Unlocking success with a business transformation blueprint
In today’s rapidly evolving landscape, business transformation is essential to stay competitive. Companies often undertake transformations to break through growth ceilings, adapt to disruptions like COVID-19, and maintain a competitive edge through new technologies, such as GenAI. However, recent research reveals that only 61% of business transformations achieve their intended benefits. So, how can organizations avoid common pitfalls and increase the chances of success? The answer lies in a well-defined business transformation blueprint.
The blueprint that makes business transformation stick
To succeed, business transformation must be viewed not as a one-off project but as an ongoing organizational capability. This capability equips businesses to manage change continuously and efficiently. A business transformation blueprint is key to achieving this, offering a repeatable, structured approach that guides companies through the complexities of transformation.
While there’s no one-size-fits-all approach for success, businesses can leverage their own experiences and learnings from others to strengthen their transformation capability. Many transformation initiatives share common methods and activities that can be incorporated into a business transformation blueprint. For instance, a large international manufacturing company might pursue seemingly diverse initiatives such as smart factories, digital twins, or enterprise-wide AI adoption. A practical transformation blueprint can bring consistency and efficiency to these programs by outlining clear steps, from establishing proof of concept to rolling out full initiatives.
A business transformation blueprint ensures businesses avoid guesswork, align stakeholders, and apply proven strategies to new challenges. By standardizing processes while allowing flexibility, it increases the likelihood of achieving desired outcomes at scale.
Start with the five-stage approach to business transformation
When developing your business transformation blueprint, it’s important to consider all stages of the transformation journey. SAP’s five-stage approach to business transformation—Discover, Analyze, Design, Implement, and Operate—offers a logical entry point. The five stages are as follows:
- Discover: Lay the foundation for transformation by understanding your organization’s current processes and applications.
- Analyze: Gain insights into performance, identify inefficiencies, and provide data-driven recommendations for improvement.
- Design: Define your future state and develop strategies to achieve it and milestones for measuring progress.
- Implement: Communicate effectively with stakeholders, provide training, and document progress throughout the transformation.
- Operate: Monitor and adapt to ensure your business remains innovative and responsive to new challenges.
This five-stage approach forms the core of your business transformation blueprint, helping businesses systematically address activities, decisions, and resources at each stage. By identifying common tasks like goal setting, stakeholder management, and performance tracking, you can create a blueprint that applies across multiple transformation initiatives.
Track transformations to refine your blueprint
Tracking and monitoring business transformation at every stage provides valuable data and feedback. This continuous assessment enables real-time adjustments to your business transformation blueprint, ensuring that the process remains aligned with predefined metrics and goals. By documenting successes and areas for improvement, you can fine-tune your transformation methodologies for greater efficiency and impact in future transformations.
This iterative, data-driven approach not only supports the validation and fine-tuning of a robust, repeatable, measurable business transformation blueprint but also makes your teams better equipped to navigate future challenges and achieve long-term success.
Case study: A leading manufacturer’s business transformation journey
A business transformation blueprint provides a reliable framework that can be consistently applied across future initiatives, ensuring that the organization is well-equipped to handle ongoing change.
A new case study by Oxford Economics takes us inside a multi-billion-dollar manufacturer's transformation journey. The company shares their take on the business transformation blueprint and key considerations for any organization undertaking transformation: the importance of proper planning, the critical role of employee buy-in, the challenge of measuring success, and the need to stay agile when circumstances change. Understanding how a manufacturing leader approaches these challenges can provide valuable perspective for your own initiatives.
Read the full case study to learn more from this manufacturer's transformation blueprint and insights.