Union Pacific Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer Rahul Jalali told reporters on a media day business train that UP-NS computer systems integration will go smoothly if the merger is approved.
One of the key topics around the proposed merger of Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern, should the transaction be approved, is the possibility of outages and hiccups when the computer systems of the two railroads are integrated. Observers point to the major merger-related service meltdowns in the 1990s and the recent challenges on CPKC when the Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern computer systems were integrated.
Union Pacific CIO Rahul Jalali said that the main challenges around systems integration include the training of end-users and change management procedures. “It’s not the technology itself that is the tough part,” he said during a briefing aboard the Union Pacific business train. “We’ve really developed a playbook around this precision implementation, as well as a very good model of change management, what’s required, how do you train the people, how do technology and business work hand in glove together, both in the field and at the home office level.”
Successful systems implementation and integration are careful marriages of workflow and technology. The design and implementation plans must include strong training and change management. “I know a thing or two about integrations and the mistakes that are made in integrations,” Jalali said. “Change management is probably the No. 1 reason why companies or processes get in trouble.”
Jalali has the experience to back up his claim. During his career, which included 23 years involved in technology implementation at Walmart International, with his last position as corporate vice president in the technology division, and five years at UP, he has been involved in 14 systems integration cutovers. Jalali said that he and his team have already been meeting with Norfolk Southern to evaluate its systems, and have had meetings with customers to understand how they use their own systems to meet their requirements for a UP+NS integrated system.
Jalali also pointed to the successful implementation of a new system on UP called NetControl, which runs on the Cloud, and supports multiple functions on the railroad. UP CEO Jim Vena echoed Jalali’s remarks, saying, “We have a big job to do. It’s not the first job to do the tech cutover because it’s more important to do the base fundamental operating plan first, because that’s where the benefit is for the customers. And that’s how we can grow the business faster.”
