CASE STUDY
Office Depot – PMO Implementation
Turning around a failing portfolio: How 7Q PMO restored confidence, clarity and control at Office Depot
About Office Depot
Office Depot UK & Ireland (now rebranded as Paragon Business Essentials), part of OT Group Ltd, is a leading provider of workplace solutions, serving thousands of businesses with essential products and services. Operating in a fast-paced environment, the company relies on efficient internal change and IT projects to maintain competitiveness and deliver value to customers. With multiple initiatives running simultaneously, strong governance and clarity are critical to success.
What They wanted to Achieve
The leadership team at Office Depot wanted to regain control of a fragmented project portfolio and restore confidence in delivery.
Their goal was to create a governance structure that provided transparency, improved collaboration between IT and business units, and ensured every project had a clear purpose and measurable benefits.
Ultimately, they needed a system that would accelerate decision-making and prevent costly delays.
The CHallenges
Before 7Q stepped in, Office Depot faced significant obstacles that were undermining progress:
- Fragmented project governance across the business
- Poor visibility into project status and total costs
- Breakdown of trust between IT and business leadership
- Projects launched without clear business cases or ownership
- No structured lifecycle or regular forum for decisions
These issues created confusion, stalled projects, and eroded confidence at the executive level. Without intervention, the organisation risked spiraling costs and missed strategic objectives.
Why they came to 7Q
Office Depot didn’t want another consultant with a slide deck – they needed a partner who could deliver clarity, assurance, and action.
They chose 7Q because of its proven framework for aligning strategy, execution, and governance. The 7Q Method offered a practical, no-nonsense approach that could embed accountability and restore confidence quickly.
With a reputation for turning complex challenges into simple, actionable solutions, 7Q was the obvious choice.
What 7Q DID
We began with a deep-dive diagnostic review to uncover root causes and gaps in governance. From there, we designed and implemented a lightweight PMO model tailored to Office Depot’s needs. This wasn’t about bureaucracy – it was about creating clarity and rhythm.
Here’s what we delivered:
By embedding these practices, we transformed chaos into clarity and gave leadership the tools to make informed decisions with confidence.
The End Result
The Board didn’t just recover – they transformed.
Within three months, the organisation moved from fragmented governance and stalled projects to a fully transparent, accountable, and collaborative environment. By embedding the 7Q PMO approach, leadership regained control, accelerated delivery, and restored trust across the business.
Governance restored
Ownership and accountability were embedded at every level. A structured PMO model and weekly governance rhythm replaced ad-hoc decision-making, ensuring clarity and alignment between IT and business leadership.
Transparency Delivered
A live SharePoint dashboard provided full visibility of all internal change and IT projects. Leadership could now track progress, costs, and benefits in real time – enabling faster, data-driven decisions and eliminating surprises.
Confidence Rebuilt
Strategic actions repositioned IT as a trusted partner rather than a gatekeeper. Clear business cases and cost-benefit tracking were implemented, stalled projects were either closed or accelerated, and confidence in delivery was fully restored.
Client Testimonial
Bhavesh Mistry
CIO
Fred was instrumental in developing and running the PMO function utilising his 7Q plan and 7Q PMO approach, which provided the much-needed transparency and effective reporting that was missing over here… His pragmatic, business-first approach was refreshing, simple for business-facing project leads to follow… with a focus on achieving the purpose/benefits (the WHY).
Key Insight
Fred Warner
Founder of 7Q
Turning Office Depot’s IT transformations into governed, transparent, collaborative projects was a fantastic experience. Everyone wanted the same thing – they just needed help getting aligned.
