Operations Strategy

Linking strategy to execution, the operations strategy group assists client leaders in maximizing company return on investment capital through design and execution of the operations core to delivering value to customers. We define “operations” as the assets, processes, policy and people organized across the enterprise (all functions), across geographies to accomplish strategic objectives. We help clients become high-performance businesses by identifying core operating issues constraining value delivered by the enterprise. Our strong bias is in structuring and implementing end-to-end operational transformation programs, not just point solutions deployed against the stand-alone issues.

Our core offerings are aligned with the drivers of economic profit (growth, margin and capital efficiency), and deployed across the client’s entire value chain. These core offerings target different aspects of a client’s value chain; across the enterprise; and at the intersections of assets, processes, policies and people delivering value.

Accenture enhanced its long-standing operations and strategy expertise with the 2007 acquisition of George Group, a recognized market leader in process, operational and business transformation, and process innovation, whose capabilities and offerings form the foundation of this new practice.

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Operations strategy is based on powerful methodologies that combine strategic portfolio analysis, voice-of–the-customer discovery and process analysis methods. We focus on taking a strategic end-to-end process-based view of the business and operating model, identifying high impact areas for improvement and leveraging insights and approaches to assist in overall operating model design and strategic process alignment. By identifying the highest value areas of operational improvement, as well as any gaps in organizational and functional alignment, we help clients translate their strategic objectives into an actionable plan with the proper assets, operations and processes in place.

Our people are a mix of seasoned operations professionals and experienced consultants with the ability to operate as trusted advisors from the C-suite to the shop floor. Our approach to solving problems blends traditional strategy consulting hypothesis-driven thinking with practical go-fast solutions derived from our deep operational knowledge base.

Our teams understand the relationship between strategy and execution and help clients optimize their approaches. Using a value-stream approach, we take into account the components of process performance that require a comprehensive view of a business. Gaining this view requires an objective assessment into the areas of portfolio mix and market positioning, high-value process focus, customer focus, performance and capacity management (including infrastructure) as well as leadership and employee participation.

Why operations strategy:

• Takes a strategic, end-to-end process-based view of the business and operating model.
  
  
• Identifies areas for step-change improvement and leverages insights to enhance operating model design and strategic process alignment.
  
  
• Leverages unique approaches (including prime value chain analysis) to drive opportunities for strategic cost reduction and improved customer service.

Our operations strategy experts help clients explore and address probing business questions:

• How many processes do we need and which ones do we keep?
• Are our products/services damaging our profits?
• What do we need to measure, and how do we measure it?
• How can we get ready today for what our customers may want tomorrow?
• How can we narrow the product/service field and still hold on to our customers?

Lean transformation
Leveraging end-to-end business transformation using Lean concepts to bring significant, scalable and sustainable change to client operations within and across functions. Not just limited to shop floor activities, Lean transformation can address all core business activities where product or information is exchanged. The organizational impact through capability transfer and performance management is a critical element in all successful transformations.

Prime value chain (end-to-end process diagnostics)
Using our prime value chain methodology to focus on and understand the major activities that make up a company’s core value proposition. It is our starting point for an organization’s strategic transformation, aligning all improvement efforts across the company with the highest-level objectives of the organization. Through effective strategy deployment, our teams link prime value chain results with Lean Six Sigma principles to establish traceable metrics that run across the organization’s entire value chain and identify key areas of improvement opportunity.

Strategic cost reduction
Identifying the highest value areas of operational improvement as well as any gaps in organizational and functional alignment. The findings are then used to translate strategic objectives into actionable plans with the proper assets, operations and processes in place.

Plants and assets optimization
Targeted at asset intensive companies, this portfolio of services focuses on optimizing the efficiency and effectiveness of client’s operating assets, strategic maintenance, operations excellence, and capital stewardship are the main focus of activities to help clients achieve the highest returns on capital.