Phase II — Select & Implement

The second phase of a CATz engagement. Output is a signed vendor commitment and a funded implementation plan. The phase runs only after Phase I closes; the decision from Phase I is the input.

Duration

SMB on Canary Retail alone: 4–8 weeks.
Mid-sized retailer selecting between Canary Retail and an alternative: 8–14 weeks.
Enterprise selecting across multiple vendors with contracted integration: 16–26 weeks.

Workstreams

Six workstreams, sequential-with-parallelism.

1. To-Be Workshops

Purpose. Define the target operating state at workstream granularity, ready for vendor evaluation or build planning.

Inputs. Phase I vision + business case.

Outputs. One to-be deck per domain in scope (Commercial, Finance, Supply Chain, Store Ops, Space / Range / Display, People / Labor).

Runs. Week 1–3.

2. RFP Package

Purpose. Articulate what's being asked for, consistently, across vendors.

Inputs. To-be decks, business requirements frame (Sell / Plan / Move / Buy or equivalent), IT architecture targets.

Outputs. Per-vendor RFP document + attachments + legal appendices (EULA, escrow, SIG outlines). Every vendor receives the same package.

Runs. Week 2–4.

3. RFP Responses

Purpose. Receive structured responses from vendors.

Inputs. RFP package, vendor longlist.

Outputs. Per-vendor folder containing the response, EULAs, escrow agreements, any legal appendices. Every vendor's folder has the same shape — response + attachments + per-domain answers.

Runs. Week 4–8 (vendor work).

4. IT Architecture

Purpose. Target architecture + transition plan. Runs in parallel with vendor RFPs so the architecture isn't vendor-driven.

Inputs. To-be workshops, existing landscape, integration constraints.

Outputs. Target architecture diagram, transition plan, integration architecture, non-functional requirements (performance, security, availability, compliance).

Runs. Week 2–8.

5. Scorecard and Shortlist

Purpose. Structured comparison of vendor responses.

Inputs. RFP responses, scoring rubric, to-be requirements coverage, reference checks.

Outputs. Scored scorecard per vendor, shortlist rationale, recommended finalist(s) for negotiation.

Runs. Week 8–10.

6. Contract Negotiation

Purpose. Close the commercial agreement. Redlines, LSP/SI engagement if needed, escrow, SLAs, penalty clauses.

Inputs. Shortlist recommendation, legal review, procurement alignment.

Outputs. Executed agreement, signed SOW, implementation funding approved.

Runs. Week 10–14.

Exit criteria

Phase II closes when:

Vendor is selected and contracted.
Implementation SOW is signed.
Implementation funding is approved.
Target architecture is signed.
Cutover plan is agreed.
Handoff to implementation team is documented.

Phase III — Implementation (separate)

CATz covers Assess & Design (Phase I) and Select & Implement (Phase II). The actual implementation — the build, deploy, and cutover work — runs as a sibling workstream with its own methodology (typically the vendor's or SI partner's, overlaid by the CATz governance cells from CBM v2: PMO, ARB, Data Protection, Agent Strategy).

For Canary Retail engagements, Phase III implementation runs on the Canary product repo's factory-pipeline discipline; for non-Canary implementations, Phase III is the SI partner's responsibility.

phase-1-assess-and-design
../it-architecture-options
../artifacts/sdd-template
../../cbm-v2/pmo
../../cbm-v2/arb