Williams F1: Applying Enterprise Performance Management Principles

Williams F1 teamed with Accenture to align its technical/track performance and design targets with financial planning and resource allocation. Improved quality, quantity and visibility of information across the enterprise are helping Williams to achieve high performance over the long term, on and off the track.

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Client Background
Established in 1977 with 17 employees, Williams F1 has grown into one of the world's leading manufacturers of Formula One racing cars.

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In the highly competitive world of Formula One racing, large corporate sponsorships have enabled teams to spend huge sums designing cars that will cross the finish line first.

The competition for endorsement dollars is as fierce as competition during the race, with teams vying for the same sponsorship dollars. And at the same time, the Formula One governing body has issued a set of revised regulations to make the sport safer and more competitive. The cost for such a redesign is high.

While other teams facing similar challenges bowed to the financial pressure and withdrew from the Formula One industry entirely, Williams F1 decided to shift gears and meet this situation head on. Specifically, it set out to hone its financial decision-making capabilities to drive higher levels of performance, on the track and off.

Williams F1 teamed with Accenture to align its technical/track performance and design targets with financial planning and resource allocation.

The solution involved developing a comprehensive performance management program that would enable the team to make better and more timely decisions based on solid business and financial information, and provide the structures and processes needed to translate that information into insights that drive long-term success. The Accenture Enterprise Performance Management Framework was applied, which guided the Williams F1 team to:

• Create a business strategy that focused on achieving its operational goals—that is, winning more races—within defined financial resources.
• Create an environment that enables performance management improvements.
• Operate with a new sense of fiscal responsibility.
• Monitor financial and operational performance for the long term.

The Accenture Enterprise Performance Management Framework was a critical tool in dramatically improving the quality, quantity and visibility of information across the enterprise.

This resulted in the ability to plan actions based on relevant business insights, and then measure the success of those actions against strategic targets. It promoted ownership responsibility of certain activities and established an organizational structure that empowers team members to take action to meet common goals. And it has infused business processes with rigor and structure to enable the team to act jointly to achieve high performance over the long term, on and off the track.

To receive more Client Successes, sign up for My Outlook, your single e-mail source for all of Accenture's latest ideas and innovation, personalized specifically to your business interests and the industry issues you face.