brochure teplate a4 - capgemini...finally, don’t miss the interview with capgemini business...

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


.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


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.



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


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


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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


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.



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


·

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.


http://www.hfsresearch.com/pov/warner-bros-and-capgemini-co-develop-talent-finance-service

http://www.hfsresearch.com/pov/warner-bros-and-capgemini-co-develop-talent-finance-service


·

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

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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.



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.


.03

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.



·

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



INTRODUCING NOIDAAtul Kulshreshtha, Head of Global Transformation & FS Delivery,


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.”


.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


·

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.



·

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/


http://oievents.com/capgeminis-lee-beardmore-discusses-rpa-in-business-process-outsourcing-and-gives-advice-for-implementing-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

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·

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.



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.

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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.



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.”

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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?

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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.


Expert Insights

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THE UNSEXY SIDE OF INNOVATION NOBODY IS TALKING ABOUTMarty Borcharding, VP, Engagement Executive,


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.

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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?

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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

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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.


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

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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.


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.

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INDUSTRY IN FOCUS: FINANCIAL SERVICES

Industry in Focus: Financial Services

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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

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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.



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

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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:

[email protected]

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



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.

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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


http://solutions.kodakalaris.com/financial-services/trends/why-business-process-outsourcing-is-gaining-steam

http://solutions.kodakalaris.com/financial-services/trends/why-business-process-outsourcing-is-gaining-steam

http://kodakalaris.com/go/IMnews

.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

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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.


http://www.pageturnpro.com/IAOP/70602-PULSE-Issue-21/index.html#34

http://www.pageturnpro.com/IAOP/70602-PULSE-Issue-21/index.html#34

FOR MORE DETAILS CONTACT:Capgemini Business Services

[email protected]

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.

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