Powered Enterprise

CEOs and business leaders want to continuously innovate and optimize their organizations to meet (future) customer expectations. But this focus on change also creates stress. Because, how do you know if your company is ready for the next step? And how do you make sure all departments within your organization are on board? "Powered Enterprise provides answers to such questions," says Benjamin De Brabander, Partner in Technology Advisory at KPMG Belgium. "KPMG's functional transformation solution clearly maps out the domains in which you can quickly get ahead. That clarity provides peace of mind at all levels of the business."

"As a company, there’s always room for improvement. Sometimes you do this from an internal motivation, for example to make processes more efficient and profitable. But you can also be driven by external motivation: the customer has new expectations and other stakeholders point you towards sustainability and corporate governance."

"If you are convinced of the need for change, you have to focus on data analytics in every domain: from procurement and finance to cybersecurity. By translating the right data into intelligent insights, you can make your business survive and grow. But sometimes you only see the playing field in which you can grow if you connect data from different industries. Take finance for example. If you focus only on revenue and expenses, you'll be satisfied if your business is making a profit. But, if you combine the financial data with the data from your customer base, then you learn more about the buying behavior of different customer segments and you will for example gain insights on which customers there is more profit to be made."

"Another clear example is the link between cybersecurity and HR. Organizations are doing everything they can to counter malware. In the past, they would focus entirely on technology that detects ransomware and phishing messages early on. But, as cybercriminals increasingly try to steal employee identities, we are now also turning to HR to make the organization cyber secure. With Powered Enterprise, we are implementing identity and access management (IAM): employees only have access to the programs and data they need for their tasks. This makes it difficult for cybercriminals."

"Implementing change is anything but easy, because you have to wait for exactly the right moment. If you want to invest in a completely new information software (e.g. ERP, CRM, etc.), then you want to make sure that the old one has maximized its value. But you also don't want to wait too long, because then your systems might start to malfunction and/or you run the risk of losing performance by not taking advantage of all the new technological evolutions. You have to find the perfect balance between exploitation and exploration."

"Visionary leaders have a 6^th sense for that kind of thing. They follow economic, technological and social trends closely and sense where the market is heading. But you also need people who can realize that vision. Change always revolves around data, technology, processes, people and organizations. New jobs, new ways of working, new opportunities arise. But also resistance. It is then important to present your employees with a clear vision: this is what we want to achieve with the change and this is where we are evolving as an organization."

"Many companies prefer to focus on their core business. As a result, they don't always have the people inhouse to initiate and realize those digital transformations. That's why they come to KPMG. With Powered Enterprise we map out what can be improved, why it can be improved and how you can bring about that change."

"The first step is to determine which processes are distinctive and which should work more efficiently. Then, using data and best practices, we make a kind of blueprint of what roles, responsibilities and collaboration models these processes ideally should have. Through best practices and benchmarking, we gain insight into how much other companies spend, how many employees work in a department, and what turnover they generate. By comparing those figures with the data within your organization, you can better assess where profits can be made."

"The last step is one of the hardest: how are you going to implement that change? Powered Enterprise takes a consistent approach that considers various facets of a company. Because the individual applications must support the work processes, which in turn must be aligned with the intended customer journeys, the operating model and - at the very highest level - the strategy and vision of your company. The full picture must be correct, and integration is essential. That way, you increase the chances of creating maximum value and ensure that all stakeholders are on board."

"Technology plays a very important role in all of this. Whereas in the past its main task was to support your business processes, with digital transformations, technology will increasingly become part of your actual offer. Imagine this: you run an insurance company and you launch a new car insurance. Then you can give your customers a black box that monitors their driving habits. If your customer is willing to share this data with you, you can offer a discount. Win-win: you get a better picture of your customer's driving behavior and your customer is satisfied with the lower price."

"With Powered Enterprise, we are fully committing to the Internet of Things (IoT). And because those technological solutions run through the cloud, we can offer them even cheaper and deploy them faster. For example, we are helping Belgian cities evolve into Smart Cities: cities that use data and technology to make life more enjoyable for their residents."

"With any change, you have to focus on better service for the customer. That's your end goal. Sometimes you can achieve that by offering a product at a lower price. But you can just as well increase the ease of use by building your invoice more clearly or simplifying your purchasing procedure. Or you choose to exceed all expectations, pleasantly surprising your customer and thus making a difference. And don't take the term "customer" too narrowly here, because your customers can also be your employees or your citizens. If you improve the customer experience of all your stakeholders, you will get maximum value from your transition journey as a company."

Powered Enterprise is an effective path toward innovation and growth. Curious about what the solution can do for your organization? Our experts are happy to explain the process to you.