Accelerated Solutions Environment. The innovative way to resolve complex issues

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1 Accelerated Solutions Environment The innovative way to resolve complex issues

2 In the ASE you can achieve results that otherwise would have taken you 4-6 months, if you managed to achieve them at all. Dr. Manfred Knof (CEO Allianz Suisse) Capgemini uses the ASE approach to make change processes in organisations a success. It is a component of Capgemini s change management approach and one of the most prominent methods in the context of our Collaborative Business Experience. What is ASE? The abbreviation ASE stands for Accelerated Solutions Environment and describes a special creative working environment in which large teams undergo an intensive working process and together resolve complex issues. Classic ASE events last for up to three days and usually take place in ASE centres developed by Capgemini. Supported by a qualified facilitation team, feasible solutions are developed and change processes successfully designed. ASE events are usually integrated in a project in order to accelerate alignment and decision-making processes. 1

3 The ASE workshop was an outstanding event that enabled our team to achieve global agreement of our system design. As I look back over the months since the event, I realize we would not have global alignment and understanding with our business leaders without the ASE workshop. Pamela Dow (Executive Director Johnson Controls) What results does ASE achieve? Contrary to traditional approaches, in ASE events all key stakeholders simultaneously develop a sustainable solution using their knowledge and experience as well as all relevant facts. This creates an ideal foundation for the subsequent implementation because all required parties are already involved in concept design and planning. The following practical results are achieved in an ASE event: Quality The simultaneous integration of all relevant decision-makers and experts combined with fact-based discussions result in high-quality decisions and feasible solutions that are actually implemented. Acceleration Consolidating all important topics at one point in time significantly reduces coordination cycles. Furthermore, implementing the solution is noticeably accelerated because the stakeholders actively co-design the change process, which in turn also helps to reduce potential resistance. Secure investments The real-time visualisation of prototypical solutions facilitates the joint definition of priorities between business and IT, thus safeguarding investments. Alignment and commitment The highly productive teamwork in a given creative framework helps to increase the participants acceptance of and alignment on the jointly developed solution. 2

4 The ASE is a very useful tool to rapidly generate very precise results, which participants will buy into and commit to implementing. Sven-Torsten Huster (CIO & COO Volkswagen Financial Services AG) When is ASE the right approach for your company? The ASE approach can be used in all industries and for many topics. An ASE event is the right solution for your company if your situation features several of the following characteristics: The issue is complex Finding a solution requires broad knowledge, facts and experiences from different parts of the organisation The decision/ solution is urgently required A multitude of interest groups has to be aligned on the solution The shortcomings of traditional change approaches in organisations The complexity of the challenges to be addressed has increased significantly and requires the participation of experts from ever more specialised disciplines. As a result, frequently the only choice is between making quick (top management) decisions Risk: false compromises, accepting gaps, widespread lack of commitment during the implementation Result: Speed at the cost of the quality of the decisions an intensive and sequential involvement of many participants and long coordination cycles Risk: Loss of momentum for the implementation Result: High-quality decisions at the cost of speed In both cases, participants as well as stakeholders may disengage from the process. In addition, traditional approaches are often unable to overcome the different languages and thought patterns of business and IT. This hinders an effective discussion of the business benefits of new technologies and may lead to wrong investment decisions or even a competitive disadvantage. Major transformation programmes often lack a structured approach and/ or a suitable environment to efficiently organise and optimally support over a period of several months the immense need for alignment among the project teams. 3

5 The proven ASE method or: The art of turning affected parties into driving forces Unlike traditional methods, the ASE approach is based on involving a large number of experienced employees and decision-makers. The ASE method represents a synthesis of creative environment, effective working process for large groups and specific content preparation. Various ideas are aligned to a common picture with the help of the most modern visualisation techniques. In addition, we can leverage our technology partners to introduce and discuss specific innovations. The working process in an ASE follows a method that has been successfully applied for many years: Scan, Focus, Act. The building blocks of the given knowl edge about a specific topic are communicated (Scan) and further developed in an iterative manner (Focus). The ASE facilitation team manages and supports this process in such a way that the participants receive a greater amount of guidance at the beginning of an event, while towards the end they take over responsibility for the results and their implementation (Act). The ultimate authority to set priorities and take decisions remains with your decision-makers the ASE process is not an exercise in direct democracy. Notwithstanding, the process ensures that all participants support the decisions taken and jointly commit to their implementation. The participants come together in the ASE event to jointly undergo this tried and tested process. Understand project context Learn from experts (trends, best-practices, innovations etc.) Change perspectives and discuss project inputs Common understanding of issues Teambuilding Simulations/ scenarios: what if Develop and consolidate first ideas Iterate and improve the quality and robustness of the solutions Test solution proposals/ visualize prototypes Evaluate and eliminate options Discuss priorities and proposed decisions Make decisions Develop short-/ mid-/ long-term activity plans Roadmap for the (digital) transformation Joint commitment for implementation 4

6 ASE preparation and project integration A successful ASE event requires intensive preparation and usually has a lead time of 4-6 weeks. A small team comprising top decision-makers and project managers governs the preparation phase, which involves initiating research and analysis, selecting the appropriate participants, and determining the latitude and objectives of the workshop. At the same time, the ASE team develops the event design (script). A complete documentation of the results is available the day after the ASE. This directly initiates the communication of the ASE results as well as their implementation. ASE environment The ASE environment promotes the creativity of participants and can be flexibly used to organise an effective collaboration that transcends hierarchies. Latest technologies such as digital whiteboards can be used to efficiently integrate virtual participants into the working process. ASE team We consider ourselves a facilitation team. Our profession is to organise working in large groups in such a manner that ambitious objectives can and will be achieved. Facilitation is more than moderation. Specially trained facilitators guide the participants through the complex process of an ASE event. Knowledge workers, who are proficient in the ASE way of working support the facilitators, visualise prototypical solutions and assist in the handling of new media (e.g. digital whiteboards), if and when required. They also ensure that all deliverables are captured and if desired prepared in multimedia formats. 5

7 Typical challenges addressed in ASE events ASE accelerates the solution-finding and decision-making process on a broad level. The approach is particularly suitable for challenges in the following areas: How can we leverage revenue growth or cost reduction potentials? How do we adapt our business model to new market conditions? How do we develop new growth areas? What is our strategy in dealing with new technologies? How do we design an outsourcing process? How can we find the right balance between maximum process harmonisation and specific country requirements? How do we ensure that a (new) process works consistently in all countries/ business areas? How do we organise product and process innovations? How do we design the interfaces along our supply chain (internal and external)? How do we accelerate our time-to-market? How do we design our M&A strategy? How do we achieve a successful integration? How do we determine our new roles and responsibilities? How do we organise the governance of the new company? 6

8 Typical challenges addressed in ASE events Which technological innovations offer us a competitive edge? How do we achieve a broad alignment on system requirements and functionalities across regions? How do we design the necessary infrastructure and IT landscape across the entire organisation? How do we organise our application management with the appropriate mix of internal and external resources (detailed SLAs, balance between offshore and onshore, etc.)? How do we create a realistic implementation roadmap aligned with business and IT? How do we set up our project management for the complex implementation? How will the governance structure work? How do we deal with the changes in the company? What communication measures will be necessary? How do we ensure in the coming months that the necessary coordination between the program participants is organised efficiently and supported in the best possible way? How can we actively work on issues of (inter)national interest with representatives of different companies/ institutions and not merely have a round table discussion? How do we make our events more interactive? How do we achieve tangible results? How to develop concrete recommendations all stakeholders will take on board? 7

9 An intensive experience and an excellent way to bring together the various people and skills to come to solutions for complex problems in a condensed timeframe! Oliver Morbach (Executive Vice President, Customer Service, T Mobile International) The optimal format to suit your requirements Capgemini has numerous ASE centres around the world. These centres provide an optimal environment for handling complex issues in large groups and identifying creative solutions as well as voicing the emotional aspects of an issue. This classic ASE format is individually tailored to your requirements and can vary according to the size of the group and the duration and venue of the workshop. Thus, individual ASE elements, such as the proven Scan-Focus-Act method, can also be used in brief workshops with fewer participants and for less complex and rather rational topics. In large transformation projects, mini ASE centres are installed at the project site to support collaboration and alignment between (sub-)projects. Thereby, an entire series of workshops covering a period of several weeks or months can be conducted at the project site in close collaboration with the project team. Using our mobile equipment, we can conduct classical as well as smaller ASE workshops at the venue of your choice. However, our experience shows that the best results as well as an enduring commitment and alignment of the participants are achieved when the workshops are conducted off-site in one of our ASE centres. If necessary, use of the latest technologies in ASE can play a pivotal role, e.g. when facilitating true collaboration between virtual teams across different locations or prototypically visualising innovative technical solutions. Together we can select the right choice of ASE format to suit your specific requirements. ASE and change management Change management at Capgemini comprises a variety of methods, tools and interventions to successfully drive the transformation process. Traditional change management activities and ASE perfectly complement each other, where change management ensures a continuous support throughout the transformation, while ASE events often represent brief yet highly intensive interventions. Learn more about Capgemini s change management approach by following this link: 8

10 The organisation achieved a lot over the 3.5 months of the change project. The ASE is an invaluable tool to make good decisions quickly and start an immediate implementation. We would never have achieved this excellent level of efficiency on our own. Dr. Manfred Knof, CEO Allianz Suisse Case study Strategy for profitable growth at Allianz Suisse Allianz Suisse is among the top 5 in the Swiss insurance market and was amidst a phase of consolidation and cost optimisation. The next logical step in the evolution was to pursue a path towards sustainable and profitable growth, which is a true challenge in a saturated market. Capgemini Consulting was commissioned to develop the growth strategy together with Allianz Suisse and support the transformation. Key milestones during this programme were two ASE events taking place in the ASE centre in Berlin. First, a small group of top decision-makers discussed and defined the relevant growth areas in a 2-day ASE workshop. This was the topdown component of the programme. The top executives had thereby defined the latitude for the following ASE workshop, during which the growth strategy was finalised and agreed with 55 experts and decision-makers from Allianz Suisse. The project team used the time between the ASE workshops very effectively to compile all the important data and information for the relevant growth areas. This data served as the basis to hold fact-based discussions in the second ASE workshop, where arguments and experiences were exchanged, the various perspectives made transparent and finally the top priorities intensively debated. Eventually, various growth scenarios were weighed against each other. This included potential opportunities for different customer segments (e.g. B2C, B2B, key industries), focus areas among products and services (e.g. life insurance, non-life insurance, real estate, etc.) and the appropriate governance of the distribution channels (e.g. general agencies, brokers, direct, etc.). The top decision-makers, who had also consistently participated in the ASE workshop, were able to immediately take key decisions about investments and implementation measures. Apart from a widely supported growth strategy and the resulting functional and operational changes, the ASE approach also helped to initiate a cultural change enabling a new kind of collaboration across departments and hierarchies. Two years after the project, the results are reflected in hard figures: a significant increase in market share at a high level of profitability. 9

11 The ASE workshop s inspiring atmosphere and the dynamic way of working led us to achieving relevant results in a very short amount of time. Dietmar Meister (CEO & CFO AMB Generali) Our clients include many renowned companies The ASE approach has already been used by 40% of the DAX-30 companies to support change processes, with about two-thirds of our clients having opted for the ASE approach on multiple occasions. Selected references ADAC, Airbus, Allianz, Astellas, AXA, Bayer, BMW, Bundesministerien, Caparol, Daimler, Deutsche Bahn, Deutsche Post, Dräger, EADS, Freudenberg, Fressnapf, Generali, GM, HP, Holcim, Johnson Controls, KWS SAAT, LEWA, Lufthansa, Manpower, Mazda, Merck, NAVTEQ, Novartis, SAP, SCA, Skanska, Solvay, Syngenta, T-Mobile, Telekom Austria, TRW, TUIfly, VW Financial Services, Zurich Insurance Group About Capgemini Consulting Capgemini Consulting is the global strategy and transformation consulting organisation of the Capgemini Group, specialising in advising and supporting enterprises in significant transformation, from innovative strategy to execution and with an unstinting focus on results. With the new digital economy creating significant disruptions and opportunities, our global team of over 3,600 talented individuals work with leading companies and governments to master Digital Transformation, drawing on our understanding of the digital economy and our leadership in business transformation and organisational change. Find out more at: About Capgemini With more than 125,000 people in 44 countries, Capgemini is one of the world s foremost providers of consulting, technology and outsourcing services. Together with its clients, Capgemini creates and delivers business and technology solutions that fit their needs and drive the results they want. A deeply multicultural organization, Capgemini has developed its own way of working, the Collaborative Business Experience TM, and draws on Rightshore, its worldwide delivery model. Learn more about us at Rightshore is a trademark belonging to Capgemini 10