BlueBridge One Centre Of Excellence: Our Pathway To Global Market Excellence Via Knowledge-Sharing
By Tariro Mutonhori | Talent Acquisition Specialist
At BlueBridge One, we strive to achieve excellence daily and in different ways across the business to shape a bright future. Our Center of Excellence is one of the ways that we commit to this goal by having a core team serving as dedicated members to mastering the specialised services and functions within the business.
The CoE at BlueBridge One has been designed to push the boundaries of knowledge and set the standard of quality while holding a central role in driving innovation, fostering collaboration and building expertise across the company.
Beyond achieving business objectives, the CoE also represents our commitment to empowering our people at BlueBridge One while cultivating a culture of continuous improvement and working towards positioning ourselves as industry leaders. By enforcing targeted leadership, focused development and structured frameworks, our CoE has been set up to ensure that we deliver consistent value to our clients while supporting the growth of our team members.
PURPOSE AND STRUCTURE OF THE COE
BlueBridge One’s COE comprises a team of expert-led focus areas which are each dedicated to our business’ key domains such as finance, supply chain management and technical solutions. The initiative is led by expertly skilled individuals and each team is responsible for maintaining high standards, fostering knowledge-sharing, and also guiding innovation within their areas of specialisation. Our CoE leaders, who are in some parts mentors and subject matter experts, also help to cultivate a collaborative growth driven environment across the company.
TALENT GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT VIA COE’S
At the core of our Center of Excellence’s mission is our people’s empowerment and development. Through regular mentoring, specialised training and strategic knowledge-sharing sessions, the Center of Excellence leaders guide team members in sharpening their skills and building the much useful expertise in their areas of focus. We believe that the emphasis we have placed on growth via our COE’s will help our employees to be better positioned as trusted advisors. In turn a ripple effect of confidence, competence, enterprising and accountability will be created throughout BlueBridge One’s talent ecosystem.
FOSTERING INNOVATION AND MARKET LEADERSHIP
Our Center of Excellence also strives to embody our enterprising value by boldly embracing innovation and creating pathways for knowledge-sharing that empowers both our clients and our teams. We have employed a structured process and paired it with a forward-thinking approach to encourage continuous exploration of new technologies and the development of reusable tools. This is in a bid to ensure that we’re going to be as best equipped as possible to help our clients and our people thrive. BlueBridge One’s commitment to proactive, data-driven decisions has helped to keep our clients ahead in the industry and is one of the key drivers of our position as a trusted source for pioneering ERP Solutions.
To delve deeper into the inspiration and impact of the COE’s, I sat down with Channing McDonald, BlueBridge One’s Strategic Enablement Director, to unpack their purpose and role in shaping our company’s future. Here is what he had to say:
Q: What inspired the creation of the Centers of Excellence (COE’s) at BlueBridge One, and how do they enhance team growth and the delivery of impactful solutions?
Channing McDonald:
“The inspiration for the COE’s came from our desire to be excellent and truly customer-focused. We began by identifying areas where we needed to build expertise, which started as focus groups and later evolved into formalised COE’s. These teams consolidate shared knowledge, articulate high-level business problems, and create system-driven solutions that can be reused across diverse contexts.
“Our organisation has matured to the point where we no longer view NetSuite as the solution to every problem. Instead, we start with understanding the client’s challenges, and the COE’s allow us to combine skills, systems, and insights to solve them effectively. The COE’s ensure we deliver impactful solutions that are consistent, faster, and more reliable.”
Q: How do the COE’s align with BlueBridge One’s Training programme and support the development of new talent?
Channing McDonald:
“One key objective of the COE’s is to create documented practices that can be shared with all levels—from graduates to senior staff—so that everyone can deliver confidently, even in areas where they lack direct experience.
“By having these frameworks in place, graduates and interns can hit the ground running, reduce risks, and learn efficiently. This process not only accelerates individual learning but also enables us to consistently deliver solutions with less risk, greater reliability, and improved margins. This is pivotal for developing talent and building confidence across the organisation.”
Q: What excites you personally about leading the COE’s?
Channing McDonald:
“My passion lies in solving complex business problems and architecting solutions. The COE’s are a means to amplify this work, enabling us to solve more problems more efficiently and productively.
“I’m also excited by the risk management aspect of the COE’s. In consulting, there’s always an element of risk, and the COE’s allow us to mitigate this by standardising solutions and ensuring we deliver more consistently. Finally, I’m passionate about building teams who are equipped to deliver exceptional results and grow with the company.”
Q: How do you see the COE’s shaping BlueBridge One’s future in the next five to ten years?
Channing McDonald:
“The COE’s are critical for keeping us competitive and agile in a rapidly evolving industry. As technology advances, the way we solve business problems will change, but the problems themselves will remain.
“I see the COE’s as a foundation for staying ahead of trends, exploring new technologies like AI, and adapting to market demands. We plan to expand the COE’s to include new focus areas as the market evolves, ensuring that we remain relevant, dynamic, and innovative. This agility will be key to our continued growth and leadership.”
Q: What advice would you give to team members on how to leverage and contribute to the COE’s?
Channing McDonald:
“Firstly, be aware that the COE’s exist and don’t hesitate to ask questions. No question is too small, and there’s a wealth of knowledge within these teams to help solve challenges efficiently. Secondly, participate actively—volunteer, share your ideas, and contribute. Everyone, regardless of experience, has something valuable to offer.
“The COE’s thrive on collaboration, and the more we engage with them, the better equipped we’ll be to deliver innovative solutions for our clients and grow as individuals.”
BUILDING OUR INDUSTRY PRESENCE AND BRAND VIA THE COE’S
Through our Center of Excellence, we not only strive to achieve strategic goals, but also strengthen our standing as a market leader and trusted partner. Since 2003, we have helped businesses across different industries – from Food and Beverage to Fintech and Power & Renewables to unlock the full potential of cloud based solutions. Thanks to these efforts, we have been able to develop innovative practices that address each industry’s unique challenges, empowering businesses to optimise their operations, drive efficiencies and achieve sustainable growth.
Over the next couple of months, we will be rolling out a series of articles spotlighting each Center of Excellence in depth. These articles will unearth the unique expertise, innovative exploits and goals within each area of specialisation.
We hope that this series will bring a greater awareness to the work that we are doing in our areas of specialisation (from finance automation to supply chain management and technical solutions), showcasing the dedication of our teams and the tangible impact they have on our business and clients as well.