Persuasion - To what degree one should pursue?

This is about a project that I am currently doing in my organization. The project is about doing a particular process at the factory and currently the same is done at the store. The reason for doing this is to bring in simplicity and consistency. I thought of sharing few learnings here.

BE READY TO LISTEN TO NO:

I reached out to fellow managers and expressed desire to this project. The immediate answer was

• No, this will increase cost
• No, this attracts excise duty
• We tried this 2 years ago & we failed
• All suppliers can't do this

Somehow I had a hunch that this is doable and we must do it!

BREAK THE PROBLEM IN PARTS:

I checked with taxation expert (both inside the org. and outside). After multiple follow ups we got a confirmation this process if done at factory will not attract excise duty.
HOPE came too early!

I reached out to knowledge holders and revisited all the numbers...line by line for instore costing.

Looped in SCM team for vendor capability and cost of doing the process at the factory.

There were few setbacks but situation started turning into the favour with the revised numbers.


ENGAGE WITH SENIOR EMPLOYEES:

There is always a merit in discussing the project with senior resources. By virtue of their experience, they can always add value/give helpful directions. 

DO NOT HESITATE:

I met the senior most resource of a particular function and used his influence to drive the stalled project. It gave the desired thrust to the project. 90 days has past by this time.
I presented the project in one of the key forums to get desired management attention. It worked well.

We are going to the plant for trials by the end of the month. I will make this happen. BTW, did I tell you how much we will save if we are able to get this right? Few million dollars :)

The answer to the title question is...Pursue till the end!