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About us

Is your retail or consumer goods business running at optimum efficiency? Are you making changes or planning a new venture?

PPS can help you. We are a team of select, top and board-level managers who examine and improve businesses.

PPS specialises in the retail and consumer goods sectors, providing management consultancy and interim management services. We undertake work for renowned brands, in the UK and globally.

What distinguishes PPS?

As senior level professionals, with many years of proven experience in our chosen fields, we provide fully rounded solutions and are motivated by the quality of our work.

Whether examining individual points of operational focus or complete business streams, our aim is always to find the right way forward for your specific need and add genuine, sustainable value to your business.

For our full list of services, click on Solutions

Retail Week: Bridging the Gap article >>
Hong Kong Exporters’ Bulletin: Ethical Sourcing in the New EU article >>
Why Retailers Can't Blame the Weather article >>

Hong Kong Exporters' Bulletin:Supply Chain article >>
CILT(UK) selects Mark West as examiner >>

The Team

Mark West MBA, MILT, MIEX (GRAD), MIFP (GRAD)

Mark West has over 20 years’ experience across all aspects of the retail supply chain. He began his career in the third party environment of customs brokerage, shipping and freight forwarding, providing innovative sourcing and physical distribution solutions to UK and European Retailers for retail products emulating from then the Eastern Bloc group of countries and emerging tiger economies.

Mark subsequently spent 15 years with Harrods Ltd. Here he held various senior management positions across the end-to-end supply chain of the business - Finance, Merchandising and Logistics - culminating in two years as Distribution Director on the Management Board of the company.

After completing an MBA at the Institute for Retail Studies and while also working as a retained advisor for specific organisations, Mark set up People Processes and Solutions Limited providing interim and strategic management consultancy to the retail, wholesale and FMCG manufacturing sectors. He has since been nominated for Interim Manager of the Year. Mark is a trained Executive Coach and is also on the Board of Examiners for the Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport. Alongside his work for PPS, he continues to write and lecture on the academic circuit.

Associates

Paul Brennan

Paul is a highly experienced supply chain improvements manager. His extensive knowledge and understanding of Retail and FMCG supply chains has been built over more than 20 years of line management with big brand products.

Paul's previous roles include:  Supply Chain Manager Northern Europe, Quaker Oats; European Distribution Director, Twentieth Century Fox; and Distribution Project Manager, L'Oreal.

As a consultant and interim manager, Paul consistently delivers service, efficiency and cost benefits to clients through his hands-on approach and effective analytical and operational management skills. 

Lisa Derbyshire BA (Hons), MCILT, MMS

Lisa is a business development and improvement specialist.  Her wide ranging general management skills, honed and developed across different market sectors, have helped organisations to successfully deliver operational business change programmes efficiently and profitably, including entry and expansion into new markets.

Her dynamic approach, commercial acumen and skills in Kaizen, business re-engineering and general management support her highly credible track record of success.

Lisa joined Bass as a Graduate Trainee before moving to TNT Logistics, Unipart, The Evenser Group as Operations Director and Deluxe Media Services Ltd where she was UK Director for Distribution and Supply Chain Account Development.   Her sector experience includes: automotive, FMCG, retail, entertainment and services.  She also holds a national and international CPC.  

Blaire Palmer BA, PCC, Coach University Graduate

Blaire is a specialist creative thinking partner and coach for high-ranking executives. Her experience ranges from working with individual entrepreneurs to develop creativity, to building large-scale coaching programmes for companies. Blaire is also one of a very few UK professionals to have achieved Professional Certified Coach status.

As both a facilitator for groups and in one-to-one interventions, Blaire partners key decision-makers in developing innovative yet sound, profitable solutions to business challenges. She brings her years as an executive coach along with her training in creative thinking and her own vibrant, energetic style to all her work.

Previously, Blaire enjoyed 10 years as a successful journalist with the BBC producing, among others, Radio 4's Today and Woman's Hour programmes. In parallel with her consulting work, Blaire also speaks and writes about creativity in business.

Anne Macartney

Anne is a senior buying and merchandising professional with considerable international experience spanning 17 years. Anne's expertise includes strategic supplier management, international sourcing, negotiations, and selection.

Anne made her mark at senior level during seven years with Stena Line handling buying and supply chain across Europe for a fleet of 36 ships, and rising through the ranks with notable results. Anne was subsequently headhunted by BAA where she spent five years as Buying and Merchandising Director and Board Member for BAA World Duty Free.

Tim Greig MSc, PMI member

Tim Greig is a retail technology and business process specialist. He provides clients with practical advice and help on all aspects of retail systems, including: appraisal and diagnostics, solution design, and the selection and implementation of appropriate solutions.  A highly competent individual, Tim brings a pragmatic but inventive approach to his work.

Tim began his 20 year IT career in Central Government, moving to the Burton Group (now Arcadia and Debenhams), where he rose to Senior Executive level. Since then he has provided high-end consultancy for both UK retail fledglings and blue-chip companies such as Woolworths, Sears plc, Booker/N&P, and Hamleys.

Professor Leigh Sparks MA, PhD

Leigh Sparks is Professor of Retail Studies at the University of Stirling . He brings to PPS an ability for innovation and high-end strategic thinking.

Leigh's current research examines structural and spatial change within retailing, with additional work on logistics and employment. His experience is international with a particular focus on North America , where he has conducted research into Customer Service in Retailing. He has also been Visiting Professor at the College of Human Sciences , Florida State University .

Previously at the University of Stirling , Leigh has held roles as Director of the Institute for Retail Studies, Dean of the Faculty of Management and head of the Department of Marketing. He is the author of numerous publications in the field and is also co-editor of the leading European academic retail journal, The International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research

People

"All business depends upon men fulfilling their promises."

Mahatma Gandhi *


PPS believe that good people are at the heart of a good business. We are skilled at delivering on our promises.

Through our work across many organisations, we have come to understand the key importance of different workplace cultures and the involvement of people.

We deliver results through building trust with your people.

Processes

“Process: A specific, structured, and managed set of work activities, with known inputs, designed to produce a specified output...”

Oxford Dictionary of Business †

For every business area we examine, our work is based on industry best practice. We also, however, realise that every company has its own unique approach and needs.

Our strength is to add measurable value to your business and enable its continuous progression.

Our methodology encompasses:
  • Collecting data through listening, mind maps and other techniques. This helps us to objectively build an accurate picture of your business today
  • Using similar methods and our experience in benchmarking, we build a picture of where the business wants to go
  • Using expert judgement to build a critical path leading to the realisation of your vision
  • Proposing and costing strategy, tactics and/or operational fixes
  • Providing a delivery project plan

Solutions

Through work with people and processes, our aim is to deliver superior solutions that:

  • Provide a direct fit to the task at hand
  • Serve your business objectives
  • Are owned by your employees.

We can offer these strategic, tactical and operational services:

Strategic
  1. Facilitating, formalising and creating business plans
  2. Commercial business assessment and strategy support
  3. Concept creation, modelling and planning
  4. Developing and formalising strategic alliances
  5. Business research and market intelligence gathering
  6. Due diligence audits
  7. Cost and benefits analysis
  8. Ethical business advice
  9. Executive search and selection
  10. Executive coaching.
Tactical
  1. Change management
  2. Project management
  3. Business process review, mapping and gap analysis
  4. Benchmarking and performance measuring
  5. Business process re-engineering (including: Kaizen; Continuous Improvement; Lean & Agile thinking)
  6. Business analysis support
  7. Documentation of Standard Operating Procedures
  8. Managing the search and selection process for third/fourth party services including preparation of Invitations to Tender (ITT) and Request for Quotation (RFQ) documentation.
Operational
  1. Interim management
  2. Arbitration and conciliation service
  3. Training and development workshops
  4. Employee mentoring.

Clients

The following organisations have benefited from PPS services. For case studies, please click on the live image links.

  • Aquascutum
  • Burberry
  • Bear Factory
  • Dunelm Mill
  • East
  • Fat Face
  • Foyles
  • Hamleys
  • HMV
  • Jacques Vert
  • Jacuzzi
  • Kingfisher
  • Mothercare
  • Paperchase
  • Peter Black
  • The Salvation Army
  • Targus
  • Tesco
  • Instore

Contact

If you would like to discuss how PPS can improve your business, please contact us:

info@ppsmanagement.com

News

22 May 2005
Retail Week: Bridging the Gap article - Click here to download PDF

April 2005
Hong Kong Exporters’ Bulletin: Ethical Sourcing in the New EU article- Click here to download PDF

December 2004
Why Retailers Can't Blame the Weather article- Click here to download PDF

October 2004
Hong Kong Exporters' Bulletin: The First 50 Yards of the Supply Chain article - Click here to download PDF

August 2004
CILT(UK) selects Mark West as examiner - Click here to download PDF

July/August 2004
Worldwide Retail Automation: I want it all and I want it now! article - Click here to download PDF

22 May 2004
Drapers: Chain Reaction article - Click here to download PDF

9 April 2004
Retail Week: Managerial cover is about getting bang for your buck article - Click here to download PDF

February 2004
Mark West writes for brand new edition of Logistics & Retail Management - Click here to download PDF

February 2004
Storage Handling Distribution: Shopping Channels article - Click here to download PDF

September 2003
Mark West shortlisted for Interim Manager of the Year 2003 - Click here to download PDF