design and product lifecycle management tooling, which has been in place to design and manufacture the current submarine classes, is no longer fit for purpose for this next generation programme, and work is therefore underway to upgrade this, to allow for example better three-dimensional visualisation and design. This is on the critical path of the overall programme and the key challenge is to accelerate delivery across a complex set of delivery partners, product providers and internal stakeholders.

Our Approach We have provided expertise across our key three services:

Programme and Project Management There are multiple third parties involved in the programme, with significant associated contractual and commercial activity required. The procurement team within our customer was struggling to understand programme requirements and timescales, and in turn the programme was frustrated with the service from the procurement team. We deployed a senior delivery consultant to sit between the two, forming a plan from the programme on required commercial activity and helping the internal procurement team to manage the supplier relationships and activity. This also involved ‘leaning into’ the core programme team to help guide activity and improve programme management ways of working. Programme Management Office (PMO) The governance and control across the programme, particularly on the planning side, was not significantly mature. We deployed an experienced PMO focused consultant to work with the internal PMO team to bring best practice ideas and techniques to improve the control processes. There was a lack of an overall joined up plan across all the workstreams and we helped to bring this together, understanding the methodology, deliverables required and critical dependencies. Change Management and Business Data Readiness The submarine business areas will need to provide the required data to test and deploy the new tooling solutions. The business areas will also need to be trained and ‘made ready’ to accept the new solutions so that the design teams can be operational and efficient, as required by the wider submarine design and build programme. We deployed an experienced change management consultant to work with the business areas and the programme to understand the data and readiness requirements and to plan out and oversee the required activity.

“Thanks to the Project One team for bringing structure and governance drive to the programme and also to making sure that we are getting increased value from our supplier base”.

Programme Director

The Value Add and Outcomes It is still very early days on our deployment on this critical programme, but already our team are receiving great feedback and are driving towards a number of outcomes. The third-party suppliers are now under much better control, with clearer scope and responsibilities, leading to more efficient delivery. The programme plan is now becoming clearer, and the governance and control processes are being enhanced to ensure progress is maintained.

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SAP S/4HANA Manufacturing Change Management Considerations

Our Change Management Approach: Building a Compelling Case for Change

By fostering strong relationships with senior leadership, we helped them understand their role in driving change. This trust enabled quick decision-making, resource alignment, and issue resolution. We developed a clear narrative focused on SAP ECC6’s end-of-life and the need for business evolution, reinforcing this message through ongoing business readiness assessments. Thorough Change Impact Assessments Following the ‘adopt not adapt’ principle, we ensured 85% of functionality remained SAP standard to eliminate process variations and manual workarounds. In collaboration with our change network and system integrators, we mapped the end-to-end manufacturing process across 14 functions and five sites, highlighting key changes and dependencies. A core focus was shifting perception from a simple system upgrade to a fundamental transformation in data accuracy and process ownership. Tailored Stakeholder Engagement Recognising the diverse needs of stakeholders, we adapted our engagement strategy. For shopfloor teams with limited digital access, we prioritised face-to-face, site-led communications, ensuring they remained informed and involved alongside remote and office-based colleagues.

The Challenge Our customer had relied on SAP ECC6 for over 20 years, during which processes drifted from standard practice. Limited knowledge of SAP’s full functionality led to manual, offline processes, missing opportunities to optimise manufacturing through Master Production Scheduling and Materials Requirements Planning. A lack of structured training meant inefficient workarounds were passed down, while poor data governance and unclear ownership led to mistrust in system data, reinforcing offline methods. Siloed working and role inconsistencies across five sites further complicated operations. Moving to SAP S/4HANA was more than a technology transformation, it required a fundamental shift in ways of working and behaviours.

“Thank you Project One for your world-class programme management skills and creative ideas, your leadership and expertise helped to successfully deliver a results-focused project!”

Chief Finance Officer Global Defence Business

The Value Add and Outcomes High-impact areas received face-to-face training (100% attendance), while others accessed e-learning and quick guides via a new SAP learning platform, establishing a lasting training resource. SAP ‘Model Offices’ provided hands-on experience with a replica system. Sustained Business Engagement A dedicated change network, including SAP Adoption Leads, was created to drive long-term adoption. A cross- functional governance forum now ensures best practices, monitors adoption, and reports progress to leadership.

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Establishing continuous naval shipbuilding

Our Approach Project One was asked to structure the technology delivery programme for prototyping: a team of three engaged, with a lead to build the prototyping approach and plan, a project manager to deliver the core complex integrated systems, and a business analyst to manage the key requirements and design. Within six weeks, we had created an 18-month delivery roadmap, clarified and shaped a solution for a key constraint, the separation of the CAD/PLM systems and data from the reference ship, and had gained stakeholder agreement across the many business functions to a new approach. Subsequently, working with the leaders in engineering, the approach and plan for prototyping design separation was developed, and a firm delivery plan baselined. The team led the delivery, constituting the critical path of the entire ship build programme, which achieved the prototyping design separation milestone – on time to the plan that was set nine months earlier. This enabled platform engineering to take on the detail design, and ultimately for Cut Steel to take place when promised.

The Challenge Our customer is building ships in the UK for a UK customer. With the award of the new contract, it has had to rapidly develop an export capability. This included setting into operation an integrated team spanning two continents with a time zone difference giving minimal overlap of the working day. The technology and data were subject to legal, security and export controls, and had never previously been released outside the local operation. The first delivery was agreed to be a prototyping programme, to trial the new-build factory, to run all the processes and technology, and to create five blocks (around a third of a ship) before starting the full production ship build. The programme had committed to a First Cut Steel milestone for prototyping.

Our customer has a rich heritage building ships for the Royal Navy. Its most recent product has been developed globally and has been sold to allied countries. These geographies have established the programmes charged with taking the shipbuilding capability, processes, technology and ship design from the UK and implementing this in- country. New shipyards are being established and prototyping production of the variants is well under way.

“Project One has the ability to develop a plan for a complex project and deliver against the agreed long term schedule. They engage well and manage stakeholders with a focus on the outcome and time frame constraints.” Customer Representative Global Defence Business

A Project One Partnership We were able to bring a small team of consultants with vast experience across the change lifecycle – we advised on the end-to-end implications of approaches and decisions as we built the understanding to inform on the full ship build process. Keeping a cool head, and working with the full range of stakeholders, our team shaped the change, coached stakeholders and built trust in the delivery. Even when the pandemic hit, we managed a seamless transition to remote working. Alongside our continued leadership, we have also handed over key roles to in-house resources to allow our customer to continue independently.

The Value Add and Outcomes Created the prototyping technology delivery plan, built alignment and delivered all key milestones to plan Built confidence and gained the respect of the overseas customers Identified the prototyping design separation challenge, shaped and implemented the solution approach and delivered to the timeline, delivering a federated PLM and separated CAD model for the first time. The prototyping milestones were achieved, and First Cut Steel took place, an important contractual, political and social milestone.

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Transforming HR processes in the defence sector

Our Approach Project One was engaged to provide leadership in the areas of programme management, solution architecture, IT system interface management, business change and operational readiness. Our team worked with stakeholders across HR, head office, IM&T and all business units, whilst managing the third-party suppliers to deliver this programme. Project One’s leadership of business change, helped to assess, plan, prepare and deliver appropriate change management in order to standardise the HR processes and to embed SAP SuccessFactors. This spanned 10 autonomous business units, each of which had its own HR processes and c38,000 users of the HR IT system. The approach Project One put in place for business and operational readiness was pivotal in landing a ‘Go’ decision across the organisation. The programme was delivered in three phases, with the first deploying SAP SuccessFactors modules for Learning and Performance Management and the second delivering a new HR operating model and Employee Central (the main HR functions of hiring and moving) and Compensation. The third phase focused on delivering a new Payroll system to supersede the long-standing system, which had a clear date beyond which the vendor would no longer provide support.

The Challenge With a complex landscape of autonomy, local systems, and processes that had been embedded for decades, the organisation was addressing multiple challenges. These ranged from gaining buy in from business units into a single HR operating model and processes, with an alignment in culture and behaviour, through to deploying technology across multiple sites, whilst managing an extensive set of business unit IT systems to work with SAP SuccessFactors.

This FTSE 100 organisation comprised a set of autonomous and diverse business units, which spanned heavy manufacturing, asset maintenance, professional services, head office and internal shared services. Each had its own HR function, localised processes and a range of systems. Through the design and introduction of a new operating model, combined with cloud- based SAP SuccessFactors, the organisation aimed to deliver its long-standing ambition to standardise and transform HR. The organisation also faced the challenge of replacing its payroll system, which supported the payroll team with the payment of over 38,000 employees.

“I think the impact that I’ve seen in terms of the people I’ve worked with is we now hit the timescales and promises that we’re making.” Delivering the largest SAP SuccessFactors deployment in Europe

The Value Add and Outcomes This complex HR Transformation impacted over 38,000 employees and saw a technology enabled shift towards a self- serve approach for employees The introduction of a standardised set of processes and ways of working across a set of diverse and autonomous businesses within the organisation With the support of Project One, the organisation delivered the largest SAP SuccessFactors deployment in Europe (at the time of implementation) alongside a new payroll system.

Transformation Director Global Defence Business

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Delivering the largest corporate pension scheme merger in UK pensions history

‘Tax savings in excess of £1m achieved from the new consolidated scheme.’

Our Approach The programme logically divided into around 10 separate workstreams, each focussed on the changes necessary in that specific business area to deliver the merger and operate the single consolidated scheme. At the outset, Project One brought the leaders of these business areas together to agree the outcomes the programme was seeking to achieve. An integrated programme team (IPT) was built from across these business areas, and a governance model was implemented which included a monthly Steering Board, a weekly meeting of the IPT and then typically weekly workstream meetings. The programme was fortunate to have a strong sponsor who was very engaged and supportive, willing to step in wherever senior direction or coaching across the business was required. Project One employed several important techniques to ensure the success of the programme: Strong visual representations of the roadmap of the programme were shared with the team and used as part of stakeholder management comms to ensure consistency of understanding, approach, objectives and target outcomes Careful identification of dependencies between workstreams allowed these to be managed with rigour and maintain the alignment of the operationally independent business areas Recognition that the programme team was made up of senior people, all of whom had a 'day job', and therefore working with them in such a way that a regular evaluation of priorities ensured that impacts of BAU on programme and programme on BAU could be accommodated and planned for wherever possible Formal and thorough reporting and stakeholder management ensured levels of confidence were maintained despite some complex and challenging situations.

The Challenge Once the schemes had been formally merged, the next phase was to rationalise the combined investment assets to align them with the investment strategy for the merged scheme, in addition, the dismantling of the legacy unitisation structure, which was no longer required and would add unnecessary cost and complexity to the management of the investment assets, was also required. The benefits available through the merger were substantial and included financial savings on external advisors, asset management charges and scheme administration costs, as well as the lower costs associated with fewer trustees, trustee boards and committee meetings.

On the Pensions Regulator’s advice, our customer merged four defined benefit schemes, each with different benefits, maturity, and funding levels. Success required Trustee Board approvals, forming a new Board, and consulting 185,000 members to protect their benefits, demanding precise stakeholder management. Operationally, the merger involved actuarial alignment, legal asset transfers, negotiations with independent advisors, and coordination across scheme administration, contributions, benefits payments, and regulatory reporting.

The Value Add and Outcomes The first phase of this bold, innovative and complex programme was delivered on time. Despite the disruption of the COVID crisis, the programme team pushed through to Phase 2 and the restructuring of the assets. The benefits for the Trustees and scheme members were: Over £10m of savings over five years returned directly to the scheme for the benefit of the scheme members (return on investment of 46% IRR) Trustee numbers and committees both reduced by more than 50% Over £1m p.a. saved through the more efficient scheme and fund management Tax savings in excess of £1m achieved through simplifying the scheme investment structure. Successful delivery of this project led directly to the scheme being awarded “Defined Benefit Pension Scheme of the Year” at the Annual Pension Scheme Awards 2021

“Project One is a trusted business partner leveraging high quality and very experienced people who are prepared to roll their sleeves up and be completely hands on, as well as providing strategic and sound business management advice.” Chief Operating Officer

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Migrating the Business Support function from SAP ECC6 to SAP S/4HANA platform

The Outcomes Operational benefits The S/4 rollout enhanced efficiency, reduced manual processes, and streamlined workflows. A standardised, scalable ERP system now ensures transparency, data integrity, and stronger compliance. Enhanced User Experience in KSA Users benefit from faster service delivery, improved accuracy, and quicker approvals via SAP FIORI. Enhanced reporting capabilities improve customer satisfaction and operational effectiveness. Building lasting capability The project upskilled employees, strengthening internal expertise for long- term resilience. The organisation is now equipped to integrate new entities, drive innovation, and adapt to change. Seamless ZATCA Tax Compliance The successful cloud-based ZATCA integration ensures full compliance with Saudi tax regulations, reduces manual effort, and enhances financial governance. Project One adding value by: Extensive expertise in SAP S/4HANA transformations, ensuring a seamless and efficient migration Proven change management strategies tailored to address the unique business and cultural challenges Deep proficiency in data migration, guaranteeing accuracy, consistency, and minimal disruption Future-proofed solution designed to support scalable business growth and long-term adaptability Strong track record of delivering successful projects where previous initiatives had struggled Robust programme management, including issue resolution, stakeholder engagement, governance and control.

Our Approach Adoption of the Shared Services S/4 Platform The project followed a ‘greenfield’ implementation, minimising customisation and aligning with best practices. Our customer was the third entity to migrate, benefiting from lessons learned in prior phases, ensuring a stable transition. Strategic Change Management in KSA Past project failures informed a structured change management strategy. During the Discovery Phase, all support functions were mapped to S/4, defining clear functional impacts and securing early-stage funding for planned change activities. Scalable Solution Design The solution was refined to support all future business migrations, balancing standardisation with flexibility. Purchase-to-Pay and Order-to- Cash processes were enhanced to streamline procurement, payments, and revenue management. Robust Data Migration Strategy A dedicated data workstream, managed by the System Integrator, ensured end-to-end accountability. Multiple data load cycles, culminating in ‘production-like’ transformations, secured data integrity before integration testing, reducing transition risks. S/4 as the System of Record S/4 was established as the authoritative System of Record, ensuring data consistency. Planning Analytics became the designated System of Report, enhancing governance and reporting accuracy. Seamless Ecosystem Integration With 20+ partner systems, the System Integrator held end-to-end responsibility for integration, ensuring cohesive design, testing, and deployment while minimising risks and inconsistencies.

The Challenge The migration from SAP ECC6 to SAP S/4 was time-critical due to ECC6’s end-of- support deadline. The project involved transferring existing SAP-supported entities while integrating new business units, including previously uncovered Kingdom Partner Companies (KPCs). The heavily customised ECC6 system lacked proper documentation, complicating the transition. Saudi operations required handling high-value invoices, and the shift from a cost- centre to a project-centric model introduced further complexity. System inconsistencies arose as not all KPCs had used ECC6, and some approvals remained paper based. While data volumes were manageable, ensuring

Our customer has supported knowledge and technology transfer to Saudi Arabia since 1966, fostering the development of its Saudi workforce. They oversee the company’s long-term presence in the country, working closely with local customers and industries to provide cost-effective solutions with in- country expertise. The company has a long-term contract supporting the Royal Air Force’s Typhoon fleet, ensuring operational readiness. Through a Joint Venture they provide crucial support to the Royal Saudi Air Force, reinforcing its commitment to local partnerships and sustainable defence solutions.

seamless migration without operational disruption was a major challenge. Past

projects had suffered from overlooked cultural differences, and reporting inconsistencies made master data alignment difficult. Initially, governance was clear, but organisational changes in the UK blurred ownership and decision-making, requiring extra effort to maintain focus and accountability.

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Programme Management: Translating your strategy into an executable portfolio and roadmap Mobilising and driving all moving parts of the resulting delivery Providing independent assurance to remain on-track Recovering programmes that are off-track Change Management: Building a compelling case and a vision for the change Agreeing the impacts of change across the organisation We work in small senior teams at the top of your Delivery Programme Our people are highly experienced and laser focused on delivery. We cover the PPM, Change Management and PMO disciplines but are not limited to this. We have the maturity to understand what is required to deliver a programme successfully and the flexibility to do what is necessary.

Introducing Project One

We are an award-winning, independent consulting business specialising in major programme delivery:

We work in small, senior teams at the top of the delivery programme providing expert leadership, and orchestrating activity across suppliers and internal teams Our core services include Programme Management, Change Management, and Governance and Control (PMO) Our consultants have 15+ years’ experience delivering complex change, and our work is assured by our Consulting Directors We work customer-side, bringing independence and genuine advice with your best interests in mind We bring capacity and experience to increase the pace of delivery while helping customers to build their internal delivery capability Recognised as one of the UK’s Leading Management Consultants by the Financial Times for 6 consecutive years. As a small, independent firm, this is a measure of the impact that we have, working alongside customers to deliver big things.

Planning and orchestrating the changes required Realising the benefits and embedding the change

Programme Management Office: Defining the required governance and control processes Assessing maturity of existing capability Designing, building and implementing the controls Leading and running the Programme Management Office.

Recognised as the #1 Boutique

Consultancy for PPM by Consultancy UK

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enquiries@projectone.com projectone.com

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