James Markunas

Boehringer Ingelheim: B2B Adobe Cloud Commerce

I was brought in by Publicis Sapient to replace a PM who had burned the timeline, lost stakeholder trust, and left the scope in pieces. I stabilized the program in 21 days. Then, mid-program, an Oracle-to-SAP migration landed on top of the live commerce build, adding ERP continuity risk to an already distressed engagement. Five countries. Three years. One global model. The program held.

10X
Online Sales Uplift
15%+
Order Throughput
5
Countries
Boehringer Ingelheim global B2B commerce — animal health program delivery
At-a-Glance

Global Cloud Commerce: Rescued & Delivered

Publicis Sapient brought me in to replace a failing PM on one of the most complex B2B commerce programs they had, 5 countries, a distressed client relationship, and an Oracle-to-SAP migration that arrived mid-program. I rebuilt the delivery structure, restored stakeholder trust, and got the program across the line across every country it touched.

Role
Senior Product & Program Manager
Client
Boehringer Ingelheim
Industry
Animal Health • B2B Commerce • Pharmaceuticals
Timeline
Sep 2020 – Mar 2023
Team / Stakeholders
10 + scalable offshore across US and EU
Budget / Scale
$30M
Systems / Technology
Adobe Commerce Cloud
Adobe Commerce Cloud
Adobe Experience Manager + Adobe Experience Platform
Adobe Experience Manager + Adobe Experience Platform
SAP
SAP
Oracle
Oracle
MuleSoft
MuleSoft
Problem

The prior PM had burned the timeline, fractured stakeholder trust, and left the scope uncontrolled. Boehringer had 5 markets running independent commerce models with no shared global infrastructure, and a surprise Oracle-to-SAP migration was about to add live ERP continuity risk to an already failing engagement.

Mandate

Replace the prior PM, stabilize the engagement, define a global reference storefront across 5 countries, and manage the Oracle-to-SAP migration in parallel without letting it stall or break the commerce program.

What I Changed

Rebuilt delivery structure and stakeholder trust within 21 days. Defined the global reference storefront that gave all 5 countries one model to follow. Set clear boundaries for local variation so market exceptions couldn't fragment the platform. Managed Oracle and SAP running in parallel, sequencing cutovers country by country without breaking commerce continuity.

Outcome

10x online sales uplift. 15%+ order throughput improvement. 12% fewer service escalations. U.S. online sales grew from 3% to 30% of total animal health revenue. Five countries delivered. Program held through a mid-build ERP migration.

Problem Statement

Distressed Program + Live ERP Migration

The program was on fire when I arrived; the prior PM burned the timeline, broke stakeholder trust on both sides of the Atlantic, and left scope uncontrolled across 5 markets. Multi-million-dollar accounts were still ordering by phone, and the client had lost confidence in the delivery team.

I stabilized everything in 21 days: rebuilt the delivery structure, restored trust with US and EU stakeholders, and got the program back on a trackable roadmap. Then, the Oracle-to-SAP migration landed mid-build, on top of a live commerce program across five countries with active cutover sequencing already in motion.

The scale and regulatory complexity made it worse. Five markets, multiple animal species, different regulations for pets and livestock in every country. Every market needed its own catalog, pricing, and ordering flow. No country was allowed to break the program.

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Five markets. A distressed program. A live ERP migration mid-build. One global model that had to hold through all of it.

“
“Jim thinks several steps ahead, looks out for the client, and pushes the work to be better without making it heavier.”
Jared Miller
Jared Miller
Client Partner, Corra/Publicis Sapient
What I Owned

I Rescued the Program and Delivered Anyway

I ran the product and program spine of the transformation, from initial stabilization through global delivery. That meant rebuilding stakeholder trust, defining the global storefront, setting the rules for local variation, managing Oracle and SAP in parallel, and protecting the roadmap from both country pressure and ERP disruption.

  1. 1

    Stabilized a Distressed Engagement in 21 Days

    Burned timeline, fractured client relationships, and uncontrolled scope across US and EU. I rebuilt the delivery structure, re-established stakeholder trust on both sides, and put the program back on a trackable roadmap within three weeks of arriving.

  2. 2

    Defined the Global Reference Storefront

    I defined the global reference model anchored in the US and France that gave all 5 countries one backbone to follow. That made the program scalable and stopped local market exceptions from fragmenting the platform.

  3. 3

    Managed the Oracle-to-SAP Migration Mid-Program

    When the ERP migration landed mid-build, I owned the coexistence strategy, managing Oracle and SAP running in parallel, sequencing country-by-country cutovers, and protecting business continuity without stalling the commerce program.

  4. 4

    Set the Rules for Local Variation

    I defined what markets could localize: catalog eligibility, pricing rules, language, and what had to stay global. Every market got what it needed without breaking the global model.

  5. 5

    Protected Scope Against Three Years of Country Pressure

    Across 3 years and 5 countries, I locked down scope against the global model, managed the backlog through parallel tracks, and kept the program from drifting.

Solution

One Global Model, Controlled Local Variation, Parallel ERP

The solution required three things to work simultaneously: a global commerce model that 5 countries could follow, a local variation framework that gave markets flexibility, and an Oracle/SAP ERP coexistence strategy.

Why the architecture worked

Commerce, product data, content, and market logic each had a clear home. That separation reduced custom work, protected the platform from vendor drift, and made expansion repeatable instead of rebuilding market by market.

What the business gained

Markets could manage the right catalog, pricing, and ordering logic without turning routine commercial work into another country-specific build. The global model stayed focused on commerce while local variation remained controlled.

Impact

Delivered Across Five Countries Through a Live ERP Migration

A formerly distressed program delivered 10x online sales uplift, 15%+ order throughput improvement, and grew US online sales from 3% to 30% of total animal health revenue.

10x
Online SalesOnline sales uplift since Adobe Commerce launch
15%+
Order ThroughputOrder throughput improvement post-launch
12%
Less EscalationsReduction in service escalations post-launch
30%
US Online SalesUp from 3% of total animal health revenue
Problem

Dead on arrival: the program burned its timeline, lost stakeholder trust, and left scope uncontrolled across 5 markets.

01
Decision

I rebuilt the delivery structure and re-established stakeholder trust across US and EU teams within 21 days, then put the program back on a trackable roadmap.

Outcome

The program moved from distressed to on-track and stayed there through three years, 5 countries, and a mid-build ERP migration.

Problem

Multi-million dollar B2B accounts were still ordering by phone, with fragmented catalog eligibility and no self-service ordering path.

02
Decision

I delivered a global B2B self-service model with country-specific catalog eligibility and regulated ordering flows, built on Adobe Commerce Cloud with SAP as the commercial source of truth.

Outcome

Service escalations fell 12%, order throughput improved 15%+, and US online sales grew from 3% to 30% of total animal health revenue.

Problem

The Oracle-to-SAP migration arrived mid-program, adding live ERP continuity risk to an already complex five-country commerce build.

03
Decision

I managed Oracle and SAP running in parallel, sequenced country-by-country cutovers, and protected business continuity without stalling the commerce program.

Outcome

The platform stayed stable through the full ERP transition. Online sales scaled 10x. No country broke the program.

“
“Multi-million dollar accounts were still ordering over the phone; it was a scalability and an operations problem.”
Max Booker
Max Booker
Director, Digital Channel Excellence, Boehringer Ingelheim
Recognition

Press & Accolades

Thanks to my work, Adobe uses BI as a case study and Publicis Sapient/Corra own the gold standard on B2B Adobe Experience Cloud implementations.

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