brochure teplate a4 · 2017-08-22 · the implementation of sap s/4 hana environments is a case in...
TRANSCRIPT
InnovationNation
OPTIMIZE YOUR BUSINESS AND IT OPERATIONS
Spring2016
·
At the start of the year, I had the privilege of taking on the role of CEO of Capgemini Business Services. This
newly formed strategic business unit brings together the capabilities of Capgemini BPO, IGATE and Prosodie
to offer services that enhance the efficiency, performance, outcomes and value derived from an organization’s
business processes, while bringing its IT function and business operations closer.
Traditionally, companies’ IT and business operations have been run in an aligned but separate manner, with
services related to these activities most often purchased individually under business process outsourcing or
IT outsourcing contracts. However, all of this is now changing. With the advent of Digital and the Cloud, our
clients want more focus on business performance and an integrated approach to underlying operations and
technology that delivers greater business value.
Our new solutions are designed to successfully complete our clients’ business operations in two ways – either
via traditional business process outsourcing (BPO) solutions, or via an “as-a-service” platform model that
combines BPO, applications and infrastructure. These Cloud-based solutions also enable us to meet the
rising demand for agility, adoption of best-in-class standards, rapid deployment of new solutions, reducing
our clients’ fixed costs related to IT infrastructure, etc. Our solutions can be deployed in typical support
functions such as Finance & Accounting, Procurement and HR, as well as customer facing functions that
enhance customer experience or core middle-office functions specific to various industry domains, such as
claims management in the insurance industry and supply chain in consumer goods.
With this in mind, the Spring 2016 issue of Innovation Nation focuses on how our clients are benefiting from
our new solutions – optimizing their business and IT operations.
Interviews with Unit4 CFO, Ray Leclerc, and Dairy Farm’s Finance Director, Paulman Lui, focus on
the challenges and rewards of recent Capgemini implemented finance transformations, while Barbra
McGann from HfS Research writes about how Warner Bros. and Capgemini have co-developed talent for
Finance-as-a-Service.
We introduce our new Finance-as-a-Stack on SAP S4/HANA solution that links SAP HANA’s lightning-fast
analytics with our transformational capabilities to enable our clients to boost their companies’ performance,
while increasing profitability and mitigating risk.
This issue also talks to Indivar Khosla, head of Financial Services for Capgemini Business Services, about the
challenges and opportunities that technology is bringing to the insurance and banking industry. In addition,
we bring you expert insights on intelligent automation, customer interaction and a closer look at our NOIDA
delivery center in India, as well as a number of other topics from our regular panel of bloggers.
Finally, don’t miss the interview with Capgemini Business Services COO, Christopher Stancombe, who was
recognized earlier this year as an inductee to the prestigious IAOP Leadership Hall of Fame.
I hope you enjoy this edition of Innovation Nation and on behalf of the Capgemini Business Services team, we
look forward to helping you optimize your business and IT operations!
Aruna Jayanthi,CEO, Capgemini Business Services
32 INNOVATION NATION SPRING 2016
·
Erwan Le Duff, CEO, Capgemini-Prosodie /68
Three Things Progressive Companies Are Doing to Enrich the Digital Customer Experience Erwan Le Duff /70
The Telephone Has Become Very Popular with Our Members – Interview with Samuel Pichot, Director of Customer Relations, MGEN /72
Meet the Expert
05
A Look at Some of the Innovations and Achievements from across our Global Delivery Centers /40
Center Spotlight – NOIDA /42
Introducing NOIDA – Interview with Atul Kulshreshtha, Head of Global Transformation & FS Delivery, Capgemini Business Services /44
The Impact of Technology on Business Processes in the Financial Services Industry – Interview with Indivar Khosla, Head of Financial Services, Capgemini Business Services /98
Reconciliation for a Major North American Bank /102
Why Business Process Outsourcing Is Gaining Steam – Sid Bhattacharya /106
Capgemini’s Coach Delivers Outsourcing Wins Interview with Christopher Stancombe, COO of Capgemini Business Services /112
Centers of Excellence
03
Industry in Focus:Financial Services
07
Transforming Unit4’s Finance and HR Functions Interview with Ray Leclercq, CFO of Unit4 /22
How Warner Bros. and Capgemini Co-develop Talent for Finance-as-a-Service Barbra McGann /26
The Challenge of Choosing a Transformation Partner – Interview with Paulman Lui, Finance Director of Dairy Farm North Asia Food /30
Capgemini Brings Home €668 million in Organic Free Cash Flows by Transforming Our Order-to-Cash Function /34
Why Today’s CFO Needs a Broader Set of Shoulders – Christopher Stancombe /76
A Customer-centric Approach to M&A Magdalena Matel /78
The Unsexy Side of Innovation Nobody Is Talking About – Marty Borcharding /82
The SMAC Propeller for Financial Planning and Analysis – Divya Kumar /84
The Watermelon Effect – It Isn’t All about SLAs Marek Grodzinski /86
Five Essential Success Factors for Implementing Global E-Procurement Tools Abduelkadir Tekin /90
Contract Management: Is There Life after Death? Craig Conte /94
Robotic Process Automation in Business Process Outsourcing – Interview with Lee Beardmore, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Capgemini Business Services /50
Seven Laws of Workplace Robotics Christopher Stancombe /56
Using Artificial Intelligence to Optimize Business Processes Tim Ulrich /60
Capgemini Drives Artificial Intelligence into Its Business Services Solutions through Global Collaboration with Celaton /64
Stories of Finance Transformation
02Expert Insights
06
Recognition
08Technology Talk: Intelligent Automation
04
Finance-as-a-Stack on SAP S/4HANA /8
Does the Process Still Come before the Technology? Andrzej Hutniczak /10
Is Your ERP a Roadblock to Transforming Your Finance and Accounting Function? Gustavo Tasner /14
Capgemini’s Finance-as-a-Stack on SAP S/4HANA in Numbers /16
Introducing Finance-as-
a-Stack
01
54 INNOVATION NATION SPRING 2016
.01
INTRODUCING FINANCE- AS-A-STACK
Introducing Finance-as-a-Stack
FINANCE-AS-A-STACK ON SAP S/4HANA
Linking SAP HANA’s lightning-fast analytics with Capgemini’s transformational capabilities, Finance-as-a-Stack ON SAP S/4HANA delivers smarter innovations, faster processes, simpler interactions and a more informed, agile business.
ADAPTING TO TODAY’S ENVIRONMENT
As well as being financial gatekeepers, finance leaders
are also expected to support strategic and operational
decision making in a “business partnering” capacity. In
forward-looking organizations, the CFO and F&A function
are evolving from a transactional and cost efficiency focus
to an increasingly value-adding strategic focus.
In addition, CIOs and those responsible for the integrity of
corporate data understand that progressive ERP platforms
can bring business benefits, but don’t always have a clear
vision of a defined roadmap to navigate their organization
from its current environment.
YOUR ROADMAP IN A COMPLEX ERP WORLDCapgemini and SAP® offer businesses a huge opportunity
to boost performance, increase profitability and mitigate risk
through value added SAP S/4HANA® Finance as-a-Stack
services. To derive significant benefits, it is important to
assess where value can be found and plan accordingly
– which is easily said, but often represents a significant
challenge. As a long-standing SAP partner and leader
in ERP and Business Information Management (BIM),
Capgemini guides businesses towards the optimum SAP
S/4HANA Finance based transformation roadmap.
A PROVEN HISTORY OF DELIVERING SAP EXPERTISE
As one of the world’s largest and most experienced SAP
system integrators, Capgemini has 17,800 practitioners
and over 40 years of experience. Capgemini is also an early
adopter partner of SAP S/4HANA Finance and a recipient
of the SAP Pinnacle “SAP HANA Adoption Partner of
the Year” award. This enables us to drive consistent and
impressive results using our SAP delivery and solution
design centers, IP and pre-configured solutions across
the entire lifecycle of services.
Finance-as-a-Stack on SAP S/4HANA enables rapid strategic and tactical decision-making based on real-time insight – boosting performance, increasing profitability and mitigating risk.
9
Introducing Finance-as-a-Stack
DOES THE PROCESS STILL COME BEFORE THE TECHNOLOGY?Andrzej Hutniczak, SVP, Head of Innovation, Business
Services
In business we often confuse the ends and the means. It’s natural. For instance, we tend to regard training, efficiency and innovation as desirable outcomes for their own sakes when in fact they’re all stepping-stones to better customer service or greater profitability, or both.
There are few, if any, areas where this confusion is
more apparent than in the application of technology.
The introduction of new systems is presented either as
a benefit in its own right or as a means of enabling greater
innovation and efficiency. Either way the technology is still
the medium rather than the message.
Or is it? Lately, I’ve been thinking about this – and in
particular with regard to the relationship between
technology and processes.
In this case, the process can be taken as the objective and
the technology is typically the means by which it can be
achieved. It’s the process that matters, and technology’s
role is to facilitate it.
THE OLD ORDER IS CHANGINGI am a strong believer that process should govern
technology. Lately, though, it seems to me the ground
has started to shift, and I wonder if the classic paradigm
still holds true. With the rise of Cloud-based systems, of
Artificial Intelligence (AI), of Robotic Process Automation
(RPA) and more, we find that technology is introducing
new outcomes that are merging with those of the process
they serve.
For example, it’s hard to argue with the fact that automating
an inefficient process is sub-optimal. So we start with
a best-in-class process and then apply RPA to help
drive perfect standardization across the operation while
delivering time and cost savings.
In addition, the classic approach to drawing the process
flow is still relevant, but given the possibility of modern
dynamic modeling technology, we can use a proof of
concept to test different scenarios.
And think about the impact of digital technology on the
customer experience in terms of user friendliness and
what the application enables them to achieve. The digital
customer experience becomes the new outcome that the
technology has created.
The Internet of Things (IoT) is also enabling us to
streamline the entire traditional process flow to deliver
faster, better outcomes.
In the past, a process was clearly defined and entirely
manual; but now, when technology can make processes
independent from individual locations so they become
virtual, it’s the workflow the technology enables that
assumes the dominant role.
The implementation of SAP S/4 HANA environments is
a case in point. To take full advantage of the ERP benefits
this platform can bring, enterprises need to prepare
a business argument for it. This, in turn, requires the
development of an implementation roadmap – and to
develop the roadmap organizations need to take stock
of the processes to which the technology is to be applied
and see how they might be transformed.
11
·
In this way, business processes become embedded in
the IT. The medium and the message become one thing.
It’s a model that blurs past distinctions and which we at
Capgemini are pursuing. For instance, in our “as-a-stack”
approach to SAP S/4 HANA, the stack becomes a holistic
solution optimized to specific processes embedded in the
ERP for any given enterprise. There can be positive cost
considerations in thinking of things in this merged way.
The technology can simplify the transaction of a process
even if that process is itself less than perfectly efficient,
and generate savings that can sometimes be greater than
improving the process.
WHAT REALLY MATTERSA new world has emerged that blurs past distinctions. In this
new model, the process and technology are increasingly
interdependent and need to be considered jointly.
But this is not a problem – it is a brilliant opportunity!
In the world where speed, agility and the (digital) customer
experience matter, technology becomes a strong symbiotic
partner to process. What matters is the business outcome.
The ultimate business arbiter is, or should be, the end
result: everything else, and in particular the processes
and technology used, is a means to that end.
Scan here formore information
Finance-as-a-Stack on SAP S/4HANA enables you to make rapid strategic and tactical decisions based on real-time insight – boosting performance, increasing pro�tability and mitigating risk.
Bring rapid and significant business value to your organization based on real-time insight.
A new world has emerged that blurs past distinctions. In this new model, the process and technology are increasingly interdependent and need to be considered jointly.
12 INNOVATION NATION SPRING 2016
Introducing Finance-as-a-Stack
IS YOUR ERP A ROADBLOCK TO TRANSFORMING YOUR FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING FUNCTION?Gustavo Tasner, VP, Head of Americas Delivery Network,
Capgemini Business Services
Global organizations faced with growth, competition or restructuring challenges often turn to finance and accounting transformation to help them focus on core business issues, reduce costs and improve controls. However, it’s not unusual for such initiatives to be thwarted by rigid or inflexible ERP systems not suitable for smaller markets or rapid reaction to changing market conditions.
This is something I’ve often seen in my BPO career,
especially in geographies like Latin America where the
investments or focus needed to deploy technology are
offset by the market size or economic instability.
But this is not a dead end. There are ways of overcoming
this scenario to address ERP functional limitations or even
replace your ERP with a light, low effort “as-a-stack” solution.
Finance "as-a-stack" is an increasingly popular approach
as it provides a standard ERP configuration using tools
such as Capgemini’s Global Enterprise Model© (GEM)
and also covers the application rollout and infrastructure
support. This is ideal for smaller markets where there is no
room for a big ERP rollout but require full ERP functionality
to replace their legacy solutions.
But we also know that in some cases companies cannot
simply write off previous technology investments or
compromise on partial implementations covering basic
functionalities. For such situations there is the possibility
of adding a set of “add on” tools that help deliver the
process functionality needed while interacting with the
existing ERP.
These tools easily interface with the existing ERP
environment and will help streamline the F&A functions,
improve controls and enable BPO-driven savings through
productivity enhancements and service delivery location.
So, for any CFOs having doubts on the feasibility of
addressing their ERP shortcomings while transforming
their finance operations, rest assured that there are proven
solutions to bridge the technology gaps.
Finance "as-a-stack" provides standard ERP configuration and covers application rollout and infrastructure support.
Global Enterprise Model© (GEM) 2015. Capgemini. All rights reserved.
15
Introducing Finance-as-a-Stack
BRING RAPID AND SIGNIFICANT BUSINESS VALUE TO YOUR ORGANIZATION WITH FINANCE-AS-A-STACK ON SAP S/4HANA
ABOUT CAPGEMINI AND SAP
Capgemini Revenue: €11.9 billion (2015)
Capgemini founded in France SAP founded in Germany
SAP Revenue:€20.8 billion (2015)
ABOUT SAP S/4HANA
1967 1972
SAP S/4HANA provides:
The SAP HANA platform can save an organization 37% across hardware, software
and labor costs:70%+ on software, 15%+ on hardware,
20%+ on administration and development labor
fasterreporting
1,350xfaster
analytics
1,000x faster
response
200x
SAP S/4HANA Finance can:
Cut 400 hours from period-end
close
Provide
86% faster real-time analytics
Post costs
2.5x faster
Capgemini’s Finance-as-a-Stack on SAP S/4HANA in Numbers
ABOUT CAPGEMINI’S SAP EXPERTISE
Capgemini has17,800
SAP experts
Capgemini has won 7 SAP
Pinnacle Awards in
recent years
Capgemini has an extensive network of assets and professionals dedicated to the SAP HANA platform:
80+ HANA projects in various technologies, including, S/4HANA, BW on SAP HANA, CRM on SAP HANA, COPA on SAP HANA, SAP HANA Live
Capgemini offers a 3-step / 6-week assessment
1,500+ resources (200+ certified) in 21 countries
3 SAP HANA Centers of Excellence
17
Introducing Finance-as-a-Stack
https://www.capgemini.com/�nance-accounting/�nance-as-a-stack-on-sap-s4hanahttps://www.capgemini.com/�nance-accounting/�nance-as-a-stack-on-sap-s4hanahttps://www.capgemini.com/�nance-accounting/�nance-as-a-stack-on-sap-s4hanahttps://www.capgemini.com/�nance-accounting/�nance-as-a-stack-on-sap-s4hanahttps://www.capgemini.com/�nance-accounting/�nance-as-a-stack-on-sap-s4hanahttps://www.capgemini.com/�nance-accounting/�nance-as-a-stack-on-sap-s4hanahttps://www.capgemini.com/�nance-accounting/�nance-as-a-stack-on-sap-s4hanahttps://www.capgemini.com/�nance-accounting/�nance-as-a-stack-on-sap-s4hanahttps://www.capgemini.com/�nance-accounting/�nance-as-a-stack-on-sap-s4hanahttps://www.capgemini.com/�nance-accounting/�nance-as-a-stack-on-sap-s4hanahttps://www.capgemini.com/�nance-accounting/�nance-as-a-stack-on-sap-s4hanahttps://www.capgemini.com/�nance-accounting/�nance-as-a-stack-on-sap-s4hanahttps://www.capgemini.com/�nance-accounting/�nance-as-a-stack-on-sap-s4hanahttps://www.capgemini.com/�nance-accounting/�nance-as-a-stack-on-sap-s4hanahttps://www.capgemini.com/�nance-accounting/�nance-as-a-stack-on-sap-s4hanahttps://www.capgemini.com/�nance-accounting/�nance-as-a-stack-on-sap-s4hanahttps://www.capgemini.com/�nance-accounting/�nance-as-a-stack-on-sap-s4hanahttps://www.capgemini.com/�nance-accounting/�nance-as-a-stack-on-sap-s4hanahttps://www.capgemini.com/�nance-accounting/�nance-as-a-stack-on-sap-s4hanahttps://www.capgemini.com/�nance-accounting/�nance-as-a-stack-on-sap-s4hanahttps://www.capgemini.com/�nance-accounting/�nance-as-a-stack-on-sap-s4hanahttps://www.capgemini.com/�nance-accounting/�nance-as-a-stack-on-sap-s4hanahttps://www.capgemini.com/�nance-accounting/�nance-as-a-stack-on-sap-s4hanahttps://www.capgemini.com/�nance-accounting/�nance-as-a-stack-on-sap-s4hanahttps://www.capgemini.com/�nance-accounting/�nance-as-a-stack-on-sap-s4hanahttps://www.capgemini.com/�nance-accounting/�nance-as-a-stack-on-sap-s4hanahttps://www.capgemini.com/�nance-accounting/�nance-as-a-stack-on-sap-s4hanahttps://www.capgemini.com/�nance-accounting/�nance-as-a-stack-on-sap-s4hanahttps://www.capgemini.com/�nance-accounting/�nance-as-a-stack-on-sap-s4hanahttps://www.capgemini.com/�nance-accounting/�nance-as-a-stack-on-sap-s4hanahttps://www.capgemini.com/�nance-accounting/�nance-as-a-stack-on-sap-s4hanahttps://www.capgemini.com/�nance-accounting/�nance-as-a-stack-on-sap-s4hanahttps://www.capgemini.com/�nance-accounting/�nance-as-a-stack-on-sap-s4hanahttps://www.capgemini.com/�nance-accounting/�nance-as-a-stack-on-sap-s4hanahttps://www.capgemini.com/�nance-accounting/�nance-as-a-stack-on-sap-s4hanahttps://www.capgemini.com/�nance-accounting/�nance-as-a-stack-on-sap-s4hanahttps://www.capgemini.com/�nance-accounting/�nance-as-a-stack-on-sap-s4hanahttps://www.capgemini.com/�nance-accounting/�nance-as-a-stack-on-sap-s4hana
1. Possible savings, based on a composite cost model by Forrester
2. Capgemini, SAP® S/4HANA – Why Now!, April 2015
3. SAP Infographic, Reimagine – Business User Experience, 2015
4. SAP Infographic, How do you innovate in a complex world, 2015
ABOUT OUR CLIENTS
ABOUT THE MARKET
Find out more
of executives say it’s difficult to determine which data is the most valuable3
30%
In the next two years, we’ll see
growth in business
networks4
40%
of executives are able to respond to requests for information in real time3
12%need improved reporting and visualization tools3
83%
of the world’s data has been created in the past
two years4
90% By end of 2020, there will be billion
mobile users worldwide and billion
“things” will be connected4 212
9
.02
STORIES OF FINANCE TRANSFORMATION
Stories of Finance Transformation
TRANSFORMING UNIT4’S FINANCE AND HR FUNCTIONSRay Leclercq, CFO of Unit4
Capgemini’s strategic partner Unit4, a global provider of enterprise applications to service organizations, recently underwent a significant global finance and HR transformation. Innovation Nation talks to Ray Leclercq, CFO of Unit4, about the strategic imperative to transform the finance and HR functions, and how to best ensure the desired outcomes including consolidation, cost control, streamlining processes and ensuring employee support throughout the process.
What triggers led you to partner with a Business Process-as-a-Service (BPaaS) provider?Ray Leclercq: The rise of the subscription economy
combined with the digital revolution is disrupting the
market. CFOs have to acknowledge and understand the
impact “digital” is having on their business. At Unit4, the
digital revolution was challenging the way we did business;
from the services we deliver to our customers, to our
approach to market and sales channels.
Historically, Unit4 has consisted of a number of
independently operating units, and as such we never got
the optimal result that a business of our size and capability
should achieve. The solution for us was to transform our
business, which is now all about scaling up to become
one global business. This means globalizing functions,
standardizing processes and setting up global scalable
platforms for finance, IT and HR.
This has been a strategic and significant initiative for
us, and is seeing us leveraging our software across the
company to support the business and its objectives.
Basically, we wanted to drink more of our own champagne.
We know the benefits we deliver to our customers, and
we wanted the same. So we did this in order to support
the business by delivering a global IT strategy – a single
global standard, with harmonized data and processes.
What have been the rewards of the transformation so far?Primarily, we have the structure and tools we need to
be more efficient and effective. We have a single set of
processes and ways of working for our core financial, HR
and professional services across all Unit4 companies.
Some of the other benefits include reduced time inputting
data and compiling reports, and faster decision making
through better access to information for management
reports.
The templates we’ve created will bring a consistent,
reliable framework, giving us a far more robust control
environment. Control procedures are now designed just
once, implemented globally and can be checked and
audited in a centralized single effort. Reporting is also
much more efficient and timely, as a global standard chart
of accounts combines with standard methodologies to
enable simpler consolidation and comparisons.
23
·
And what have you found most challenging?
While every wave of the transition has been different, our
Go Live was remarkably smooth. A transition such as this,
which is essentially a business re-engineering project, at
a pace like ours will always involve a certain amount of
pain, and we’re determined to continue improving. We
understand the initial teething problems we faced, and all
our teams are continuing to work together to ensure every
feature is fully implemented and the countries involved
have the support needed to operate effectively in the new
template. Despite this, we’re achieving a true shift in how
we operate as a business.
What advice would you give to organizations considering a BPO/BPaaS initiative?My advice would be to consider all the options available
to you. We decided that using a third party would be
the best option given our aggressive implementation
plans. I would also say, focus on the “change” aspects
of implementation, including training, documentation and
communication; and focus on processes rather than
technical functions. In-country leadership is also vital –
each business leadership team must own and drive the
change, supported by a strong central leadership team
with overall responsibility for successful implementation.
For a global project such as transforming Unit4, it’s important
to closely support each business unit and department
throughout the change process to minimize disruption.
In business for people.
Organizations constantly need to adapt to changing conditions – dynamics such as growth and expansion, new business models, integration of acquisitions, or pressure to reduce operational costs and inefficiencies.
We offer you a new, better way to master these changes: Self-driving ERP™. Just as self-driving cars ease the burdens on drivers, so Unit4 solutions provide unmatched flexibility paired with a proactive experience for users.
The result? Less administrative load on your people and higher productivity – freeing your organization to fully focus on turning change into opportunities, driving business success.
unit4.com/self-driving-erp
Self-Driving ERP™ Less administration; more business agility.
24 INNOVATION NATION SPRING 2016
Stories of Finance Transformation
HOW WARNER BROS. AND CAPGEMINI CO-DEVELOP TALENT FOR FINANCE-AS-A-SERVICEBarbra McGann, EVP, Business Operations Research, HfS
In the entertainment industry, it is the “talent” that brings the story to life. The same can be said in the sourcing industry of workforce talent, according to Chris Piazza, Senior Vice President, Warner Bros. Enterprise Financial Services (EFS). Chris was joined by Marty Borcharding, Engagement Executive Vice President at Capgemini, to describe how workforce talent features in Evolving to a Balanced As-a-Service Finance Model, in an HfS Research webinar in October 2015.1
After engaging with Capgemini in a hybrid shared services
and outsourcing model for a number of years, Warner
Bros. EFS was looking to evolve to a more flexible
model. “We wanted to be nimble and move quickly but
also have a structure that would allow us to scale,” said
Chris. In short, Chris was looking to redefine the standard
outsourcing model to be more on-demand and as-a-
service, balancing supply and demand and moving from
a fixed cost model to a variable cost model. This story
caught our attention because it provides an example of
how a legacy outsourcing engagement transitioning to
as-a-service hinges on the workforce talent to taking on
the critical role of becoming capability brokers in driving
this change, and addresses the evolving nature of the
sourcing workforce.
ACHIEVING A MORE FLEXIBLE WORKFORCE MODELThere are three principles that stood out to HfS as driving
these two companies forward into an increasingly agile
engagement: creating a level of institutional knowledge
and collaboration; open dialogue and willingness to take
risks; and redefining the profile of the finance professionals.
• Creating a level of institutional knowledge and
collaboration between service provider and client.
The early years in the engagement established the
foundation for trust and comfort that Capgemini could
deliver at the level of quality expected not just by EFS,
but also by the business units at Warner Bros. “We
educated Capgemini on how each line of business
operates,” said Chris. “We made a conscious decision
to invest in technology, process optimization and
training to enable our hybrid shared services model
to operate globally at a high level.” This effort, coupled
with Capgemini learnings of the business cycles, has
given the team unprecedented insight to foresee where
they will need to scale based on industry events. For
example, by knowing the seasonality of the business,
the team knows when work will spike and is able to
staff proactively. This, in turn, gives the Warner Bros.
EFS team the confidence to rely more on Capgemini
in order to have the ability to focus on additional value-
added services to the businesses it serves. Additionally,
this has allowed EFS to focus effort on new areas such
as analytics, robotics and integration. By developing
a solid working knowledge of each other’s business,
industry and capability, the executive teams have been
1 Evolving to a Balanced As-a-Service Finance Model, HfS Research, October 29, 2015
27
Stories of Finance Transformation
·
able to map over time which organization is best suited
to provide what capability to meet a need – brokering
capability to drive targeted outcomes.
• Aligning around a shared vision and a willingness
to take risks and course correct as needed. Both
teams have frequent conversations on driving change
and improving operations. And, each year, the two
enterprises engage in two solid days of innovation and
blueprinting in person and with remote participation.
“We have open and honest dialogue about where we
want to go. There are no bad ideas and we are willing
to take some risks. We have developed an environment
in which we will not punish for trying. If our best-
laid plans do not materialize as we hoped, then we
course correct along the way. We want to be able to
try things and not be tied down, both from pricing and
strategic perspective,” said Chris. The teams are turning
their attention to increasing use of automation and
experimenting with cognitive computing to continue
to raise the bar on predictability and flexibility in their
engagement. “Integrity is everything,” said Marty, “we
are in it for the long term. We do what is right for the
success of the business.”
• Redefining the profile of the professionals who define
and deliver services from this model. “The types of
people that we now recruit for our team are different,
which leads us to new ways of thinking and running
our operations. We are managing different geographies
and many different cultures, internal business units, and
delivery centers in Guatemala, Poland, China and India.
Altogether, it requires a different set of skills versus
traditional accounting professionals,” explained Chris.
In addition, the newer profile includes those who are
“technology curious”–not afraid to embrace technology
the team wants to explore, along with creative thinkers
and problem solvers – to address accounting, but also
ambiguity and change. The real key, though, is the
ability to be “coachable.” As Chris notes, if candidates,
“have the appetite and attitude, the company can train
them on the media and entertainment business. And if
they are technically inclined and creative it will help us
move forward in the way we want to go.” The profile
of the operations professionals in Capgemini is also
changing. “It is not just about ability to do transaction
processing or understanding how to do journal entry or
reconciliation,” said Marty, “but also business acumen,
obsession with quality and service and leadership to
communicate vision and mobilize teams.”
This effort at both Warner Bros. EFS and Capgemini
addresses a number of key points that emerged from
HfS research earlier this year, when we surveyed and
interviewed sourcing professionals on their interest and
excitement regarding sourcing as a career.2 Sourcing
professionals are in it for the intellectual challenge and
increasingly appreciate the training and educational
opportunities, but often fail to see a career path. In
particular, while the majority believe Operations is a force
for innovation and change, one out of eight professionals
in an Operations role less than two years have yet to see
the opportunities the experience will open up to them.
WHAT TO WATCHHfS believes that many career paths and professions are
being disrupted and reimagined. In this example, it’s the
well-established profession of Finance and the newer one
of Operations. It’s not just about having accounting skills
anymore, and following the well-defined path of being an
accountant. It’s also about having social skills, comfort
with digital technology, and capability to collaborate and
communicate effectively. The generations entering the
workforce and growing up in it today may not have a career
“path” so much as a “journey” – a general direction that
is taken in steps that follow their interests and capabilities
matched to opportunities. It will not be as much about
following a career path as about choosing a way to work
and an outcome to impact, and where to do it. Warner Bros. EFS has put a lot of emphasis on nurturing
young professionals and providing a career environment
they will find rewarding. They are specifically looking
for people who want to work autonomously and have
“meaningful responsibility” early, a common ask from
Millennials. There is a lot of encouragement to move
between EFS and the business units, and in fact, the
business units now look to EFS when they have open
positions. New opportunities are also opening up for
people to act as “capability brokers” – to identify business
problems and architect solutions that leverage resources
internally and externally.
The flexibility in the staffing is also now mirrored in the
contracting. One of the original objectives for Warner Bros.
was to transition from a fixed cost model to a variable cost
model, and create the ability to pay for services when
needed and not pay when services are not needed. This
contract has become an “a la carte” method that includes:
FTE-based, gain share, and transactional pricing. “The
level of trustworthiness, partnership and collaboration
between service providers and buyers is the cornerstone
of how we have been successful with Capgemini for over
seven years,” said Chris. All of which has been enabled
by the ability to change, and create a more flexible and
nimble engagement in which the new workforce talent
are the stars in operational delivery.
Originally published by HfS Research:
http://www.hfsresearch.com/pov/warner-bros-and-
capgemini-co-develop-talent-finance-service
< 2 YEARS 2 to 5 YEARS 5 to 10 YEARS > 10 YEARS
86%88%84%88%
63%69%83%91%
1%69%53%76%
1%69%34%49%
OPERATONS IS A FORCE FOR INNOVATION AND
CHANGE WITHIN BUSINESS
NOT FULLYTRANSLATING INTO
SUSTAINABILITY AS ACAREER FOR THOSE
NEW TO IT
OPERATONS IS A FORCE FOR INNOVATION AND
CHANGE WITHIN BUSINESS
OPERATIONS TODAY IS AN EXCITNG CAREER CHOICE
OPERATIONS HAS A DEFINED CAREER TRACK AND A
CERTAIN FUTURE
EXCITEMENT ABOUT OPERATONS BEING
A FORCE FOR CHANGE
To what extent do you agree/disagree with the following? (by BPO experience)
Source: HfS Research 2015; Enterprise Buyers = 121; Advisors/Consultants = 158; Service Provider Executives = 229
2 Phil Fersht and Barbra McGann, THE BPO PROFESSION IN 2015: Today’s Accidental Career Path, Tomorrow’s Capability Broker, HfS Research, March 2015.
Warner Bros. EFS has put a lot of emphasis on nurturing young professionals and providing a career environment.
2928 INNOVATION NATION SPRING 2016
Stories of Finance Transformation
·
THE CHALLENGE OF CHOOSING A TRANSFORMATION PARTNERPaulman Lui, Finance Director, Dairy Farm North Asia Food
Innovation Nation talks to Paulman Lui, Finance Director of Dairy Farm North Asia Food, about the challenges Dairy Farm faced during its recent transformation to SAP FICO, and gives advice on choosing a transformation partner.
Hello Paulman. Could you start by telling us a bit about Dairy Farm and your role in the company?Paulman Lui: Dairy Farm is a retailer covering 11
countries across the entire Asia-Pacific region. In 2015,
our annual revenue was approximately $13 billion coming
from roughly 6,500 outlets across the region. We operate
supermarkets, hypermarkets, convenience stores, health
and beauty stores and home furnishing outlets, as well
as the restaurant business.
In the Hong Kong area, our main brands include Wellcome
– a supermart chain, 7-Eleven – convenience stores, and
Mannings – a health and beauty shop. We also operate
Ikea in Hong Kong and own a 50% interest in Maxim’s in
Hong Kong, China and Vietnam. In Singapore, our main
brands include supermarkets Jasons Market Place, Cold
Storage and Giant, as well as 7-Eleven and health and
beauty stores such as Guardian.
I am the finance director for Dairy Farm’s North Asia
operation responsible for accounting services and
property administration, as well as providing support to
business units in the Hong Kong and Macau region.
Could you tell us more about the SAP FICO implementation that Capgemini carried out for Dairy Farm?
Capgemini first started operating in Asia in 2003, when
they purchased the joint venture set up between Ernst
& Young and Dairy Farm in China to provide accounting
services for the Hong Kong and Macau region.
About a year and a half ago, Dairy Farm wanted to
transform its legacy Oracle system and migrate to the
SAP FICO system across the region. China was chosen
as the pilot site for the transformation, followed by rollout
in Hong Kong and Macau. As Capgemini was already
providing accounting services to Dairy Farm in Hong Kong
and Macau, we engaged them to carry out the processes
transformation. This involved many process changes, and
we collaborated very closely with Capgemini regarding
the training and design of the transformation, as well as
the data conversion and the subsequent rollout.
What were the main business challenges behind implementing SAP FICO? Firstly, because Dairy Farm had been using Oracle
since the mid 1990s, our staff had nothing in the way
of SAP experience. Many of our existing processes at
the time were designed around Oracle and other legacy
systems, and the changes in processes needed for SAP
implementation were extremely significant. This lack of
knowledge and understanding of SAP was our main
challenge.
Secondly, despite the fact that the China rollout was a pilot,
it was also relatively simple. The Hong Kong operation is
the most complicated operation in the entire region. We
have the biggest business in Hong Kong, as well as the
regional office and the head office, and all the different
lines of business. So the complexity is three or four times
that of China.
And finally, Dairy Farm had been working in an
entrepreneurial culture – different businesses had different
31
·
THE DAIRY FARM TEAM
systems and processes, etc. The senior management at
the time felt that there was a need to standardize the system
and processes, to take advantage of the productivities and
lay down the foundations of a system to enable us to grow
in the future. This became our main objective.
The project was extremely successful, and we now have
process alignment across the business. We can also carry
out reporting and data mining in a much easier manner
– with standardized data structures.
Why did you choose Capgemini to be your transformation partner?Dairy Farm represents Capgemini’s main client in Asia –
and because of our long history of working together, we
knew Capgemini had deep and intimate knowledge of
our business, system and processes.
Throughout the transformation period, Capgemini was an
extremely supportive partner to us, not only in day-to-day
operations, but also in terms of calling on them at very short
notice for extra resources and people. We were also able to
tap into Capgemini’s expertise and experience as a service
provider in using the SAP system in accounting services.
What advice would you give to other companies looking to outsource this kind of implementation?
I believe that it is imperative to have a business partner that
understands your business and has intimate knowledge
of your processes. It’s also important to choose a partner
that has knowledge of what you’re trying to achieve and
the resources to achieve it, as you don’t know when an
emergency might arise.
In fact, once or twice during the project, we had to ask
Capgemini for additional FTEs to jump in and help us
out at a couple of days’ notice – which they did, which
meant we didn’t have to train up new people. This is very
important for the success of the project.
In a nutshell, what has your overall experience of working with Capgemini been?If I had to sum up Dairy Farm’s relationship with Capgemini,
it’s all about trust – the trust in a partner that can back
you up no matter what. And that’s the level of trust we
have built up with Capgemini.
3332 INNOVATION NATION SPRING 2016
Stories of Finance Transformation
CAPGEMINI BRINGS HOME €668 MILLION IN ORGANIC FREE CASH FLOWS BY TRANSFORMING OUR ORDER-TO-CASH FUNCTION
CAPGEMINI – A GLOBAL PLAYGROUND OF SUPERIOR BUSINESS PERFORMANCE
Largest software-testing practice in the world; largest
IT services and consulting company in Europe; largest
dedicated SAS practice in the UK; most complete suite of
SAP solutions globally; most stable performance across
all outsourcing domains … It isn’t often that a single
company has so many superlatives attached to it. And
for Capgemini, one of the world’s foremost providers of
consulting, technology, outsourcing and local professional
services, the list doesn’t end here.
Over the five decades since it was founded, Capgemini has
successfully managed to maintain all these superlatives
while managing a workforce of almost 145,000 people
in over 40 countries. To expand into higher growth
geographies and bolster service offerings, Capgemini has
often followed the acquisition route. The latest acquisition
being IGATE, a prominent US-listed technology and
services company headquartered in New Jersey with
2014 revenues of $1.3 billion. Paul Hermelin, Chairman
and CEO of the Capgemini Group, says, “I believe that
the consolidation of our industry is not yet complete. We
have financial clout that enables us to be ready to seize
any opportunity that could strengthen our ambition, if the
price is consistent with the value it brings.”
STRONG CASH POSITION ENABLES ORGANIC AND INORGANIC GROWTH, BUT REQUIRES FINANCIAL DISCIPLINE AND OPERATIONAL AGILITY
There isn’t a single business that has been able to progress
without setting – and meeting – internal targets for itself.
For Capgemini, these targets have been really high; one of
the most important being strengthening its cash position.
And, it is this strength that has opened up new vistas in
its growth journey, both organic and inorganic.
Like any other multi-sector, multi-geography business
conglomerate that engages in M&As, Capgemini too
needed to standardize finance and accounting (F&A)
operations across its numerous business units to meet
cash flow targets. Immediate on the horizon were four
imperatives to:
• Standardize and automate the collections process
• Improve the “days outstanding receivables” (DOR)
in the organization; segment clients and have clear
collection strategies for each segment
• Improve visibility of the disputes solving process and
enhance reporting
• Contribute to spread cash awareness across the
organization
Capgemini sought a solution that could address all
these challenges, instill discipline in F&A, and make the
collections process agile and more efficient.
TRANSFORMING ORDER TO CASH (O2C)Having successfully implemented WebCollect O2C
Pro for multiple clients, Capgemini decided to “drink its
own champagne” to streamline and achieve operational
efficiencies in the Accounts Receivable (AR) function.
This meant transforming multiple aspects of the function,
including the grade/structure, location mix, competency
model, processes, governance and control measures,
and the technology.
35
·
Capgemini’s proprietary Global Enterprise Model© (GEM)
emerged as the best choice for this transformation. GEM is
a robust yet flexible transformation methodology that drives
best practices while streamlining end-to-end processes in
the areas of finance and accounting, procurement, supply
chain, metering, and customer operations management.
GEM includes the Global Process Model© (GPM) that
provides best-in-class processes to enable transition and
deliver consistent high performance.
To support the Group’s cash flow agenda and our Group
CFO Aiman Ezzat’s objectives, WebCollect O2C Pro was
rolled out in various geographies including France, Spain,
Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Brazil, the
Nordics, FS Global, the UK and the US.
Clients were segmented and collection strategies were
attached to each segment. The solution was rolled out
through four modules — Collections, Disputes, Light Users,
and Reports. The Collections module involved proactive
and reactive contact with the customer’s Accounts Payable
department to ensure timely payment of invoices. The
module prioritized collection based on existing customer
segmentation and collection strategies. The Disputes team
was responsible for research and identification of dispute
reasons and recommendations with regards to resolution.
The module provided a full, centralized visibility of disputes
status and root cause analysis for non-payment. The Light
Users module effectively integrated the Collection back-
office tasks with front-end customer-facing executives.
The module gave light user access for engagement staff,
providing real-time insight on account status. The Reports
module allowed for transparent, predefined, and scheduled
reporting, enabling real-time progress monitoring.
RESULTS COUNT – AUTOMATED COLLECTIONS PROCESS BOOSTS CASH FLOWS, REDUCES BAD DEBT WRITE-OFFS, AND IMPROVES DECISION MAKING
At Capgemini, WebCollect O2C Pro was first implemented in
France, followed by the Nordics, Italy, and other geographies.
The impact of implementing this industry-leading solution
can be seen in various organizational aspects.
Automation boosts cash flows: Automating the AR
and collections process has reduced the number of open
AR positions by as much as 20%. This has resulted in
an increase in organic free cash flow amounting to €668
million in one year.
Improved data visibility and KPIs: The solution
offered cross-organization visibility to users, providing
them with access in one view to multiple organizations.
DOR improved for all regions where WebCollect O2C Pro
was implemented with up to 10 days of reduction in the
respective units.
Analytics-driven decisions to reduce bad debt
write-offs: Segmentation of clients, a focused approach
to data analytics and collection strategies based on
different criteria improved transparency in collections
and has reduced bad debt write-offs to a large extent.
Security and confidentiality of data: Password
protection, limited access, secure data transfers, role-
based profiling, efficient user access control, and
encryption of payment-related correspondence ensured
a high level of security and confidentiality of client-related
information.
Accurate cash forecasting: A greater understanding
of clients’ payment culture enabled by the WebCollect
O2C Pro implementation ensured an optimal level of cash
forecast accuracy.
“We have financial clout that enables us to be ready to seize any opportunity that could strengthen our ambition, if the price is consistent with the value it brings” – Paul Hermelin, Chairmanand CEO of the Capgemini Group.
3736 INNOVATION NATION SPRING 2016
.03
CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE
Centers of Excellence
·
A LOOK AT SOME OF THE INNOVATIONS AND ACHIEVEMENTS FROM ACROSS OUR GLOBAL DELIVERY CENTERS
CAMPINAS
KRAKOW
STOCKHOLM
BANGALORE
NANHAI
SARASOTA
Capgemini Poland is listed among the Top 10 Employers of Choice in Poland by AIESEC and has also been certified as a Top Employer based on our effort to provide an optimal working environment and strong employee development.
Following the successful pilot in Bangalore, a new “Growth Shop” has been launched in Chennai to accelerate innovation and collaboration with clients. This interactive platform helps participants visualize the benefits of robotics, continuous improvement and digital in a hands-on experiential environment.
NOIDAThe NOIDA delivery center has three Product Engineering labs that carry out cutting edge innovation research for future platform solutions, developing new applications and design solutions for clients in the Industrial Engineering, Automotive and Quick Service Restaurant industries.
For the third year in a row, the Nanhai center has maintained a 21% attrition rate, which is low by industry standards, and reflects the stable, happy and highly productive workforce.
NCC, a Swedish construction company, has successfully applied IBX Spend Analytics to improve their coordinated purchasing spend, resulting in lower purchasing costs and profitable growth.
GUATEMALA CITYFollowing an RPA implementation for a Media & Entertainment client, our team eliminated the manual interaction on more than 158,000 transactions to reduce the end-to-end process time by 31% and remove 10,000 man hours per year.
BPOpen© 2015. Capgemini. All rights reserved.
The portfolio of services delivered from Sarasota has expanded to include content management for the Consumer Products, Retail and Distribution sector. The scope of these new services covers e-content writing, helpdesk assistance and supplier feedback.
In partnership with UiPath and leveraging our BPOpen© workflow technology, the Brazil team implemented an automation solution for a consumer goods client that improved productivity by enabling the transmission of e-Invoices through a touchless interface with the client’s systems.
4140 INNOVATION NATION SPRING 2016
Centers of Excellence
·
LOCATION
# FTEs
CLIENTS SERVED
WHY NOIDA?
LANGUAGES
SERVICES
Global financial services company, largest
North American bank, Global leader in
relocation services, leading chain of hotels,
Fortune 100 global company, Fortune 500
insurance company, European telecom leader
• The National Capital Region of India (NCR) is one of
the world's largest agglomerations with a population
of over 47,000,000 at the 2011 Census. In 2011–2012,
the combined GDP of all areas of the NCR was $128.9
billion, an impressive 7.5% of the total Indian GDP.
• NOIDA is a major hub for multinational firms outsourcing
IT services and many large software and business
process outsourcing companies have their offices
in the city. It is a hub for many industrial giants, as
the city is blessed with a favorable atmosphere for
industrial growth, and it is also a prominent location
for the Indian entertainment industry, with many films,
television series, news channels and other media being
filmed here.
• Being a part of political capital, NOIDA has a best in
class educational set-up with an 88% literacy rate.
• Excellent transportation, including good road, rail and
air infrastructure, makes NOIDA well connected to other
parts of the country. Capgemini’s 5-acre campus in
NOIDA is recognized as a Platinum rated “Green
facility” with IGBC LEED Certification for exceptional
environment friendliness.
• Enterprise Services
• Verification &Validation
• Infrastructure Management
• BPO
• PES
• Workforce Management & Analytics
• HRO
English, Spanish, Japanese,
Portuguese and Tagalong
5,000
National Capital Region of India
CENTER SPOTLIGHT – NOIDA
4342 INNOVATION NATION SPRING 2016
Centers of Excellence
INTRODUCING NOIDAAtul Kulshreshtha, Head of Global Transformation & FS Delivery,
Capgemini Business Services
Atul Kulshreshtha, Head of Global Transformation & FS Delivery, Capgemini Business Services (Location Head NOIDA), talks to Innovation Nation about some of the innovation coming out of the NOIDA delivery center.
Innovation Nation: Could you give us a little background on NOIDA as a city?
Atul Kulshreshtha: NOIDA is part of the Nation Capital
Region (NCR), which largely consists of New Delhi, but
also includes two other satellite or sub cities – one being
Gurgaon, which is a world famous ITES destination in
North India, and other being the thriving industrial and
technological hub called NOIDA. NOIDA is located right
across the river Yamuna to the east of New Delhi. The name
NOIDA is short for the New Okhla Industrial Development
Authority, and was a government initiative to develop this
particular region. NOIDA continues to expand and grow
exponentially, and new developments are happening in
the area known as Greater NOIDA.
NCR has a total population of about 55 million people, with
about 25 million based in NOIDA. Because of its location
to the south east of New Delhi and bordering on the state
of Uttar Pradesh, NOIDA attracts a great deal of talent.
We also have 24 public and private universities in NCR,
including IT and Management colleges, which means that
there is a large catchment of graduates making it a very
attractive area for us in terms of future growth.
NOIDA has good transport links with Delhi international
airport, three main railway stations, Delhi metro links and
a number of highways that connect the city to neighboring
states and rest of India. And after Mumbai-Bollywood,
NOIDA’s “Film City” is one of the main hubs for the
entertainment industry, with hundreds of studios creating
films and television programs.
Why was NOIDA originally chosen to set up a delivery center?
When IGATE acquired Patni Computer Systems in 2011,
the NOIDA delivery center was officially established.
Patni was one of the first few ITES companies to setup
this campus at NOIDA and at that time this was the first
platinum rated “green facility” with IGBC LEED Certification
for exceptional environment friendliness, covering around
500,000 square feet of space.
Our facilities are within a Special Economic Zone (SEZ).
These zones are exempted from import and export duties,
which means that the government provides incentives
to businesses at a much lower cost provided the goods
or services being produced are meant for export. By
operating from SEZ we are able to deliver IT and business
services at very competitive rates to our global clients.
How are you continuing to develop the knowledge and skillsets of your teams? At NOIDA we have lot of diversity in the kind of services
we provide, be it IT, infrastructure or business services.
Some of the work that we do is also highly complex and
contextual, requiring a great deal of knowledge about our
clients’ environment. We manage this mix of diversity and
complexity by providing tiered training programs.
The first level of training is Capgemini onboarding training –
an induction program that is followed by some mandatory
courses on our policies and procedures.
45
·
The second is client-specific, domain and process trainings
– we provide industry-specific training to better understand
the ecosystem and needs of the client. These programs
run anywhere from two weeks to two months, depending
on the industry and client.
The third level of training is really to make sure that our
teams are adequately skilled. This is where we work
with our HR development partners and the Learning &
Development team. We have a dedicated training team
at NOIDA that runs several skill building programs on
a weekly basis. These include both classroom and
computer based training programs that are delivered from
our 10 dedicated training rooms in NOIDA. We also run
regular refresher programs to keep our people up to speed.
Could you give some examples of innovation or outcomes delivered for clients?We have three Product Engineering labs at NOIDA where
we carry out cutting edge innovation research for future
platform solutions, developing new applications and
design solutions for our clients in the Industrial Engineering,
Automotive and, Quick Service Restaurant industries.
Within Business Services, we have successfully
implemented many ITOPs (Integrated Technology and
Operations) and BPaaS projects, and transformed end-
to-end processes, solved critical business problems and
delivered quantifiable business outcomes. We have used
smart automation, customized workflow/OCR solutions and
stack solutions to leverage Capgemini’s Cloud infrastructure.
One such solution is around reconciliation or Reconciliation-
as-a-Service, where we implemented a SmartStream
based solution for a major North American bank,
completely automating millions of manually reconciled
transactions and offering them outcome based pricing.
What’s next for the NOIDA delivery center?
We have recently acquired an adjacent piece of land next
to our NOIDA campus that will enable us to scale up our
capacity, and we are currently looking at other initiatives to
continue growing the NOIDA center. Very soon we expect to
add some new accounts and hope to continue building on
the strong foundation of IT and Business Services footprint.
THE NOIDA TEAM
“We have three Product Engineering labs at NOIDA that carry out cutting edge innovation research for future platform solutions.”
4746 INNOVATION NATION SPRING 2016
.04
TECHNOLOGY TALK: INTELLIGENT AUTOMATION
Technology Talk: Intelligent Automation
ROBOTIC PROCESS AUTOMATION IN BUSINESS PROCESS OUTSOURCINGLee Beardmore, VP, Chief Technology Officer, Capgemini
Business Services
Lee Beardmore, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Capgemini Business Services talks to Dan Goodstein, President of the Outsourcing Institute, about Robotic Process Automation (RPA) in business process outsourcing and gives advice for implementing automation.
Dan Goodstein: Hello Lee. Glad to have you with us today. Before we begin, could you introduce yourself to our readers – your background and your role at Capgemini?
Lee Beardmore: Yes, of course. I’m currently the chief
technology officer of Capgemini’s Business Services
division. I’m a long-timer at Capgemini – this is my 13th
year. Two of these years have been with BPO and the
previous 11 were spent in the technology business, where
I was responsible for driving solutions, particularly on
big deals and large initiatives. I’ve done the selling, I’ve
done the strategy, the design and the delivery. So, I have
a pretty broad coverage. Prior to Capgemini, I worked
on the technology side of investment management. And
finally, by education I am computer scientist and software
engineer. So, I’ve basically followed an academic interest
and turned it into a career!
More recently, you’ve been focusing on everything related to RPA, and over the past few months, every conversation I’ve had with one of our members somehow involves, touches on or is about RPA. Are you seeing the same with your clients at Capgemini?
Absolutely. It’s quite fascinating actually, particularly
looking at the way BPO has evolved over the last two or
three years. Technology is increasingly taking center stage
and has become a key element in driving transformation.
It obviously doesn’t replace or supersede the whole
transformation delivery from a people and process point
of view, but it is having a massive impact on the way we
deliver our BPO services.
I always get questions from clients such as: “What is
RPA, what is Artificial Intelligence (AI)? How can we
use automation better? How can we use technology to
drive more efficient processes?” What it boils down to is
something quite similar to what we faced 20–25 years ago
with mainframe systems. Fundamental questions were
being asked back then about speed of change, getting
more from applications and making them work in, what
was then, the new world of client servers. These same
questions have been asked ever since. Complexity keeps
on increasing and the cost of change and the time it takes
is really quite significant. Additionally, the needs of the
business outstrip the core IT’s ability to deliver. Our clients
are asking legitimate questions to see whether there are
ways to fast-track change. This has led to a breeding
ground for a new form of technology called robotic
process automation. Our clients are asking us to use RPA
as a mechanism to help alleviate some of the mundane,
repetitive and mechanistic activities that their workforces
are dealing with. RPA is effectively put in place to help
address the “so-called” long tail of automation. Addressing
such numerous inefficiencies in core systems is expensive
and hard to justify – but when you aggregate all of these
little inefficiencies together, it becomes a massive drain on
an organization. This is where we as a BPO organization
take on a lot of these inefficiencies from our clients. We
51
Technology Talk: Intelligent Automation
·
transform their processes, and enhance their systems
by adding new applications and expanding integration.
RPA and increasingly AI are a key part of the solution for
cost effective change.
The question I’m asked all the time is: “Is it hype or is it real?” I recently spoke to an executive who questioned whether automation is or ever could live up to the expectations that have been out there for a while. What's your opinion? Is it living up to the hype, especially in relation to BPO?
It's starting to get there. It's a little bit like the stories we
would hear about cloud computing five years ago. It was
very, very overhyped. I remember talking to colleagues
and very experienced architects, and they were all looking
at the Cloud and saying: “Is it really going to take off?”
questioning both the direction and the hype, as we are right
to do. Right now, there’s a huge amount of hype around
automation and a significant amount of misunderstanding
of what it can actually deliver. But when you peel back
the layers of hype and get down to the root capabilities
of the technologies, it’s clear that you can use them to
drive significant efficiencies across business processes.
So, this is what we’re seeing, this is what we’re delivering,
and these are the sort of things our clients are asking us
to do. But there should be a balance. If you focus on an
automation initiative and have an understanding of the
very absolute detail of the processes, you can quickly
get to a position where the technology really delivers,
and you will start to see that some of the hype is actually
borne out in reality.
Is there a particular area within BPO in which you see the most opportunity to automate? What's top of your list when you look at your clients’ needs?
This is a really interesting question because, as
a technologist, one of my key objectives is to think in an
abstract manner, to generalize problems and then apply
the right technology to these generalized problems.
Let’s take a generic example. Choose a process that exists
in an organization where there are significant numbers of
people focused on repetitive, mundane, mechanistic work.
These people are effectively implementing an algorithm
with their hands, their keyboards and their mice. If it’s an
algorithm, there’s a good chance that some or all of it
can be automated. It’s these characteristics that drive the
opportunities. That being said, a significant portion of what
our team has been driving in this space has been in the
finance and accounting space, particularly around things
like purchase to pay (P2P), invoice processing, reporting
and order to cash (O2C). RPA technology can really make
a difference by eradicating quite a lot of inefficient activity.
Are you using any particular technology with your clients right now?Well, obviously as a big company we have many vendor
partnerships; we work with most of the leading vendors
in this space. Most recently, we announced a global
partnership with a company called UiPath. This lies at
the core of our RPA efforts for our BPO clients and is used
extensively by our global Center of Excellence. We have
also developed extensive logging, auditing and analytics
capabilities to supplement the RPA core to create an
automation platform that meets the needs of a BPO
service provider.
One of the other key themes around our network today is digital transformation. How does the RPA space fit into the big picture of digital transformation?Digital is more than just technology. It’s about a mind shift
change that impacts the entire organization, and this in turn
is obviously related to processes. One of our key objectives is
to transform our BPO clients, which will lead to innovative and
nimble operations. One aspect of our digital transformation
approach is to optimize processes in a way that best
leverages technology. This is where RPA plays a role in such
a transformation. A great deal of process transformation has
focused on tweaking processes, rather than fundamentally
changing them. There remains a significant amount of
human-centricity. What we’re trying to do here is liberate
our resources from the lower-value activities, and move them
into the technology to effectively digitize those parts of the
process. This frees those individuals to focus on more value-
added actions, such as dealing with complex exceptions or
focusing on fixing problems that are hard to fully automate.
So, we are using digital transformation to liberate resources
to focus on more interesting and more value-based actions.
It’s clear to me that automation isn’t something new to you at Capgemini. However, for the people that might be reading this interview, could you tell us how are you making RPA successful within your current client engagements?
You're absolutely right. Automation has been a core
part of how we’ve delivered our BPO services for many
years. Every one of our engagements has some form of
automation that we use to augment the core systems we
operate. They are the forerunners to the modern batch
of robotic automations. We built them with custom code
or a variety of scripting languages. At last count we had
over 3,000 examples of automation artifacts of this nature.
However, one of the main challenges is not becoming
a victim of your own success. Lots of discrete automation
artifacts leads to management and maintenance
overheads. So, at the end of 2014, I started an initiative
to build an enterprise grade automation platform that we
would use consistently throughout our BPO organization
and for our clients.
To be successful you need more than tools. We have
an extremely strong focus on methodology, which is
key to industrialization. We have strong governance and
stakeholder management. Technically, it's actually quite
easy to build a robot. However, this means it’s very easy
to build yourself a maintenance nightmare for the future.
With good stakeholder management, strong methodology,
robust architectural constructs and the right technology,
you can create an environment for RPA that has long-term
viability. And let’s not forget the teams that actually develop
the automation components. We have a certification
program to ensure the requisite level of skill – which is
important when ensuring consistency of delivery and
adherence to governance rules.
Do you have any advice for anybody currently trying to implement RPA initiatives? Perhaps the top two or three things they should be doing when looking to make a successful RPA initiative?
I would say – do not underestimate the value that RPA
can deliver, but balance it with some real experimentation
against real business processes. Pick a pilot process.
Create a small team of like-minded individuals who are
keen to explore new ways of working.
Delivering RPA well demands a certain type of mindset.
So, have a person or a group of people in the team with
There's a huge amount of hype around automation … but when you get down to the root capabilities, it's clear that you can drive significant efficiencies.
Digital is more than just technology. It's about a mind shift change that impacts the entire organization.
5352 INNOVATION NATION SPRING 2016
Technology Talk: Intelligent Automation
·
an automation or software engineering background. Their
skills will be invaluable to delivering a successful outcome
for the pilot.
Deep understanding of the business process is necessary,
but focus on one or two process steps in the first
instance. The pilot team must have someone with intimate
knowledge of the process.
Finally, make sure the whole team is aware of how to
restructure processes such that they are optimized for
automation. If you provide these things, you’ll have a good
foundation to develop a successful RPA initiative.
If you had to look to the future – to the next two, five or ten years – where is the market headed and where will Capgemini be?
One thing we have to bear in mind is that the current pace
of change is unprecedented. The speed at which new
technologies and vendors are coming to market and the
kind of disruption they are delivering is staggering.
So, we have to think in terms of fluidity. What we do now,
what we do in two years, won’t be the same as what we’ll
be doing in five years.
However, there is a trajectory that automation is following
and in addition to RPA we are seeing a surge of interest in
AI and cognitive computing. We’re already working with AI
vendors and this technology is delivering business gains
in areas that lie in the domain of human cognition. We’re
at the beginning of the evolution of AI, and I believe it’s
going to accelerate dramatically.
There is significant investment going into AI. Much work
has been done by some of the technology giants such as
IBM, Google, Facebook and Microsoft. So, it’s inevitable
that AI is going to make its way into enterprise computing
and enterprise apps.
We’re already following this kind of trajectory, and we’re
actively implementing some of this technology. For me,
this is going to be automation’s biggest development in
the coming 2–5 years.
Are there any particular areas that you are personally looking at in the next couple years?I’m very interested in machine learning, pattern matching
and cognitive computing. My own research right now
is trying to work out a way to apply these new kinds of
technologies to the sorts of business problems that we
focus on.
I already have operational systems that focus on pattern
matching. In other areas, I’m exploring the impact that this
technology can have on process areas that are traditionally
staffed by skilled workers and how it can be used to
augment human activity. This is not necessarily about
replacing the individuals, but more about augmenting
their actions to make them more effective, to deliver more
quickly and enable them to do more with technology, and
therefore empowering them. It’s a fascinating area on
which I’m spending a lot of my time right now.
The current pace of change is unprecedented. The speed at which organizations are coming to market and the kind of disruption they are delivering is staggering.
It's actually quite easy to build a piece of automation, and because of this it's very easy to build yourself a maintenance nightmare.
My last question is actually a personal question. I like to end interviews with a “people” factor, because this is still, at least currently, a “people” business! Is there one personal, non-work–related thing that the average person doesn’t know about you that you’re willing to share?
I'm an avid doodler. My notebooks are full of weird and
wonderful constructions. It actually helps me think and
stretch my thought processes. Friends have called me
a frustrated artist, which suggests I’ve got a lot of creativity
locked inside my brain, but sadly it doesn’t always seem
to extend outwards from the end of my pencil!
Right! It's all about the user interface! Lee, thanks again
for joining us.
This interv iew was or iginal ly publ ished by
The Outsourcing Institute:
http://oievents.com/capgeminis-lee-beardmore-
discusses-rpa-in-business-process-outsourcing-and-
gives-advice-for-implementing-automation/
5554 INNOVATION NATION SPRING 2016
Technology Talk: Intelligent Automation
SEVEN LAWS OF WORKPLACE ROBOTICSChristopher Stancombe, COO, Capgemini Business
Services
There’s a lot of talk about Artificial Intelligence (AI), with some big exciting questions being asked (“Why Self-Driving Cars Must Be Programmed to Kill”). However, I think there are some practical aspects of managing “robots” that haven’t had the attention they deserve. The result could be that we underestimate the total cost of ownership and complexity involved in managing our new robot workforces.
At Capgemini, we already provide robot workers – robotic
process automation (RPA) apps that carry out repetitive
tasks. They can streamline supply chains or improve
the efficiency of finance departments but, as our robot
colleagues grow in number, we will have to consider the
issues arising from their “employment.”
Considering how best to approach the deployment of
a new robot workforce, I have turned to the seven levers
of the Global Enterprise Model© (GEM) that we apply to
every program we deliver. This provides the framework
to what Isaac Asimov, were he writing today, might call
the Seven Laws of Workplace Robotics.
GRADE MIXThe right team structure is important to the success of any
enterprise and that is no less true for robot team members.
You need to consider the robot’s level of sophistication
and how different robots might function together. Some
will have high levels of Artificial Intelligence and perform
complex tasks. Others will be designed for straightforward
jobs. Getting the right robot for the job is key.
LOCATION MIXA software robot doesn’t have an office. However, just as
the physical location of data stored in “the Cloud” can
be important for legal and regulatory reasons, so we will
need to define where the robot works. It is not an easy
question. Does the robot “work” in a delivery center or
on client systems? Is it behind the firewall or outside it?
Similar questions can be asked about the data it handles.
COMPETENCY MODELThe competency model is a significant factor in getting
things like Grade Mix and Location right. What are the key
capabilities required? Will it work with any ERP? Does it
just replace human keystrokes or does it do more? There
is also a question here about the competencies required
in the humans who will be specifying the requirement for
the robots: have we trained people adequately for this
new job?
GLOBAL PROCESS MODEL© People often think of robots replacing humans to deliver
a process more quickly, reliably or cost effectively.
However, that is only accurate on a fairly simplistic level.
There are more significant considerations we should
apply. A robot might be able to do work more quickly,
which can have an effect on the rest of the process. The
increased speed of that part of the process might cause
a bottleneck elsewhere. Robots can also carry out tasks
that are impossible for humans, or at least impossible for
57
·
ChallengeWhatever your industry or service, your ERP system may not meet all the challenges you demand of it. This can translate into massive costs, poor productivity and a significantly reduced level of business process accuracy.
SolutionCapgemini's new wave of Intelligent Automation solutions combines Robotics, Artificial Intelligence and Analytics to dramatically increase your capacity to do work, replacing many of the repetitive tasks delivered by outsourced services in a cost effective manner and with a heightened level of accuracy.
For more information, visit us at:
https://www.capgemini.com/business-services/robotics-process-automationl-supply-chain
Intelligent Automation
humans to complete in a reasonable amount of time with
reasonable consistency. That might create opportunities to
introduce greater complexity or more decision points into
your processes than a human would be able to manage.
TECHNOLOGYSince we are talking about robots, every step in this
process concerns technology. In this case, however, we
are talking about the technology itself, rather than how
it is being used. Who owns the IP for the robot? Who is
responsible for its performance? Is it fair to hold the CFO
responsible for a poorly performing robot in the accounts
payable process that was developed and installed by IT?
Probably not, however neither is it always explicit that IT
should be responsible for the robot’s performance. This
raises other questions that need to be addressed under
the Governance lever.
PRICINGThe question of ownership is also central to pricing. Who
owns the robot, ultimately? Do you own it outright or rent
it? Just like human workers, robots will need “training” to
improve their performance. If you rent your robot, then
those upgrades should be part of the package, but if you
own it, then you need to allow for those costs. There’s an
interesting question here of whether people are thinking
fully about the total cost of ownership for robots.
GOVERNANCEThe robot needs to be accounted for in service level
agreements. What issues might that create? To continue
the accounts payable example, a task carried out by
humans can probably be maintained even if several staff
members are unavailable. Others can be brought in
and trained-up relatively quickly. A problem with a robot
process, such as a bug in the code that needs to be
ironed out, can’t be circumvented so quickly. Similar
concerns apply to the OLA that underpins the SLA.
Furthermore, a human worker has a system ID but how
do we treat a robot? If it has its own ID, who is responsible
for tracking what it does? Once again, is it a responsibility
for the IT department, who deployed the robot, or for the
department it works in?
The above questions sound like a particularly
philosophical piece of science fiction. However, they
are more important than that. As our robot workforce
expands, our answers to these questions will determine
the cost of owning robot workers.
The seven leversof the Global Enterprise Model© (GEM) provide the framework to the Seven Laws of Workplace Robotics.
58 INNOVATION NATION SPRING 2016
Technology Talk: Intelligent Automation
USING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TO OPTIMIZE BUSINESS PROCESSESTim Ulrich, Manager, Intelligent Automation
I’ve worked with a number of large companies, both as an IT consultant and now in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) space, and the challenge remains the same: find new ways to generate year-over-year savings. And while BPO has been incredibly effective in driving out costs and delivering new business value, organizations are still looking for that next level of savings.
THE RISE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE Although Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not really new, it has
been steadily evolving with major improvements over the
last few years. Today, we are surrounded by AI-driven
technologies that are often quite subtly trying to help or
influence us, for example, suggesting what we might want
to read, watch, hear or purchase.
But let’s look at an Accounts Payable (AP) example: AI
in the form of supervised machine learning can today be
used with scanned invoices where a human indexer initially
“teaches” the tool where to find important data such as an
invoice number, gross amount, etc., in a simple point-and-
click fashion. The tool then recognizes certain patterns
and, after a handful of invoice examples per supplier, is
able to find the respective data on its own, even if fields
have moved on a page, for example, or the total amount
shifts to the 2nd or 3rd page.
After a short training phase, the AI-enabled tool is able
to perform the data extraction completely on its own and
only brings invoices to the attention of a human where
it is not confident enough, be it for new suppliers, bad
scan quality, hand-written content, etc. These issues can
be directly corrected in the tool and the indexing team
changes their role to that of a pure supervisor, saving
a lot of time per invoice. The tool is able to perform its
recognition within seconds, not minutes, even in the case
where supervision is required and the AI tool triggers
a quick help request to its human colleague, i.e., as an
exception from the regular fully automated process. It is
the skill of the exception management teams that truly
optimize these learning-based approaches.
A HYBRID APPROACH Before any science fiction-type intelligent systems have
a chance to take over all our work (and potentially the
world) the right solution for most business scenarios at
the moment is a hybrid one: use automation and Artificial
Intelligence where it can be used best, e.g., in high-volume,
low-creativity tasks, and add as much human power as
required to deliver the most efficient yet flexible process
that we can.
What this means in practice is that areas for automation
and use of AI systems need to be clearly identified,
so that successful implementations based on proper
requirements gathering and feasibility decisions can
be performed. So we need to identify areas where the
combination of humans and their specific expertise
together with the artificial workforce can leverage the best
results. Naturally, larger BPO and consulting companies
will be leading implementations in this area due to their
early experience and size of operations in this space.
61
·
A POSITIVE IMPACT
We expect that many repetitive tasks that are currently
performed by people, especially in BPO, will be moved
to robotic colleagues in the near future. However, we
anticipate that these employees will have gained a wealth
of experience to perform higher-value tasks with the
technology freeing up time to deliver. This will improve their
job satisfaction and positively impact the client experience.
From a BPO as well as from a human workforce perspective,
it makes a lot of sense to continue exploring areas where
AI can be used to enable new ways of working. The area
of semi-structured content, like invoices, is only the start
and processing unstructured content is where it will get
really interesting this year.
From a customer perspective, partnering with a BPO
provider to increase the automation rate comes with
a number of benefits. It will not only increase satisfaction
of end customers in terms of turnaround time, but will
also reduce overall cost as new technologies can now
be applied in all major processes.
THERE ARE INTERESTING TIMES AHEAD OF US!There has been a lot of talk about AI in recent years but
many organizations have yet to implement it within their
business processes. I expect this to change significantly
in 2016, particularly as BPO providers integrate it into the
business process transformation solutions they deliver
for clients.
Partnering with a BPO provider to increase the automation rate not only increases turnaround time, but also reduces overall cost.
6362 INNOVATION NATION SPRING 2016
Technology Talk: Intelligent Automation
CAPGEMINI DRIVES ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE INTO ITS BUSINESS SERVICES SOLUTIONSTHROUGH GLOBAL COLLABORATION WITH CELATON
Capgemini expands automation partner ecosystem to drive greater efficiencies in unstructured data processing
Capgemini has recently announced a new global
collaboration with Celaton, a specialist Artificial Intelligence
(AI) company, to license and use its inSTREAM™ cognitive
learning technology. The three-year contract, signed
between Capgemini and Celaton, will extend our already
strong automation capabilities, help drive further efficiencies
and add AI to our Business Services solution portfolio.
Celaton’s inSTREAM™ software streamlines the handling
of unstructured, unpredictable (and structured) content
such as correspondence, claims, complaints and invoices
that organizations receive by email, social media, fax and
paper. This minimizes the need for human intervention
and ensures that only accurate, relevant and structured
data enters business systems. Unique to inSTREAM™
is its ability to learn through the natural consequence
of processing information and collaborating with people.
Capgemini’s extensive knowledge and experience in
business process services will also enable Celaton to
accelerate and improve inSTREAM™’s capabilities.
The cooperation will enable Capgemini to increase
efficiency, shorten turnaround times and enhance quality
in areas where incoming documents and queries need to
be processed, improving overall customer satisfaction. At
a time when more and more customers expect the use
of AI and modern automation tools, the alliance will help
Capgemini’s Business Services advance their market-
leading use of automation and AI for its core business.
Earlier this year, Capgemini introduced an autonomic
Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) offering founded on best-
of-breed technologies to deliver intelligent automation
solutions on demand for enterprises. The autonomic
PaaS aims to improve the predictability of organizations’
operations across their infrastructure, applications and
business processes. The Celaton agreement is a further
commitment from Capgemini to develop advanced
client solutions using intelligent automation, cognitive
and AI technologies.
The addition of Celaton inSTREAM™ expands
Capgemini’s Business Services’ extensive Software-as-
a-Service (SaaS) portfolio with an AI-based processing
solution for incoming unstructured content – which is
driven by its global automation Centers of Excellence.
It is an important element in ensuring the delivery of
maximum value to its customers.
Lee Beardmore, VP and Capgemini’s Business Services
Chief Technology Officer, said: “There is significant
industry debate on how cognitive computing and Artificial
Intelligence will impact the BPO market. We are taking
our delivery from debate to global implementation and are
proud to partner with Celaton as a leading vendor in the
business process AI space. Building on the introduction of
Capgemini’s autonomic Platform-as-a-Service, Celaton’s
technology extends the penetration of cognitive computing
into our delivery of business process services.”
Andrew Anderson, CEO of Celaton, said: “I am delighted
that Celaton and Capgemini have committed to this global
partnership. The transformational impact of AI has been
proven with many organizations and yet this emerging
technology is often greeted with skepticism. Capgemini’s
global reach and credibility will have an impact on the
perception and adoption of AI and I’m very excited that
Capgemini’s customers will soon be able to realize its
significant benefits.”
65
.05
MEET THE EXPERT
Meet the Expert
MEET THE EXPERTErwan Le Duff, CEO, Capgemini-Prosodie
Erwan Le Duff is the CEO of Capgemini-Prosodie based in Paris, France. Innovation Nation caught up with Erwan to ask him about recent trends in Customer Interaction Management and what the future holds for Digital and Cloud-based platforms.
Innovation Nation: Could you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Erwan Le Duff: Prior to joining Capgemini in 2005,
I spent 20 years in the telecom industry for both large
users as well as Telco operators. Among the clients
I worked with were a number of big oil industry giants,
which gave me the opportunity to live in Scotland and work
on some offshore platforms. I’ve also been invited to speak
at various industry forums on topics such as the Internet
of Things (IoT) and customer experience transformation.
Today, I run the Prosodie organization within Capgemini,
which provides end-to-end, Cloud-based, multichannel,
customer interaction solutions to help our clients enhance
the digital experience of their consumers.
What re the recent trends in Customer Interaction Management?The digital revolution is creating an environment where
companies need to shift their focus from their products to
the experience they offer to their customers – something
that isn’t easy! This requires a full transformation that
understands and brings together all interaction channels,
blending them into an optimal mix and managing them in a
way that optimizes the customer journey. Most companies
don’t have the in-house technology, expertise or best
practices approach – which is why they are turning to
partners such as Capgemini. Client expectations now
operate across sectors – a client that calls a retailer or Uber
expects the same quality of experience when contacting
his or her bank.
What does the future hold for Digital and Cloud-based platforms?)Digital and cloud-based platforms will continue to evolve
and serve as a catalyst to help companies move from
the mindset of “I sell a product” to “I sell a service” with
the customer experience at the heart of their business.
Everything starts with the user experience (UX).
Companies will focus on media blending and how they
use various channels to optimize their customer’s journey
through those channels. New ways of using channels,
such as video, will start to be found, significantly changing
how interactions are carried out. Just imagine a situation
in which your insurance company conducts a video call
with you, instead of sending someone to your home to
prepare a claim.
There really are so many possibilities and it’s a really
exciting time to be at the forefront of this revolution!
69
Meet the Expert
·
THREE THINGS PROGRESSIVE COMPANIES ARE DOING TO ENRICH THE DIGITAL CUSTOMER EXPERIENCEErwan Le Duff, CEO, Capgemini-Prosodie
Let’s face it, we’re all consumers. And each of us can probably think of an example where we had a particularly good or bad experience as a customer – whether online, over the phone, or in the store – and how that affected our opinion of the brand.
The digital revolution is pressuring companies across
all industries to transform how they interact with their
customers. This is especially true for the retail, insurance
and banking sectors, which are moving the fastest. And
while most companies are embracing the challenge, many
are unable to get it right – here’s why:
• Organizational silos – if different customer interaction
channels are managed by different departments and
propose the right journey, it’s difficult to get a holistic view
in order to assess and improve the customer experience.
• Channel mix – companies often struggle to find the right
blend of channels to interact with their customers that
have a wide range of preferences for communication.
• Insufficient expertise – when redesigning the customer
journey, organizations often have limited knowledge of best
practices not only within their sector, but across industries.
The good news is that there are a number of progressive
companies who are doing it right that others can learn
from. For example, Carrefour, the largest grocery chain
in Europe, launched a program called PIKIT that provides
consumers with a scanning device to use at home, allowing
them to easily add items to their online grocery cart. Upon
finishing the milk or when getting low on cereal, just a quick
scan of the barcode will place the order. The device also
has voice recognition technology so consumers can speak
into it to add new items to their list.
Another case is French taxi company, Les Taxi Bleus, who
provide a quick and easy way of ordering a taxi – literally
the click of a button. Les Taxis Blues provides hotels,
restaurants and shops with a button that can be placed
in their reception area, and when pressed, the nearest
available taxi is immediately dispatched, saving their staff
and clients time and hassle.
Based on these examples and other progressive
companies that my team and I have worked with, there are
three key things that I recommend to companies looking
to enrich their customer experience:
1. HIRE A CHIEF CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE OFFICER – someone who will oversee all customer channels including
digital, voice and in-person interactions. The role will also
be responsible for looking at the bigger picture in terms of
other aspects of the business that encompass interaction,
for example the CRM system, and also recognize that you
have competition outside your sector.
2. KEEP IT SIMPLE AND START FROM ZERO– rather than looking at your as-is state and trying to
optimize what you have, start with your desired state
and design your customer journey around where you
want to be.
3. ENLIST THE HELP OF A PARTNER – an organization that can provide a full end-to-end solution,
including the expertise to redesign the customer journey
and Cloud-based technologies to ensure your customers
enjoy the same experience regardless of where they are
based. Your partner should be able to draw on best
practices for effective media blending and offer training
and change management to accelerate the transformation.
You will also benefit from news features as they happen
on the market.
In today’s world, there is no brand without an experience,
and there is no experience without a digital platform. The
key is to bring together the right tools and expertise to
optimize the customer experience. Those who do it right
will be the winners.
71
Meet the Expert
·
THE TELEPHONE HAS BECOME VERY POPULAR WITH OUR MEMBERSSamuel Pichot, Director of Customer Relations, MGEN
A mutual benefit, healthcare and contingency organization, the MGEN Group provides cover for more than four million people. With a broad range of offers combining health insurance, services, healthcare centers and social action, the company has to support and respond to its members on a daily basis. Samuel Pichot, Director of Customer Relations at MGEN, chose Natural Language and the Odigo solutions to optimize his telephone customer service.
How did you manage the digital transition within your company and your customer service?Samuel Pichot: A few years ago, we started to develop new services for the online customer area, enabling members to get answers and perform management actions themselves. And two years ago, we began an in-depth digital transformation that deliberately covered all departments. We noticed that we had more and more needs that crossed, converged or were complementary, particularly between customer service, sales and marketing. To respond to this demand, we developed a digital strategy, reviewed our organization and set up a digital department. Thus, as Customer Relations Director, I now go to our digital department with my requirements, while this department challenges us in return regarding the innovations to be designed. The digital department itself relies on a dedicated in-house IT team, which we have christened the “digital factory.” It is this factory that
implements the solutions.
What is special about customer relations in a Group like MGEN and what challenges does it face?Our first mission is to respond to members for any healthcare and, more generally, any social protection needs. Within the context of their healthcare payments, we must be able to answer precisely and very quickly. This results in calls that are often on matters of an intimate nature. Our advisers must demonstrate empathy towards members. We seek to go beyond an administrative
approach and create a real relationship of trust.
Does implementation of Prosodie-Capgemini's Natural Language solutions meet this need for empathy with your members?Yes, Natural Language is a real help. There is nothing more annoying for a member than being passed from pillar to post to get an answer. Our quality surveys have taught us that this is the most frustrating thing for our clients. They want to get an answer on a complex subject the first time. Thanks to Natural Language, we can steer them right away to somebody with the expertise needed to answer their question. We have 90% customer satisfaction. Although previously the telephone tended to be not as highly thought of, it has become very popular amongst our members in 2015. It is clear that Natural Language
has had an impact.
What are the advantages of Odigo solutions compared to a traditional IVS?Our governance wanted to keep members as happy as possible, so we needed an IVS that was simpler and more flexible than the DTMF system. Odigo solutions are efficient for routing calls, they are transparent for members, and have helped us to optimize training of our advisers. Instead of having to train an adviser to respond on all subjects, we train him or her by topic and subject, so that this training is shorter and more effective. This helps to optimize call center resources and increases the skills of our advisers, enhancing their job.
73
.06
EXPERT INSIGHTS
Expert Insights
WHY TODAY’S CFO NEEDS A BROADER SET OF SHOULDERSChristopher Stancombe, COO, Capgemini Business
Services
We know that multinationals are extending their shared-service models across more areas of scope to maximize economies of scale. But where does responsibility for these Global Business Services rest? Increasingly, it’s on the shoulders of the CFO.
BEARING MORE WEIGHT
As a result of this success of Global Business Services
(GBS), there appears to be a shift in responsibilities taking
place at the C-level. I’ve noticed that CFOs are getting
involved in more areas of the business than ever before.
The trend started with procurement, which was a natural fit
with the finance team, and continued in many organizations
with IT reporting into finance. But now, as other areas of the
business become packaged up into GBS, the CFO is taking
on an increasing burden. I see them taking direct action with
services like HR, supply chain and customer operations.
BEYOND FINANCE AND INTO THE FRONT OFFICEPart of the logic for the involvement of the CFO may of
course be cost control, but more importantly there is an
opportunity to take an end-to-end view of the business
processes to improve core outcomes (cash generation,
share price, quality and compliance). It involves strategy
and process redesign; a focus on improving performance,
rather than just reporting on it.
I am most struck by the trend of GBS and the CFOs
to taking on the responsibility for front-office processes.
This seems to be happening as other Board members
(particularly the CMO) focus on the transformation required
for new business models or creating more intimate,
intelligent relationships with end consumers. (Which
applies in both B2C and B2B organizations.)
So the traditional boundaries within the C-suite are changing.
Everyone is becoming more aligned to the needs of the
customer. They are working more as a group. CFOs are
broadening their shoulders and taking on a wider workload.
EMBRACING THE OPPORTUNITYThese C-level changes present both a risk and
an opportunity. The risk is that the CFO becomes
overstretched, overwhelmed and under pressure – with
a host of GBS to navigate, monitor, analyze and report on,
all running on different systems. It becomes “an industry”
in itself. But, if it’s done right, they’ll get to see the end-
to-end value chain of the business in a single view. The
key requirement is to measure the right things. “What you
measure is what you get.” That is where the Capgemini
approach to Command & Control Centre reporting is vital
to the success of a broad-shouldered CFO.
77
Expert Insights
A CUSTOMER-CENTRIC APPROACH TO M&AMagdalena Matell, Senior Manager,
Transformation & Innovation Lead
Most of us have brands we prefer. I myself particularly like two delicious Scandinavian chocolate bars that my family traditionally enjoys during holidays. When the company behind them was acquired some years ago by a major multinational, I had misgivings. What was going to happen to my favorite treats? Would they taste the same? Would I be able to buy them from the same shops as before?
Of course, it wasn’t anything that kept me awake at nights.
But just suppose those misgivings had caused me – and
others – to switch preference to another brand?
Customer experience is an aspect of mergers and
acquisitions that isn’t as often considered as it should
be across all the functions within an organization.
Outside sales and marketing, the most commonly
discussed M&A issues tend to be operational alignment,
consolidation and economies of scale. But what about
the possible effect of the transition on customers? In my
opinion, this should be one of the key factors to be taken
into account. Dwindling loyalties may mean the newly
merged business is worth less than the sum of its parts.
Here are a few relevant considerations for anyone entering
into a merger and acquisition:
START EARLY…The mechanics of the transition are crucial, not just for
alignment and consolidation and those other macro issues
but for the continued goodwill of the customer base. That’s
why the IT functions of both organizations need to be
involved at an early stage to ensure enough time to plan
and execute the integration of key systems. (I’ll come back
to this in a moment.
The next consideration is going to be just as crucial. You’re
going to need to …
… STEP OUTSIDE THE BUBBLEThe digital customer experience is a case in point. Say
you’re an airline. If you were your own customer, how
would your online booking experience be affected? Or
say you’re a bank. Would online credentials checking
still work OK for you as a customer, or would it put new
obstacles in your path?
In the midst of an M&A, we should step outside our
business role and try to see ourselves as others see us.
These insights should be fed back into the integration
process. It may seem self-evident to say so here, but
often it’s the obvious things that are overlooked.
IT INTEGRATIONThis is the big one. I already said the process needs to
start early. But it also needs to be comprehensive, and
those two needs tend to pull in opposite directions. How
can you do everything, but do it fast?
Draw up a list of all the processes involved. If you could
regard them as modules, and those modules could be
assembled ready-made and moved into position for as
long as it took for the M&A to be completed, what would
that look like?
79
·
Here, at Capgemini, around a year ago now we introduced
our Business Process as a Stack and also the Virtual
Company concept. Virtual Company, in particular, is
designed to address the state of flux in which many global
enterprises find themselves, particularly during mergers
and acquisitions. It brings together a Cloud-based
infrastructure, enterprise applications and key business
processes and services in a standardized suite, enabling
companies to achieve a secure and fast deployment of
digital operations. Transformed processes are customer-
centric and run on one global standard.
The faster these operations can be brought into line, the
sooner the issues affecting the digital customer experience
can be addressed. A holistic approach of this kind also
means a single customer view can be achieved much
more quickly. Synergies can be identified and acted upon.
With Business Process-as-a-Stack and the Virtual
Company approach helping to secure a single customer
view, problems become opportunities. Instead of
safeguarding against the risk of losing customers, you
can give them new reasons to stay.
KEEP PEOPLE POSTEDCommunication with your customers is important at all
times but in case of M&A it’s crucial.
Imagine you’re waiting for a train. There’s a delay, nothing
is announced and the train arrives without notice 10
minutes late.
Now, let’s say it’s the next day and the same train is once
more delayed. This time it’s 15 minutes late – but the
platform information sign tells you so, and counts down
until the train arrives.
Which scenario is more irritating to the customer? The
first one, of course – even though the delay is shorter.
People like to be kept informed. If the M&A is going to
mean, for instance, a temporary suspension of an online
ordering system, be sure to tell your customers – and be
sure to tell them early. If you have a fully integrated view,
it’s much easier to project-manage the whole process and
so build in a communications program for your customers.
The principal aim of an M&A is growth – growth in revenue
and also in market share. Customer concerns are integral
to business value. If you can start early, think as your
customers do and keep them informed, you’ll address
those concerns, and in doing so you’ll not only earn
their goodwill but consolidate the principle on which the
M&A was grounded in the first place.
Luckily for me, my favorite chocolate bars didn’t change.
Nowadays I can even shop for them online. I wish all
M&A stories ended with customers as happy as I am.
With Business Process-as-a-Stack and the Virtual Company approach helping to secure a single customer view, problems become opportunities.
8180 INNOVATION NATION SPRING 2016
Expert Insights
·
THE UNSEXY SIDE OF INNOVATION NOBODY IS TALKING ABOUTMarty Borcharding, VP, Engagement Executive,
Capgemini Business Services
In the fight to protect market share and grow bottom lines, business leaders are constantly searching for new ways to transform their organizations.
Business process innovation is a keen place to start for profound impact, albeit a bit less sexy than product and service innovation. Consider these examples:
• A US film studio automated 91% of their manual deduction management processes, an initiative that led to $30 cost savings across the function, reducing day’s sales outstanding from 78 to 28.
• A large Nordic manufacturing company transformed their procure-to-pay process and generated savings of more than €21 million by eliminating duplicate invoice checks.
• A major US electric utility reduced bad debt by 44% of revenue, shrunk delayed billings by 40% and ensured same-day payment posting 99.5% of the time.
With Capgemini assistance, these three firms leveraged our Global Enterprise Model© (GEM) as we assessed each organization’s maturity relative to best practices in key areas, including finance, accounting, supply chain management, human resources, procurement, payroll and customer operations. Together, we attacked inefficiencies.
So, what does this have to do with innovation?
Today, 65% of senior executives claim they feel growing pressure to innovate. The problem is many organizations cannot pursue meaningful change if they lack insight into their own methods relative to industry best practices.
If you don't know how your current processes, teams or results stack up, how do you know where you're going?
When it comes to business process improvement, awareness isn’t enough. Organizations must not only recognize hurdles to innovation but also have a detailed roadmap that outlines how to mitigate them. Optimizing internal workflow can provide value greater than the sum of its parts, but real transformation is rarely achieved ad hoc. To set a precedent of enduring innovation, your firm
needs both a vision and the means to accomplish it.
SHEDDING LIGHT ON DEFICIENCIESEven when it’s clear that your organization struggles with inefficient and outdated processes, it can be difficult to identify the culprits. When deeply embedded flaws or resource gaps hamstring an organization’s innovation
efforts, it may be time to bring in an objective third party that can accurately assess the status quo.
Before an investigation begins, clients and their partners must both commit to the process. Remediating subpar operations can’t be a top-down effort; every level of an organization must be on board for changes to yield success.
A business process analysis through our GEM is an exhaustive undertaking, and carefully considers both high-level and granular variables in order to detect what
needs to be adjusted and how.
CREATING A ROADMAP FOR SUCCESSOrganizations are often surprised to discover how their own policies diverge from best practices, but a roadmap can get firms back on course. Roadmaps serve as living documents that lay out improvements over the next few months or even years – including the technology, processes, controls and metrics required for lasting transformation. While some initiatives, like adding a control to an existing policy, can be accomplished relatively quickly, others (i.e., an ERP overhaul) may demand long-term planning.
Streamlining obsolete processes has both immediate and lasting consequences, helping firms unlock cost savings, improve internal controls and direct insight into their day-to-day operations. By mitigating sources of inefficiency and risk, organizations have more flexibility to reinvest in critical functions and capitalize on growth opportunities.
Business models, technology and consumer preferences evolve rapidly, and organizations must make an ongoing commitment to adapt accordingly. Those that are ahead of the curve today can quickly fall behind if they’re not vigilant in keeping their innovation roadmap alive.
Even seemingly efficient, revenue-generating operations can be undermined by hidden deficiencies that sap time and resources. But with an expertly informed roadmap for innovation, businesses can better identify and overcome the obstacles that prevent them from realizing their competitive potential.
83
Expert Insights
THE SMAC PROPELLER FOR FINANCIAL PLANNING AND ANALYSISDivya Kumar, Head of Analytics, Capgemini Business
Services
The SMAC wave that is sweeping the market has so far made very few ripples in the Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) space. We find that out of the SMAC suite of Social, Mobile, Analytics and Cloud, CFOs are mostly focused on Cloud as the game changer for FP&A. While this is the low-hanging fruit, a few progressive companies are starting to apply the full suite in FP&A.
There are two objectives they are driving at:
• Value – leveraging SMAC to make budgets, forecasts,
analysis more robust
• Efficiency, effectiveness and control – leveraging SMAC
tools in the FP&A process
VALUE – SMAC FEED INTO FP&A • Social and Mobile –The electronic footprints left every day
on social media and mobile devices provide forceful inputs
into budgets and forecasts. Market sentiments, customer
behavior, trends and numerous such lead indicators show
which way the wind is blowing. Some FP&A teams have
increased accuracy of their budgets and forecasts by
making this an essential part of their frameworks.
• Analytics – FP&A and analytics are very closely intertwined
and together can enhance insights tremendously. The
output of analytics becomes a feed into FP&A, while the
flags emerging from FP&A become the topics of analytics.
In the past, analytics and FP&A functions stood alone in
organizations, but now they are starting to converge (see
The Changing Face of Financial Planning & Analysis for
more insight into this).
• Cloud – Earlier, it was tough to digest capital spend on
infrastructure. Cloud has enabled organizations to bite into
this in smaller chunks, shifting Capex to Opex, much to
the relief of CFOs. But they are now faced with a different
challenge –Cloud-based spending is much more erratic
and harder to predict since it fluctuates with the business,
making it important to have stronger bridges between
FP&A and the business.
EFFICIENCY, EFFECTIVENESS AND CONTROL: SMAC TOOLS IN FP&A
• Social and Mobile – Collaboration is key to
FP&A effectiveness. Email is the new snail mail – so
organizations are using secure internal social tools to
make this process much more effective. Gathering
inputs, having discussions, and making iterations now
happen online and are documented with accuracy for
enhanced control. Executives have access to analysis
and insights at the flick of a finger on their mobile
devices and can also provide approvals faster.
• Analytics – Visualization/Business Insight (BI) tools are
being embedded in the FP&A process to give quick
visibility and drilldowns. This has enabled the rapid
turnaround of analysis after the books are closed as
well as effective simulations and scenario modeling for
better decision-making. Adoption of statistical tools is,
however, in the nascent stage.
• Cloud – FP&A pulls a huge amount of data in the
enterprise together. Many firms are moving to FP&A in
the Cloud to make this easier and more elastic.
There’s no doubt that SMAC has changed the way
that organizations do business. It is only a matter of
time before organizations embrace it in their Financial
Planning & Analysis function to enhance their efficiency,
effectiveness, value and control. To what extent is your
organization leveraging SMAC in FP&A?
85
Expert Insights
THE WATERMELON EFFECT – IT ISN’T ALL ABOUT SLAsMarek Grodzinski, VP, Head of European Business Services
Delivery Centers
Have you ever been in a review meeting where a service provider proudly stated that all SLAs were met but you were less than satisfied with the outcomes being delivered? It’s called the watermelon effect – green on the outside and red inside.
THE MEDIOCRE QUADRANT
Service providers that only focus on contractual service
levels are highly unlikely to sustain their client relationships
for very long. As someone who is often in the buyer’s
seat, I know how frustrating it is to hear from a provider
that everything is working well because they delivered
on their SLAs while at the same time the organization is
complaining. At the end of the day, it’s about more than the
SLAs, it’s whether the provider is delivering on your agenda.
In one of my previous blogs, I discussed the following focus
points of Service Delivery and Engagement Managers:
Service Delivery Manager Engagement
Process efficiency and effectiveness Enterprise value (process outcomes)
Cost Top and bottom line, cash position
Customer (user) satisfaction Client (CXO) agenda
In-scope process optimization End-to-end enterprise transformation
Operational compliance (process controls) Governance and risk management
87
·
Delivering just on the left side of the above table will not
make a service hero. I still recall an incident a few years ago
where a finance executive speaking about his engagement
team stated, “Although they are delivering well, for me
they are just mediocre – I expect more innovation.” It was
a rather shocking statement as this engagement had been
seen as very successful. A watermelon effect?
THE SERVICE HEROSo how can you ensure your service providers don’t end
up in the mediocre quadrant? First, make sure they listen
carefully to your objectives and understand what is important
to you. And when I say “to you,” I mean to your organization
and also to you personally. Don’t let them forget the WIIFM
(what’s in it for me) aspect.
Of course you will be most happy if they deliver something
extra. If you struggle with cash, they should focus on DSO and
make sure payments are made sooner. Are your business
units operating as independent silos? Your provider should
put standardization and discipline on top of the agenda. Are
you going through a series of acquisitions and divestitures?
Make sure you get a project team to ensure a seamless
transition. Has your brand reputation been damaged by
fraud within the organization? They should propose a control
framework to audit and mitigate risks. The list can be as long
as number of challenges you have. So choose a provider
that will ask the right questions and build an action plan.
LOOKING BROADER
Many service providers have a tendency to stay in their
comfort zone and concentrate on the scope given to
them. They lean it, automate it, improve it, and then lean it,
automate it … up to the point they can hardly provide any
more value. They should look broader from the beginning.
To get the really juicy fruit, you need a long ladder. This
is why we, at Capgemini, recommend a transformational
journey from day one. Our Global Enterprise Model© (GEM)
enables us to take a comprehensive view on our client’s
business – whether this relates to process (Global Process
Model©), people (Grade Mix, Location Mix, Competency
Model), technology, governance or commercial aspects
(pricing). Armed with right tools and methodologies, we
can deliver more for you beyond SLAs.
Many service providers have a tendency to stay in their comfort zone and concentrate on the scope given to them. But at Capgemini, we recommend a transformational journey from day one.
8988 INNOVATION NATION SPRING 2016
Expert Insights
FIVE ESSENTIAL SUCCESS FACTORS FOR IMPLEMENTING GLOBAL E-PROCUREMENT TOOLSAbduelkadir Tekin, Head of Global Services and Customer
Care for the IBX Business Network
I have been involved in many e-procurement tool implementation projects around the world in the last 20 years of my career. These have involved customers across many different industries of varying sizes. And while every one of these projects was unique in its own way, they all shared a common set of best practices that were key to the success of the global rollout and adoption of the tool.
Based on my experience, I recommend incorporating
the following five essential success factors into your next
global e-procurement initiative.
1. STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT, COMMUNICATION AND CHANGE MANAGEMENT
Stakeholder management should focus on more than just
the purchasing function or IT. It is best to involve all relevant
parties from the start, including your top management, your
internal business partners, your finance and accounting
department and, in some cases, special functions that
may represent your highest spend like marketing, research
and development, or similar areas.
You should also illustrate the benefits that better contract
compliance will bring to your organization. Anchor your
compliance strategy as a central element of the initiative;
show the savings benefits that you can generate with
this solution and convince your management and key
stakeholders. Focus more on why you change things and
less on what and how you change them.
2. POLICIES, PROCESSES AND PROCEDURES
Use your top management access to establish clear
policies to support your initiative. Such policies can be
focusing on rules and guidelines, clarifying the processes,
and tools to be used.
Take the opportunity to question and challenge current
processes. If there is no good reason for a specific process
step, consider discarding it.
As an example, in many companies the general ledger (GL)
account assignment in a procurement system requires the
end user to select a GL account when they are purchasing
goods or services. But end users typically don´t know the
right GL accounts so they often make the wrong selection.
The reason the example above is an unnecessary step is
that it can be solved differently, either by automation in
the tool or via back-end mappings.
3. ORGANIZATION AND GOVERNANCEI recommend carefully choosing the right personnel for your
project: select visionaries for the beginning and practitioners
for later stages. Here’s why: Way too often I have seen
highly skilled, innovative team members get stuck in the
nitty-gritty details. And conversely, operationally focused
team members should not be forced into an uncomfortable
role of new strategic planning, with which they will struggle.
It’s best to set up a cross-functional core project team that
has full responsibly for implementing the project from the
beginning, keeping in mind that it can change based on
91
·
the skill sets needed at different stages of the project. And
remember that there will be life after the rollout. Establish
a qualified support team to take ownership of the solution
after the go-live date.
4. REPORTING, KPIS AND MEASUREMENTI am still surprised how seldom companies take reporting,
KPIs and measurement into consideration, despite agreeing
that they are important processes. Establishing KPIs for spend
compliance, process cycle times and end-user satisfaction,
to name a few examples, is vital to determining whether your
organization is operating effectively and efficiently.
But it is not only about setting KPIs and measuring them. Very
often I ask my customers: “Who receives the reports and
figures? How are conclusions drawn from these? What action
is taken?” And unfortunately, it seems that many companies
ignore the reports or the figures in them.
I suggest applying a reporting process where exceeding
KPIs is rewarded and missed goals lead to corrective actions
and improvements.
5. TOOLS AND TECHNOLOGY It is crucial that your e-procurement initiative focuses on
intuitiveness and ease of use rather than just functionality.
Avoid creating a one-size-fits-all solution, as this will only
end in disappointment for your end users. Basic users will
become overwhelmed by too many options and users who
need access to special processes will be screaming for
changes to meet their specific requirements.
To be able to control the complexity of your solution I strongly
recommend enforcing a clearly defined global template with
as many standardized processes as possible, allowing for
local deviations only where necessary and controlled through
a change request process. This will not make everyone happy
in the short term, but you will gain stability and efficiency in
the long run.
6. THE BOTTOM LINEThe bottom line is to carefully choose your e-procurement
tool and supplier, but don’t overlook its implementation.
I hope that by considering the five success factors
described above, you will avoid some of the pitfalls often
encountered in this process.
Establishing KPIs for spend compliance, process cycle times and end-user satisfaction is vital to determining whether your organization is operating effectively and efficiently.
9392 INNOVATION NATION SPRING 2016
Expert Insights
CONTRACT MANAGEMENT: IS THERE LIFE AFTER DEATH?Craig Conte, VP, Head of Contract Compliance & Optimization
The standard depiction for Contract Lifecycle Management is a circle with various stages showing contract creation, signature, management and then termination, expiry or renewal, or other synonyms. A lot of attention is put into contract creation and management but the end of the lifecycle is often taken for granted and not thought of as a stage where value can be found.
I am here to challenge that notion and give you the
existential thought that there is just as much value in
contract death as in life. Maybe that is a little dramatic,
but I want to make the point that companies are finding
real value in managing their supplier base and culling the
number of suppliers they manage.
This is a real issue that comes up more and more in the
conversations I have with clients, particularly in large
organizations with multiple business units is that software
is purchased based upon an immediate local need without
considering the opportunity at a global level. This can lead
to two types of problems:
• Inefficient buying – if six friends go to the store and
each buy an individual can of soda, they’re paying
a higher price per unit than if they bought a six-pack
together. This is also true of software licenses. There
is a distinct need to invest in the license, but lack of
coordination, or lack of visibility by global sourcing will
likely result in an inefficient purchase.
• Duplicative buying – in this example, let’s assume
there is a need to supply coffee for the office. If one
person buys a coffee machine that comes with free
coffee for a year and another subscribes to a coffee
bean supply service that offers a free coffee machine,
from a procurement perspective there are 2 distinct
contracts: 1 for coffee and 1 for a coffee machine.
So unless someone checked everything that came
with the contract, there would be duplicate purchases
and wasted money. I see this happen with software
and services contracts all the time. Platform X has
a core functionality that drove the purchase, but it also
has other functions that are underutilized or not even
known. And then someone else in the organization
buys Platform Y without checking.
So, asset management systems are supposed to help with
this, but they don’t always deep dive in the contracts and
scopes available. The result is a larger than necessary
supplier base and carrying cost. The solution? Contract
management, of course. The common exercise is to
optimize the supplier base. This is sometimes called “tail”
management (as in manage the tail end of your spend). But
what should happen is a more comprehensive exercise:
• Assess the supplier base and stratify it into strategic,
business and commodity partners.
• Compare “like for like” and identify the overlaps and
opportunities for consolidation
• Choose the suppliers you want to retain and let the
others either expire or exercise their termination rights.
Now while this is a very simplistic view of the process, the
devil is in the details. The effort to go from 300 suppliers to
150 should not be underestimated, but the key takeaway
is that just as there is value in managing contracts when
they are alive, there is also value and money to be found
in letting contracts die.
95
.07
INDUSTRY IN FOCUS: FINANCIAL SERVICES
Industry in Focus: Financial Services
·
THE IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY ON BUSINESS PROCESSES IN THE FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRYIndivar Khosla, Head of Financial Services, Capgemini
Business Services
Innovation Nation talks to Indivar Khosla, head of Financial Services for Capgemini Business Services, about the challenges and opportunities that technology is bringing to the insurance and banking industry, and how IT can be a major empowerment tool for business processes to achieve outcomes.
Innovation Nation: Welcome Indivar – technology is at the core of almost every conversation around business services so let’s start there. What impact is technology having on Financial Services (FS) firms as they try to optimize their business and IT operations?
Indivar Khosla: Yes, technology sure is a topic at the
front and center nowadays, as organizations look to not
only optimize but also transform their business operations.
Interestingly, technology is no longer just an enabler for
business optimization but is fast becoming a disruptor of
traditional business models and thus cannot be overlooked.
It must be a key part of the transformation strategy.
Each industry goes through transformation in two ways –
an evolution path (slow and steady change) and then an
occasional revolution path (major shift). The FS industry
is currently in the midst of a revolution being led by
technologies such as SMAC (social, mobile, analytics and
cloud), Digital and Robotics. The last revolution was in late
1990s with the Internet. Many in the FS industry missed
the boat and as a result lost significant market share.
Those who embraced the change reaped the rewards.
Similarly this revolution will be a “make it break it” for
many organizations, especially in the overall challenging
FS environment.
To remain competitive, FS organizations must accept and
adapt to the fact that the customer base they serve is
going through a major shift in terms of buying behaviors
and preferences, much of which is being driven by the
(social media and mobile) digital technology revolution.
Generation Y, for example, wants more choice and control
in how they interact with a bank or insurance company,
whether it be self-directed, Internet-led, person-to-person,
on the phone or in an office. As such, companies must
transform their traditional models and products to service
this growing and changing customer.
Similarly, Analytics is starting to play a broader role and is
being leveraged not just for past trend analysis but also
predictive analysis and real-time decision making. With the
Internet of Things (IOT), the amount of data now available
is significant, and how FS firms leverage this intelligence
as a cornerstone of decision-making and intertwine with
day-to-day processes to be more effective and efficient will
be key. Again with Cloud-based solutions, FS firms now
have access to “as-a-service” offerings that can enable
speed to market with extremely attractive cost models.
The Financial Services industry is seeing the impact of
technology-led change either directly to their business
models (for both consumer and commercial clients) or
even as a secondary or tertiary impact, given that it’s at
the core of all other industries. While FS firms have done
99
Industry in Focus: Financial Services
·
a decent job overall of adopting newer and advanced
technologies, they need to pick up the pace of adoption
or risk losing market share to the newest entrants – or
worse, becoming obsolete. Furthermore, FS firms must
be open minded when investigating whether to bring in
technology as a step change or a complete shift.
Where do Business Services providers fit in?Traditionally, the Business Services industry has been
focused on taking a function from an organization to
a low cost location, optimizing that function, rationalizing
it and transforming it to drive a more efficient and effective
process. But with the FS industry focusing on leveraging
technology as an integral part of the business operations,
the business and engagement models are changing.
Initially it was an FTE based model. Then the industry
started to move to a per transaction model, and now
with technology enablement, the industry is moving
towards an integrated “as-a-service” model for end-to-
end service (Ops & IT). Even for the traditional models,
technologies such as Robotics is playing a major role in
bringing significant efficiencies.
It will be key for business service providers to shift gears
and make technology a part of the services and solutions
they offer. The good news is that service providers such as
Capgemini understood this trend well in advance and have
been leading the market in offering unique engagement
models to clients.
What are some of the main concerns that clients raise in terms of having to adjust to these shifts?
Transformation is the key word we hear from our clients.
But transformation isn’t easy – it’s not just about coming
up with a new idea and new operating models. It’s more
about getting an organization to adopt the model. As such,
Organizational Change Management (OCM) becomes
a critical success factor, although many clients still struggle
with it. To ensure the appropriate tools and methodologies
are implemented for a successful transformation program,
clients should look to service providers such as Capgemini
who have tremendous proven experience and bring the
best practices to deliver the desired results.
In addition, the adoption of advanced technologies comes at
a steep price. With the FS industry already under significant
pressure, there is limited new spending. So FS firms must
look within to generate organic savings to feed these
transformational programs by rationalizing their existing
assets and leveraging partners to assist with the transition.
The focus should be on a Value Based Management (VBM)
approach, where the firm only owns and invests in assets
that are key differentiators to the brand.
For other aspects of the operations and technology, FS
firms should rely on service providers who are able to
offer “as-a-service” type models for various functional and
technology assets. In fact, service providers can assist
with the transition in a way in which not only non-core
assets are transitioned, but also the building of newer
strategic capabilities is enabled. The combination of JV,
BOT and other models can generate GOE reduction, ROE
creation, and at the same time allow FS firms to transform
their business.
What do financial services firms often get wrong when starting out on a transformation journey?
Firstly, customers sometimes undervalue the outside-in
perspective. They think that transformation is internally
led, which is true, but shaping the transformation requires
a broader perspective – which is something business
service providers can offer through having the experience
of servicing hundreds of clients. Transformation partners
also tend to invest more in innovation.
For example, Capgemini has created the Innovation
Exchange – a hub of creative ideas. The program hosts
dozens of clients every month and this library of ideas
offers a significant advantage over what our clients can
do on their own. The biggest mistake clients make in
internally-led transformations is that they define a target
operating model that is too heavily dependent on all the
internal constraints of their organization. The outsider
perspective can help clients envision the right end state
and the journey required to get there.
Secondly, often the transformation agenda is carried out
in silos. The vision has to be top down. Execution can be
and most likely will be bottom up. You can’t start building
a house without a holistic architectural plan in place, but
once you have it laid out, the building will go up one brick
at a time.
And thirdly, many organizations see transformation as
an IT-led initiative, which is wrong. At the end of the day,
technology is simply an enabler of the transformation plan
and businesses still need to lead the way to define their
end state and trajectory. Technology will play key role in
enabling and accelerating the journey.
Finally, what recommendations would you offer leaders of financial services companies as they embark on their transformation journey?
Understand who you want to be, and what your brand
stands for. Companies often start a transformation
program without fully understanding the impact to their
brand. It’s a bit like packing your bags to go on holiday
without really knowing what to take, because you haven’t
decided where to go.
It’s important to build out your end-state or “to be model”
before beginning the design of how to get there. When
you visualize your ultimate game plan outcome, you can
start your transformational journey. And with the right
help from service providers such as Capgemini, you can
understand each component and aspect required to get
there and have the right support to achieve the desired
to-be state. Let’s go and build the future!
Transformation isn't just about coming up with a new idea and new operating models. It’s more about getting an organization to adopt the model.
101100 INNOVATION NATION SPRING 2016
Industry in Focus: Financial Services
RECONCILIATION FOR A MAJOR NORTH AMERICAN BANK
Capgemini supports one of North America’s big banks to deliver end-to-end reconciliation
HOW DOES A MAJOR BANK TRANSFORM ITS RECONCILIATION PROCESS WITHOUT DISRUPTION TO ITS BUSINESS?
With a history spanning over a century and millions of loyal
customers, this major North American bank is one of the
largest financial services institution in the region and a
trusted partner for its clients. The bank has a reputation
as a technological innovator and endeavored to replace
an inefficient labor-intensive accounts reconciliation
process that placed undue pressure on its Finance and
Accounting (F&A) teams and presented unnecessary risk
to the organization with a more advanced, agile process.
STANDARDIZING RECONCILIATION ACROSS F&AThe bank’s stakeholders understood that a number of
concerns needed to be addressed. It had multiple legacy
platforms that provided disparate information and were
slow to process and provide data, and there was a lack
of standardized processes across the organization and
no centralized global model of reconciliation within the
F&A function.
The disparate information provided by various legacy
systems meant the organization and its business units
could not depend on accurate, real-time data for high-level
analysis, reporting and decision-making. Using multiple
systems also meant higher than necessary operational
costs within the reconciliation function. Furthermore,
delays in “closing the books” meant a potentially reduced
working capital for the bank.
The bank wanted to leverage modern technology and
automation to increase overall visibility of the reconciliation
process, mitigate risk, improve productivity and improve
the quality of their service delivery, while reducing
operational costs and increasing working capital.
AUTOMATING THE RECONCILIATION PROCESS FOR INCREASED VISIBILITY
The solution was to create a global shared services
center and implement Capgemini’s Reconciliation-as-a-
Service (RaaS) solution, an end-to-end platform-based
reconciliation offering that leverages a 24/7 global delivery
model to deliver increased standardization, process
efficiency and cost efficiency to the reconciliation process.
“Capgemini’s Reconciliation-as-a-Service offering is a perfect combination of platform and process. We are seeing real benefits from our centralized global reconciliation process and customized reports that give us superior decision-making on both an operational and strategic level.”A major North American bank
103
Industry in Focus: Financial Services
·
Attention was paid to due diligence and regulatory
compliance requirements, and the transition was
enacted in a carefully managed phased implementation
to further reduce risk and minimize disruption. A number
of Black Belt projects were also run alongside general
process reengineering to ensure all critical general ledger
processes were fully optimized. In total, 30 processes
were migrated to the new system with a load of over 60
million transactions per month managed.
SmartStream’s Transaction Lifecycle Management (TLM®)
Platform for automated reconciliation was selected
to replace the multiple legacy platforms. This enabled
the bank’s finance team to focus on managing major
exceptions in real time, changing their role from overseeing
the majority of transactions to managing ones that posed
a significant risk.
RESULTS COUNT – INCREASED PRODUCTIVITY AND REDUCED OPERATION COSTS
The implementation of a single reconciliation system has
resulted in a centralized, highly automated reconciliation
system and process, which provides real-time
reconciliation and data on a global level. This has led to
increased productivity, a reduction in manual errors and
better engagement among the staff.
Improved investigation and resolution times also mean
better supplier relations and improved working capital
for the enterprise.
Moving to a cloud-based solution with improved automation
has also meant reduced overall operational costs and
improved decision-making on both an operational and
strategic level.
The transformation has led to significant tangible,
quantifiable results including:
• $42 million (€37 million) in savings over a five-year period.
• A 9.75% net reduction in FTEs since the go live date
of the project.
• A 5% productivity gain.
Importantly, all SLAs have been met since its inception
and the number of outstanding items is well below set
benchmarks.
THE COLLABORATIVE APPROACHThe Collaborative Business ExperienceTM is central to the
Capgemini philosophy and a pillar of our service delivery.
The bank collaborated closely with Capgemini across the
project to ensure optimal results. Open and direct two-
way communication was vital for all stages of the project,
from creating a global shared services center based on
Capgemini’s rich experience in the field, to planning a
carefully phase-based implementation of RaaS across
the organization. Capgemini’s consultants also conducted
onsite process reengineering exercises with the bank’s
employees in order to create a standardized general ledger
reconciliation process on a global level.
Over the past eight years, Capgemini has worked
alongside the bank’s experts on a continual basis to
identify problems, find innovative solutions, implement
enhancements, perform upgrades, and modernize
existing platforms and support operations. The bank is
continuing to partner with Capgemini to reduce risk and
bring more processes into their RaaS framework.
ABOUT THE CLIENTThis major North American bank is one of the largest banks
in the world. As a leading diversified financial services
company, the bank provides personal and commercial
banking, wealth management, insurance, investor services
and capital markets products and services on a global basis.
The bank serves personal, business, public sector and
institutional clients through offices across the globe.
For more information on this project, please contact:
RESULTS
North America
LOCATION
Finance and Banking
INDUSTRY
Major North American Bank
CUSTOMER NAME
CLIENT CHALLENGES/BUSINESS NEED
The bank operated multiple legacy platforms that provided disparate
information, a lack of standardized processes across the organization with no centralized global model of reconciliation,
and higher than necessary operational costs within the reconciliation function.
SOLUTION-AT-A-GLANCE
Capgemini’s Reconciliation-as-a-Service based on SmartStream’s Transaction
Lifecycle Management (TLM®) Platform for automated reconciliation.
$42 million (€37 million)
in savings over a 5-year period
5%productivity gain
9.75% net reduction in FTEs
since the go-live date of the project
105104 INNOVATION NATION SPRING 2016
Industry in Focus: Financial Services
WHY BUSINESS PROCESS OUTSOURCING IS GAINING STEAMSid Bhattacharya, VP, Global Marketing,
Kodak Alaris Information Management
By outsourcing back-office workflows, organizations can focus their attention on serving customers and delivering value.
Keep your eye on the ball. This piece of advice is given
to every Little Leaguer who swings a bat, but it’s just
as relevant for financial services companies competing
against both tech-savvy start-ups and established
giants. For many companies, maintaining a focus on
their organization’s core mission – serving customers
and delivering value – is a challenge in an environment
that demands them to assume a host of secondary
responsibilities as well.
What’s a business to do as it seeks to balance devotion
to its customers with the need to complete a variety of
back-office tasks, such as processing sensitive customer
data and handling regulatory compliance? Business
process outsourcing (BPO) – hiring a service provider that
specializes in back-office operations – is one increasingly
popular solution.
“Partnering with a BPO provider enables businesses to
focus on their core competencies,” says Daniel Melchior,
North American advisory practice leader for global
business services and shared services with The Hackett
Group. Outsourcing human resources, accounting and
other tasks to a specialist in those areas frees up valuable
time and resources.
THE ADVANTAGE OF OUTSIDE EXPERTISEMany financial services firms have already embraced
outsourcing, and industry analysts expect adoption to grow
steadily over the next few years. Experts say firms that
adopt this strategy see a host of direct and indirect benefits.
“Often, the number-one driver that starts financial services
organizations down this path is cost,” Melchior says. “The
BPO providers have such scale, and they’re normally doing
it for a large number of clients. They can spread that cost
across multiple clients and they can do it cheaper.”
In addition to cost savings, service providers can deliver
greater efficiency and quality. Their expertise lies in the
service being outsourced, and many of these third parties
rely on advanced information management and workflow
automation solutions, enabling them to do the job better
and faster than the client companies themselves.
THE DECISION TO OUTSOURCEAccording to Indivar Khosla, Global Head of FS Business
Services, before firms can reap the benefits of outsourcing,
they must answer two key questions: What processes will
they outsource? And how?
To tackle the first question, businesses need to identify
which functions are part of their core mission and brand
strategy. These functions should remain in-house, and
companies should devote intellectual capital to these roles
to better compete in the markets they serve.
However, routine operations such as customer setup,
account setup, master data setup, end-user product
support and data collection may not be part of a firm’s
customer-focused approach. “If those processes are not
core to your differentiation strategy, then that’s what you
need to focus on in terms of outsourcing,” Khosla says.
107
·
OVERCOMING HURDLES TO SUCCESSTo see all of outsourcing’s potential benefits, firms have to
steer clear of common obstacles. For example, processes
must be consistent and standardized to achieve good
results with a service provider, Melchior warns. Further,
financial services organizations must spell out in detail
both their roles and responsibilities and those of the
service provider. Businesses should establish service-
level agreements with targets for performance and quality,
and they should monitor the provider’s work and hold
them accountable to those targets.
Security is another major concern. “Whenever a company
puts its data in the hands of a third-party entity, they
obviously run a risk,” Khosla says. “But that risk is
well-mitigated by the maturity of the business process
outsourcing providers.”
Because of the data and funds they handle, companies
in the financial services industry tend to be risk-averse.
In some cases, they cling to less efficient and even
antiquated legacy systems because they’re unwilling to
move to other platforms.
But Melchior observes that service providers have proven
to be a reliable option for organizations looking to improve
the quality and efficiency of their back-office operations
without compromising security. He recommends following
the lead of other firms that have already taken the plunge
into outsourcing.
“If you look at the big financial services firms here in the
US, virtually all of them have outsourced something,” he
says. “You can learn from them.”
http://solutions.kodakalaris.com/financial-services/trends/
why-business-process-outsourcing-is-gaining-steam
Learn more about Kodak Alaris' solutions for business
process outsourcing by visiting:
kodakalaris.com/go/IMnews
1 Business Process Outsourcing Services in the US: Market Research Raport, July 2015, IBIS World2 The Global Business Process Outsourcing Market, March 2015, Global Industry Analysts, Inc.
Growth on the Horizon
GLOBAL MARKET FORBUSINESS PROCESS
OUTSOURCING IN 20151
PREDICTED GLOBALMARKET FOR BUSINESSPROCESS OUTSOURCING
IN 20202
$136 BILLION$220 BILLION
109108 INNOVATION NATION SPRING 2016
.08
RECOGNITION
Recognition
CAPGEMINI’S COACH DELIVERS OUTSOURCING WINSChristopher Stancombe, COO, Capgemini Business Services
As a sports enthusiast, it’s not surprising that Christopher Stancombe has extended the team concept into his professional life as Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Capgemini Business Services. And with top-notch players on his side, he’s had a winning decade in leadership at the BPO firm and is recognized as a star performer in delivering Finance and Accounting outsourcing services.
Recognized by his colleagues as a visionary possessing
a motivational spirit, Christopher Stancombe has inspired
and developed a loyal and talented team at Capgemini,
demonstrating the company’s tagline of “People matter,
results count.” Stancombe has been instrumental in driving
the evolution of the BPO industry towards a higher value,
business services offering. Believing in his rallying cry of
“expect more from BPO,” he is out to change society’s
perception of the BPO industry by showing the possibilities
and value of BPO for businesses and young professionals.
"In this intervewi, Christopher talks to PULSE magazine on
a range of topics including his role of COO of Capgemini
Business Services and some of Capgemini’s corporate
social responsibility (CSR) initiatives."
Tell me about your role as COO of Capgemini Business Services?Christopher Stancombe: I try to be someone I would
want to follow and, therefore, someone other people
would like to follow. I see my role as one of stewardship.
You’re in the role for a period of time. You generally inherit
something that has been created and your job is to pass it
on to the next group of people – hopefully better off than
when you received it. Then, the people that you coached
and encouraged can go on and take the business to
bigger and better things.
How have your past experiences on the buyer side influenced you in your current role?
They enable me to put myself in the shoes of our clients and
understand the dynamics of what they are experiencing.
I’ve been a CFO so I understand the month-end close and
the obsession during that time. There was a period of my
life for 10 or 11 years when holidays never took place. I try
to retain that ability to understand the dynamics of their
life, and I also understand the language we use when we
interact. It’s very helpful if we can relate to our clients in
their role with empathy and understand their challenges.
How are you changing the perception of BPO at Capgemini?We’ve changed the perception from being only about labor
arbitrage to being consultants with process knowledge,
and now even further, how we leverage leading-edge
technology – such as robotic process automation (RPA)
– in some of the things we do.
How do you see RPA impacting outsourcing?The issue is how will automation drive different skills and
workforce models as we move forward. If you compare the
work that’s done today to the past, you would find through
a combination of process efficiency, automation (or call it
robotics), 50% of what used to be done by people has now
113
·
been automated or eliminated. That has happened over
a period of time. The market has grown to compensate
for that so you’ve seen growth in revenues. But will that
keep pace? It will depend on the adoption by clients.
How do you retain talent at Capgemini?There’s a lot of talent in outsourcing. You attract and retain
the best employees by coaching them. The environment
and how you treat your people is very important. In an era
with global social responsibility, values are very important.
People like to be in an environment where they agree with
the values, where they get treated fairly and feel good.
Tell me about some of Capgemini’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives?I believe there should be more recognition of the depth and
variety of talent working in the industry, especially in many of
the emerging economies where we operate. For example, in
Trichy and Salem, Capgemini India, employs over 1,200 local
young men and women who have been trained on various
skills enabling them to be a part of a global workforce
with greater career opportunities while allowing them to
remain close to family in their hometowns. I also am a strong
proponent of diversity, particularly at the management level
– from the members of my Executive Committee to the
engagement leaders and across the organization.
What are the growth areas in outsourcing?We see a lot of opportunity in the supply chain. The
biggest growth segments we’re seeing are driven by digital
technology – consumer products and financial services,
where there is always continuous pressure to differentiate.
That impact of the digital age is driving huge expectations
for an improved customer experience. Geographically, the
industry continues to be dominated by North America
and Europe.
Tell me about the BPO Olympics?Our BPO Olympics celebrates, rewards and shares best
practices across client engagements. It has become the
most anticipated event for Capgemini BPO as a whole,
generating huge passion for innovation and best practice
sharing, and is now extending to other Capgemini business
units. Every year, we choose a topic and ask people to
enter across the globe. Last year was around the use of
technology. Typically we have close to 200 different entries
that we par down to a short list. Those 12 finalist present
on one day, and then we rank them for gold, silver or
bronze. Last time we had a live feed so employees could
watch the whole thing and be part of it.
What is the best advice you’ve ever received or been given?There are no bad decisions. Some are just better than
others. Indecision is the worst.
Who are your role models?My role models writers are writers, particularly scientific
fiction writers (Terry Pratchett and Iain M. Banks), who
make up ideas and give them substance and write stories
around them. I admire their ability to create a vision and
paint a picture.
What do you like to eat?That’s an easy one for an English person – curry, our
national dish. I like spicy food!
Originally published in IAOP's PULSE magazine, Issue
20, Jan/Feb. 2016:
http://www.pageturnpro.com/IAOP/70602-PULSE-
Issue-21/index.html#34
The environment and how you treat your people is very important. In an era with global social responsibility, values are very important.
115114 INNOVATION NATION SPRING 2016
FOR MORE DETAILS CONTACT:Capgemini Business Services
About CapgeminiWith more than 180,000 people in over 40 countries, Capgemini is one of the world's foremost providers of consulting, technology and outsourcing services. The Group reported 2015 global revenues of EUR 11.9 billion. Together with its clients, Capgemini creates and delivers business, technology and digital solutions that fit their needs, enabling them to achieve innovation and competitiveness. A deeply multicultural organization, Capgemini has developed its own way of working, the Collaborative Business ExperienceTM, and draws on Rightshore®, its worldwide delivery model.
Learn more about us at
www.capgemini.com
The information contained in this document is proprietary. ©2016 Capgemini. All rights reserved. Rightshore® is a trademark belonging to Capgemini.
EDGE 1543.2016.03