Improving Operational Capabilities, And Market Opportunities Through Effective Operating Model Design
Sharing Global Capabilities Whilst Maintaining Local Autonomy
What was the challenge?
We were asked by a multinational infrastructure group to provide design expertise for a new operating model that enabled it to deliver more value to its customers and capitalise on new market opportunities through better use of the knowledge and by becoming more efficient. The group had grown by acquisition and had worldwide revenues of almost £10bn. They had capabilities in all aspects of construction, support services and infrastructure investments across the United Kingdom, Ireland, North America and South East Asia. There was very little integration across the group with each business operating almost entirely independently. This frequently led to overlaps with customers and the services being offered.
What was the approach?
Our first step was to ensure that all of the executive team were aligned on the strategy and vision for the organisation and were agreed on the outcomes of the project. The nature of the restructuring was likely to lead to changes in the executive accountabilities and it was important for the chairman and CEO to take the lead. In parallel to this we assessed each independent business, the geographies that they covered, the capabilities that they possessed, the services that they offered and the customers that they served. This enabled us to understand where knowledge was held, where value was being created and where overlaps were present.
We developed a set of strategic options that looked at where the future P&L accountabilities should be created and whether the organisation should be primarily structured vertically by operational capability, or horizontally by geographic location. The client adopted our hybrid recommendation which enabled us to build the process and functional view of the organisation along with the high-level organisational design and implementation roadmap.
How did we help?
Throughout the process we took the business teams on the transformation journey to ensure that they were ready to undertake the complex and difficult changes that were being proposed. Stakeholder management and communication were paramount throughout.
We were able to define clear lines of accountability for the business and function owners and provide local organisations with the critical levers and supporting capabilities needed to improve the customer offer. International centres of excellence provided the means by which knowledge and expertise could be shared to enable growth in new markets and for smaller local businesses to differentiate their offer and compete on the international stage.
The clarity that was provided and the efficiencies that were introduced enabled the client to maintain profitable growth by quickly adapting to changing markets and more rapidly adopting new technologies.