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Helping a large Kiwi retailer align digital capability and direction.
A major New Zealand retail cooperative wanted to deliver a more consistent, customer‑focused digital experience across multiple operating groups. Each part of the organisation had its own systems, priorities, and ways of talking about digital. There was no shared language, no unified view of capability, and no clear roadmap to guide future initiatives in customer experience or CRM.
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Decision‑making had become slow, fragmented, and hard to align. The business didn’t just need better technology, it needed a shared understanding of what good looked like.
Date: 2021 | Client: Large New Zealand retail cooperative | Sector: FMCG
The Challenge.
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The organisation was dealing with a typical challenge for federated Kiwi businesses: lots of strong teams, each moving at their own pace, but no single picture of the digital capabilities needed for the future. Key issues included:
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No shared view of digital customer capability
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Different teams describing digital in different ways
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No agreed direction for CRM or customer‑focused initiatives
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Difficult, slow, or inconsistent decision‑making
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No clear roadmap to align future investment across operating groups
Without alignment, the risk was duplicated effort, missed opportunities, and customer experiences that felt disconnected.
What we did (together).
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Cyma worked alongside leaders from across the organisation to build a shared foundation for digital decisions.
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We:
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Connected with stakeholders to understand current priorities and future ambitions
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Built a digital customer capability model that everyone could understand and use
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Reviewed the supporting technology landscape
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Mapped systems to capabilities to reveal overlaps and gaps
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Agreed a set of guiding principles to support consistent decisions
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Developed a phased roadmap to guide future investment
The focus was on clarity, shared language, and practicality - not forcing a one‑size‑fits‑all solution.
People who bring everyone with them
Connecting teams with different views and finding common ground.
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Designed for real business needs
Capability models and roadmaps shaped by how the organisation actually operates.
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High impact without big overheads
A right‑sized, practical approach that avoided heavy frameworks or consulting bloat.
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More alignment, less friction
A shared direction that sped up decisions and reduced confusion.
The Result.
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Across the operating groups, leaders gained clarity and confidence.
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The work delivered:
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A shared, organisation‑wide view of digital customer capability
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A clear, prioritised roadmap for future digital and CRM initiatives
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Agreed principles to guide investment and decision‑making
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Stronger consistency across teams and functions
The organisation could now move forward knowing that digital decisions were aligned to business goals and customer needs. ​
Why it worked.
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​Cyma kept things collaborative and grounded, focusing on shared understanding rather than imposing structure for the sake of it. By working with people across a complex, federated environment, we created clarity without forcing conformity and set the organisation up for more cohesive digital progress.