If you win, we win - delivering strategic business outcomes through partnership

If you win, we win - delivering strategic business outcomes through partnership?

By Oliver Pfeil, CEO, Capgemini Business Services

The Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry has evolved considerably over the years. While first generation outsourcing was focused primarily on cost savings and labor arbitrage, the second, third and fourth generation was concerned with service quality, data insights and transformation.

We now find ourselves in a whole new era of services that can be considered more broadly as “Enterprise Management”. This era requires the orchestration of ecosystems across the enterprise, and in doing so, the focus is dramatically shifting to industry specific value creation and business outcomes.?

This era is about what really matters to our clients and what can make their businesses thrive. This is not necessarily a new concept in business services, but it has faltered in its execution in the past. For me, while this approach has always been backed by good intent, it often lacks focus, framework, expertise, data-staging, and the right platform, and therefore isn’t properly executed. Outcomes fall by the wayside or are diluted along the way, so the heart of what truly matters to the client is lost. This is something that needs to change in the BPO industry and that we at Capgemini are driving with energy and conviction with our clients.

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Why now?

We are in the midst of a digital revolution, and we must partner with our clients to successfully manage their dual transition towards a digital and sustainable world. This imperative will push companies to continue their transformation journey despite the economic uncertainty and the volatility in the world today – be it political, economic, health or climate. Businesses today need a laser sharp focus on strategic business outcomes and an ability to pivot and adapt with changing environments. This has never been more crucial. In this context, our clients expect that we provide them with world class solutions, delivering rapid ROI as well as tangible business outcomes, which are aligned with their strategic objectives.

The way we measure success has had to evolve beyond the traditional and transactional metrics that dominated the outsourcing industry in the past, such as Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). As a result, project ownership has also changed. While it used to sit with only a select few business leaders, today it involves the broader C-suite - the CEO, CFO, Chief Supply Chain Officer, and HR Officer are all a non-negotiable part of this discussion. The siloed approach of the past is no longer viable. Today, it’s about understanding what’s important to each business stakeholder, talking the client’s language, and strategically partnering to deliver real business value across end-to-end processes.

The combination of uncertainty and mature outsource environments means that now is the ideal time to bring on the next generation of business services, this time armed with deep sector experience and understanding of how to deliver strategic business outcomes that stand out in the industry.

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What are strategic business outcomes?

We define strategic business outcomes as partnering with clients to achieve their business objectives, not just through words or contracts but by establishing a true partnership that involves commercial alignment and shared, measurable goals.

Decades of outsourcing experience means we understand what truly matters to a specific sector, to the business and to its people. By combining our joint expertise and commitment to outcomes, we’re able to transform operations to meet business goals. Whether it’s securing a smart and resilient supply chain for a life sciences client or increasing speed to market and fulfilment for a consumer products organization, the outcomes are distinct to the sector and can help differentiate between a good business and a great business.

Of course, the notion of delivering value to clients isn’t new. However, the way we get there is. In this approach, a strong partner relationship is key. We have established trust with our clients, and we are now moving to the next level; working together to map outcomes, focusing on a simple transformation framework and the metrics used to measure success. ?

With our ‘Business Services Value Office’ at Capgemini, we put ourselves in the game alongside our clients to achieve their desired strategic outcomes – be it achieving revenue targets, improving margins, driving compliance or meeting sustainability goals. If they succeed, we succeed. If they fail, we also bear that burden. We are equally responsible for business success in this partnership.

The benefits of true partnership

There are intrinsic benefits when two parties come together as a team - they bring different skills, deep sector knowledge and an understanding of what will deliver competitive advantage. This helps drive continuous innovation and value-based outcomes. ?

For example, we worked with a long-standing client and renowned global consumer goods company to examine what tangible ‘value’ meant for them. The real need was to support a faster time to market by streamlining their operating model. With this in mind, we helped realize increased revenue by removing friction and siloes to faster connect their customer to the supply chain and credit mechanisms.

In the finance space, we worked with the CFO of a leading logistics delivery services company to reduce an increasing portion of aged bad debt. Through analytics, we were able to understand the root cause, set up a dedicated multidisciplinary team across customer services, finance, and sales, and worked closely with the client to recover US$20 million of bad debt over just three months.

Not all businesses are ready for the shift to a strategic business outcomes approach. For large global businesses, this requires standardized, end-to-end global practices, the deployment of common tools, as well as the ability to extract data and insights in a meaningful manner and convert them into a solution that can accelerate business impact and strategic outcomes. It is important to begin the journey, and the starting point and progression is defined by our clients’ maturity and appetite to transform.

It also requires a significant culture shift for the business services industry, making sure it has the capabilities to build mutual trust with clients. A bold approach is needed to simplify commercial models to outcomes, or in many cases a hybrid approach for those wanting to adopt a measured way forward to the new model. The ‘Chief Outcomes Officer’ will become a critical role, acting as the “glue” to shape the value map and deliver it jointly with the client and our Value Office.

I have a clear vision for Capgemini Business Services that will see it excel in this new era of business services, based on delivering strategic business outcomes. It’s this vision that drives my team and I to create deeper client partnerships and achieve measurable impact that can be sustained in the areas that today matter the most.