Over CZK 16 Million a Year Saved in IT: Our Interim Manager’s Result

When a major retail chain asked us for fast help, the brief was clear and blunt: get the most out of existing resources, find savings, and make the entire IT department more effective.

Our interim manager joined the project — and the result exceeded expectations. In a short time, we achieved savings of over CZK 16 million a year and turned IT from a reactive tool into a proactive driver of innovation.

What the Goal Was

  • immediately cut costs without losing operational quality
  • move from “firefighting” to predictable, planned operations
  • reduce dependency on external vendors where critical know-how is internal
  • create a clear delivery process so the business knows exactly what it gets, when, and at what cost
  • stop or rethink inefficient projects and squeeze better terms out of existing contracts

How We Did It — Main Project Steps

  1. Fast diagnosis and prioritization. The interim manager started with an audit of processes, costs, and contracts. He identified the “hot spots” — the areas consuming the most time and money — and ranked them by operational impact and return.
  2. Bringing critical roles in-house. Positions that required deep internal know-how (supply processes, POS integration, merchandising reporting, and similar) were filled internally instead of relying on expensive external vendors. This cut external costs and sped up decision-making.
  3. A simple, transparent delivery process. We introduced a clear end-to-end process for IT delivery: request prioritization, SLAs, a roadmap, and regular release windows. The business now knows exactly when it will get a feature or a fix and what it will cost, so it can plan marketing campaigns, new product rollouts, and operational changes.
  4. Ending inefficient projects. Without sentiment, we cut low-value projects even where money had already been invested. The freed-up capacity and budget were redirected to initiatives with a fast payback.
  5. Renegotiating contracts and optimizing licenses. We reviewed every existing contract, identified overlapping licenses and unused services, and negotiated better terms and pricing models with key vendors.
  6. Introducing proactive operations and managed maintenance. Team changes plus monitoring, automated alerts, and planned maintenance made it possible to prevent outages instead of only reacting once they had already hurt the business.
  7. Supporting innovation. IT started acting as an active business partner — proposing pilots that improved the customer experience and operational efficiency (for example, small warehouse-process automations, merchandising reporting, faster onboarding of new suppliers).

Measurable Results

  • Savings of over CZK 16 million a year from a combination of bringing roles in-house, ending inefficient projects, license optimization, and contract renegotiation.
  • IT moving from reactive to proactive — fewer incidents, shorter recovery times, planned feature rollouts.
  • Growth in internal competencies — critical know-how stays in-house, and decisions are faster and safer.
  • The business has a clear delivery plan — able to plan campaigns and operations with real certainty on timing and cost.
  • A culture of stopping waste — low-return projects no longer continue just because money was already spent on them.

Why It Worked

  • short decision cycles — the interim manager had a mandate to change priorities quickly
  • a focus on data and measurable metrics — every change was tracked and evaluated
  • a combination of hands-on leadership (filling key positions internally) and process management (SLAs, roadmaps)
  • the courage to end what wasn’t working — even where money had already been invested in some projects

Conclusion

This project showed how a well-run interim intervention can turn IT from a tool that only fulfills ad hoc requests into a strategic business partner. With a clear vision, the courage to end inefficient activities, and a systematic approach, significant savings and real value can be achieved in a relatively short time — in our case, over CZK 16 million a year, and an IT department that now brings innovation instead of just waiting to be asked.

Want your IT team to stop firefighting and start driving change? We’re happy to share the approach and lessons from this project.

Do you need help with your team? We are here for you. Whether it's short-term coverage or solving complex situations, Big Interim is your partner for interim management.

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