Our client had long been a leader and first mover in the energy industry, whether tackling business problems head-on or pursuing new opportunities. But the company was facing increasing challenges on multiple fronts: aging technology systems, inconsistent data from disparate sources, and recent acquisitions and structural changes that constrained innovation and growth.
Most significantly, as the company entered 2019, it learned that its workhorse ERP was being sunset by longtime provider SAP in favor of a new cloud-based solution, with support slated to end in 2025 (a deadline that was later moved to 2027). In the realities of enterprise technology timelines, that left our client relatively little time to fully replace its ERP and manage the knock-on implications for the organization—and even less room for error.
Beyond the technology hurdles, our client was also trying to solve an ongoing challenge of getting its organization to move more quickly on innovation. Historically, the company had disparate approaches: multiple teams trying multiple new ideas with little consistency or coordination. This limited organizational agility, complicated acquisitions, and introduced customizations that were costly to maintain.
An outdated ERP and a need to innovate
Before
Next
After
The company engaged KPMG in early 2019 to provide thorough support for its enterprise transformation efforts on multiple fronts, from the overall vision all the way through to detailed, tightly integrated transformation delivery plans for each initiative. During our 2.5-year engagement, KPMG worked with the client to develop a new target operating model, implement robust change management processes, improve data quality and accuracy, and create a streamlined Request for Proposal (RFP) process that facilitated the selection of both a system integrator (SI) and multiple new technology solutions.
In addition to deploying a new cloud-based ERP, the company will be able to support ongoing transformation efforts across a wide range of business functions, with new operating processes and new technology solutions that integrate with the ERP. Key areas include finance, operations, supply chain, human resources, strategic planning, and more. And the up-front focus on data cleanup and enhanced quality ensured these new systems and processes were not inheriting any legacy data issues.
The result: This highly complex, high-stakes enterprise transformation initiative began rolling out across the globe in 2023 and continues to deliver value to the business while meeting the plan’s timeline and budget milestones.
Expanded new capabilities and successful, ongoing transformation
As with many successful enterprise transformation initiatives, our client is continuing to generate significant results from its transformation portfolio, even more than five years after it first asked KPMG to help it map out its roadmap for long-term change.
One crucial benefit has been a cultural shift in how the organization operates. The company overall is now better positioned to move more quickly on critical decisions, foster innovation, and reduce low-value tasks. An essential driver of this cultural change is the company’s adoption of anchored agility—an important component in both the new target operating model and the related change management processes. Anchored agility can be especially impactful for large companies because of its balance between flexibility and structure—a key reason KPMG deployed this approach with our client.
Anchored agility challenges teams to evaluate every decision based on three areas: strategic value, market necessity, and foundational tasks. For our client, this approach has resulted in a massive reduction of technology complexity, the elimination of thousands of low-value customizations, and ongoing operational efficiencies that continue to go straight to the bottom line.
A culture of innovation and agility, anchored by business fundamentals.
Next
After
Before