Case Study
Nesma & Partners, Saudi Arabia
Services provided: Process Re-engineering, Delegation of Authority, PMO Setup and Execution Support, Knowledge Transfer
How Nesma & Partners institutionalized policies and procedures to strengthen operational effectiveness
The Challenge
As Nesma & Partners continued to expand its role in delivering a large number of infrastructure, energy, and building projects across Saudi Arabia, the scale and interdependence of its Head Office operations increased significantly. With multiple departments supporting complex project delivery, the organization saw an opportunity to further strengthen alignment, consistency, and clarity across internal processes.
To support continued growth and execution excellence, Nesma & Partners sought to formalize and harmonize policies, procedures, and governance mechanisms assuring that best practices were applied consistently across the organization while maintaining the flexibility required for project-based operations. Building on a long-standing relationship that began nearly two decades ago, CDS partnered with Nesma & Partners to support this next phase of institutional development.
The Transformation
Nesma & Partners engaged CDS to strengthen operational effectiveness, organizational alignment, and interactions between Head Office and Projects by formalizing, streamlining, and harmonizing Head Office policies and procedures.
The transformation focused on:
Diagnosing interdependencies: Assessing existing policies, procedures, and cross-departmental interfaces to identify gaps, overlaps, and inconsistencies.
Identifying and applying best practices: Benchmarking and embedding, where possible, proven practices tailored to Nesma & Partners’ operating context.
Standardizing operations: Developing a comprehensive and harmonized set of guiding policies, standardized procedures, practical KPIs, and supporting documentation across Head Office departments.
Establishing governance: Designing a clear governance framework to oversee policy and procedure implementation, ownership, and ongoing management.
Building the Foundations
To ensure sustainability, CDS worked with Nesma & Partners to establish a clear operational baseline and governance structure.
This included:
Documented operational baseline: Definition of 135 guiding policies, 305 standardized procedures, and 286 KPIs across 25 Head Office departments.
Process clarity: Resolution of process ambiguities within Head Office functions to clarify ownership, handoffs, and accountability.
Interdepartmental alignment: Streamlining of interdependencies and interfaces among Head Office departments to improve coordination and collaboration.
Head Office–Project Teams interaction model: Clarification and streamlining of interactions between Head Office and Project Teams to support effective project delivery and shared accountability.
Governance and management model: Establishment of a policies and procedures governance framework to support implementation, monitoring, and continuous improvement.
The Outcome
By institutionalizing a harmonized policies and procedures framework, Nesma & Partners strengthened operational consistency, clarified accountability, and improved cross-departmental coordination. The organization established a documented and auditable operational baseline that supports internal control, performance monitoring, and future reengineering initiatives, creating a stronger foundation for sustained delivery excellence and alignment with Saudi Vision 2030 objectives.