IBM in conjunction with the researchers and other industrial partners at the Cambridge Services Alliance have been looking into ecosystem collaboration and how to put in place incentives to drive innovation and performance. Thinking about alliances with common objectives rather than traditional client-supplier relationships can unlock new value. Here is a short management summary of some of the work the team have done to date and some simple pointers to the keys to this value:
The Sustainable Business Model Canvas is a great tool to enable you to develop more sustainable and innovative business models. It allowsyou to maximise the sustainability impact of your venture whilst minimising negative externalities, and it is fast and easy to complete. Use this canvas together with the Threebility Sustainability Impact Canvas for best results.
Detailed Description: https://www.threebility.com/sustainable-business-model-canvas
Distinguish between partnering and strategic alliances.
Give examples of innovative alliances.
Describe the concept of internal partnering.
Explain the concept of partnering with suppliers.
Explain the concept of partnering with customers.
Explain the concept of partnering with potential competitors.
Summarize what is meant by global partnering.
Identify the benefits of education and business partnerships.
The Sustainable Business Model Canvas is a great tool to enable you to develop more sustainable and innovative business models. It allowsyou to maximise the sustainability impact of your venture whilst minimising negative externalities, and it is fast and easy to complete. Use this canvas together with the Threebility Sustainability Impact Canvas for best results.
Detailed Description: https://www.threebility.com/sustainable-business-model-canvas
Distinguish between partnering and strategic alliances.
Give examples of innovative alliances.
Describe the concept of internal partnering.
Explain the concept of partnering with suppliers.
Explain the concept of partnering with customers.
Explain the concept of partnering with potential competitors.
Summarize what is meant by global partnering.
Identify the benefits of education and business partnerships.
Independent of industry, BCG Green Ventures believes in 12 concrete opportunities the world needs to get to net zero. These are the 12 levers available for any given corporate to participate in the decarbonization economy, which we are treating as a massive value creation opportunity.
Sustainable Product & Business Model InnovationThreebility
Lecture notes for the 2018 module Sustainable Product & Business Model Innovation at Steinbeis University Berlin.
The lecture presents established and novel methods for product and business model innovation with a focus on profitability and sustainability (triple bottom line). 38 sustainable business model examples in the are of the circular economy, collaborative & sharing economy and Internet of Things are included. A collaborative sustainable innovation method based on the Sustainable Business Model Canvas is presented as well.
The methods taught in this course have been applied and implemented in practice in a wide range of industries and can be downloaded for free at threebility.com.
The concepts taught in this course have been introduced in several other universities. If you are a university lecturers wishing to introduce these methods into your curriculum, please get in touch.
Article - get your green suppliers on board - FMANZ Summit - JUNE 2015annestaal
Brief article for the FMANZ newsletter & website on how to benefit from innovative and green suppliers. See also the related presentation on slideshare. (FMANZ Summit, May 2015)
Research Report - Summary
The research explores the relationship between procurement and innovation, and provides a collaborative procurement framework for that.
How SASB Can Help Companies Manage the Sustainability Factors that Impact ValueSustainable Brands
How SASB Can Help Companies Manage the Sustainability Factors that Impact Value
How SASB Can Help Companies Manage the Sustainability Factors that Impact Value
Now that manufacturers have massively adopted lean manufacturing principles, what are the alternative strategies they can focus on to improve their global competitiveness.
IDP is the concept that describes how procurement can add value to a firm's innovation processes.
This slide deck is about outsouring your R&D; the decision process and the supplier management implications.
Servitization: service is the future of manufacturingABN AMRO
Servitization is the process whereby services are given an increasingly important role in the business model of manufacturing companies. In addition to – and sometimes at the expense of – traditional product and machine sales. Service turns from being a cost item into an opportunity to provide better service for the customer and thereby generate additional revenue. Servitization in the manufacturing industry can consist of companies proactively offering repair and overhaul services, spare parts and training in addition to their core products. But servitization also includes broader services such as consultancy, financing, insurance and logistics services. In this report ABN AMRO and Praetimus discuss the advantages, but also the challenges involved in the transition to a service-oriented business model.
This discussion session gathers key influencers from the ESG performance ranking community to discuss recent major developments in ESG research and ratings, and what those mean for companies (featuring important recent announcements by GISR, Sustainalytics and Bloomberg, among others). The conversation will explore the evolution of measurement and disclosure principles for purposes of ESG performance rankings – including the question of driving more transparency – in an effort to help companies trying to understand the complex ESG research and ratings landscape. This session would be particularly useful to any company experiencing a mismatch between what it's reporting on its sustainability performance, on the one hand, and what its external stakeholders are asking or expecting, on the other.
The objective of this study is to examine the effect of cost reduction techniques on profitability of manufacturing firms.
To achieve this objective, the study adopted survey design. Data were collected from the primary source. A total of
120 copies of questionnaire were administered out of which only 100were retrieved. The returned copies of
questionnaire were utilized in the data analysis of the study. Simple regression model was established and the
findings of the study indicate that there is a significant relationship between cost reduction techniques and
organizational profitability. The study concludes that the application of cost reduction techniques has improved
organizational profitability. Based on this, the study recommended that company should employ linear programming
(LP) techniques so that there would be timely purchase of raw material and component to meet production and sales
requirement. With the above recommendation, the company can achieve its goal of being ‘Low cost management’
Implementing an Organisational Spatial Data Infrastructure: What works and wh...Keith Wishart
Implementing an organisational SDI: what works and what doesn’t
Keith Wishart*, Mike Brown** and Peter Vodden***
*Esri (UK), Aylesbury, UK, * NERC, Lancaster, UK, *** CEH, Lancaster, UK
The Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) is the UK's Centre of Excellence for integrated research in terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems and their interaction with the atmosphere. As part of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), they provide National Capability based on innovative, independent and interdisciplinary science and long-term environmental monitoring, forming an integral part of NERC's vision and strategy. CEH are a major custodian of environmental data, including 20 million records of 12,000 species occurring across Britain and Ireland, as well as records of over 50,000 station years of daily and monthly river flow data, derived from over 1,300 gauging stations throughout the UK.
In 2009, CEH launched its Information Gateway. The Information Gateway is the tool for finding, viewing and accessing data resources held by the Environmental Information Data Centre (EIDC) and other data providers in the UK and beyond. The CEH Information Gateway is a Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) consisting of a rich Data Catalogue that describes the nature and scope of CEH data resources. Users of the Information Gateway can discover CEH data resources, view details about each resource, view spatial data using a map viewer, create a personal account and download data. The Information Gateway is implemented using SDI technology from Esri and its partners.
In this paper we will describe the implementation and ongoing plans for the Information Gateway addressing not just the technology and standards adopted but also outlining the broader organisational, cultural and economic (benefits case) aspects. Specifically, our focus will be on what worked and what didn’t work in practice for CEH with the objective of helping other organisations plan and implement their SDI’s, create governance models, raise awareness amongst users and stakeholders and realise true economic benefits.
Key to the Information Gateway's success was a series of awareness-raising events with users although these also highlighted cultural barriers to data sharing amongst the scientific community. We will discuss approaches to changing the mind-set of data users to promote wider data sharing.
We will also discuss the design and functionality of the Information Gateway and how initial approaches to a rich, ‘value-added’ interface proved to be more than required in the first instance but have paved the way for long-term development of the Gateway.
We will highlight the organisational benefits derived from this work which go far beyond the Gateway itself. The Gateway has been an integral part of developing a robust data and information management culture throughout the organisation.
Finally, we will discuss future plans for extending the Gateway beyond traditional forms of digital data
Independent of industry, BCG Green Ventures believes in 12 concrete opportunities the world needs to get to net zero. These are the 12 levers available for any given corporate to participate in the decarbonization economy, which we are treating as a massive value creation opportunity.
Sustainable Product & Business Model InnovationThreebility
Lecture notes for the 2018 module Sustainable Product & Business Model Innovation at Steinbeis University Berlin.
The lecture presents established and novel methods for product and business model innovation with a focus on profitability and sustainability (triple bottom line). 38 sustainable business model examples in the are of the circular economy, collaborative & sharing economy and Internet of Things are included. A collaborative sustainable innovation method based on the Sustainable Business Model Canvas is presented as well.
The methods taught in this course have been applied and implemented in practice in a wide range of industries and can be downloaded for free at threebility.com.
The concepts taught in this course have been introduced in several other universities. If you are a university lecturers wishing to introduce these methods into your curriculum, please get in touch.
Article - get your green suppliers on board - FMANZ Summit - JUNE 2015annestaal
Brief article for the FMANZ newsletter & website on how to benefit from innovative and green suppliers. See also the related presentation on slideshare. (FMANZ Summit, May 2015)
Research Report - Summary
The research explores the relationship between procurement and innovation, and provides a collaborative procurement framework for that.
How SASB Can Help Companies Manage the Sustainability Factors that Impact ValueSustainable Brands
How SASB Can Help Companies Manage the Sustainability Factors that Impact Value
How SASB Can Help Companies Manage the Sustainability Factors that Impact Value
Now that manufacturers have massively adopted lean manufacturing principles, what are the alternative strategies they can focus on to improve their global competitiveness.
IDP is the concept that describes how procurement can add value to a firm's innovation processes.
This slide deck is about outsouring your R&D; the decision process and the supplier management implications.
Servitization: service is the future of manufacturingABN AMRO
Servitization is the process whereby services are given an increasingly important role in the business model of manufacturing companies. In addition to – and sometimes at the expense of – traditional product and machine sales. Service turns from being a cost item into an opportunity to provide better service for the customer and thereby generate additional revenue. Servitization in the manufacturing industry can consist of companies proactively offering repair and overhaul services, spare parts and training in addition to their core products. But servitization also includes broader services such as consultancy, financing, insurance and logistics services. In this report ABN AMRO and Praetimus discuss the advantages, but also the challenges involved in the transition to a service-oriented business model.
This discussion session gathers key influencers from the ESG performance ranking community to discuss recent major developments in ESG research and ratings, and what those mean for companies (featuring important recent announcements by GISR, Sustainalytics and Bloomberg, among others). The conversation will explore the evolution of measurement and disclosure principles for purposes of ESG performance rankings – including the question of driving more transparency – in an effort to help companies trying to understand the complex ESG research and ratings landscape. This session would be particularly useful to any company experiencing a mismatch between what it's reporting on its sustainability performance, on the one hand, and what its external stakeholders are asking or expecting, on the other.
The objective of this study is to examine the effect of cost reduction techniques on profitability of manufacturing firms.
To achieve this objective, the study adopted survey design. Data were collected from the primary source. A total of
120 copies of questionnaire were administered out of which only 100were retrieved. The returned copies of
questionnaire were utilized in the data analysis of the study. Simple regression model was established and the
findings of the study indicate that there is a significant relationship between cost reduction techniques and
organizational profitability. The study concludes that the application of cost reduction techniques has improved
organizational profitability. Based on this, the study recommended that company should employ linear programming
(LP) techniques so that there would be timely purchase of raw material and component to meet production and sales
requirement. With the above recommendation, the company can achieve its goal of being ‘Low cost management’
Implementing an Organisational Spatial Data Infrastructure: What works and wh...Keith Wishart
Implementing an organisational SDI: what works and what doesn’t
Keith Wishart*, Mike Brown** and Peter Vodden***
*Esri (UK), Aylesbury, UK, * NERC, Lancaster, UK, *** CEH, Lancaster, UK
The Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) is the UK's Centre of Excellence for integrated research in terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems and their interaction with the atmosphere. As part of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), they provide National Capability based on innovative, independent and interdisciplinary science and long-term environmental monitoring, forming an integral part of NERC's vision and strategy. CEH are a major custodian of environmental data, including 20 million records of 12,000 species occurring across Britain and Ireland, as well as records of over 50,000 station years of daily and monthly river flow data, derived from over 1,300 gauging stations throughout the UK.
In 2009, CEH launched its Information Gateway. The Information Gateway is the tool for finding, viewing and accessing data resources held by the Environmental Information Data Centre (EIDC) and other data providers in the UK and beyond. The CEH Information Gateway is a Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) consisting of a rich Data Catalogue that describes the nature and scope of CEH data resources. Users of the Information Gateway can discover CEH data resources, view details about each resource, view spatial data using a map viewer, create a personal account and download data. The Information Gateway is implemented using SDI technology from Esri and its partners.
In this paper we will describe the implementation and ongoing plans for the Information Gateway addressing not just the technology and standards adopted but also outlining the broader organisational, cultural and economic (benefits case) aspects. Specifically, our focus will be on what worked and what didn’t work in practice for CEH with the objective of helping other organisations plan and implement their SDI’s, create governance models, raise awareness amongst users and stakeholders and realise true economic benefits.
Key to the Information Gateway's success was a series of awareness-raising events with users although these also highlighted cultural barriers to data sharing amongst the scientific community. We will discuss approaches to changing the mind-set of data users to promote wider data sharing.
We will also discuss the design and functionality of the Information Gateway and how initial approaches to a rich, ‘value-added’ interface proved to be more than required in the first instance but have paved the way for long-term development of the Gateway.
We will highlight the organisational benefits derived from this work which go far beyond the Gateway itself. The Gateway has been an integral part of developing a robust data and information management culture throughout the organisation.
Finally, we will discuss future plans for extending the Gateway beyond traditional forms of digital data
This is my talk for TEDx Youth. It's about the three lies about the teen-age that is preached by our day and age. If you want to watch the video of my talk using this Powerpoint deck, you can do so here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fo8RyQpPpUA
My books- Hacking Digital Learning Strategies http://hackingdls.com & Learning to Go https://gum.co/learn2go
Resources at http://shellyterrell.com/classmanagement
The reality for companies that are trying to figure out their blogging or content strategy is that there's a lot of content to write beyond just the "buy now" page.
Succession “Losers”: What Happens to Executives Passed Over for the CEO Job?
By David F. Larcker, Stephen A. Miles, and Brian Tayan
Stanford Closer Look Series
Overview:
Shareholders pay considerable attention to the choice of executive selected as the new CEO whenever a change in leadership takes place. However, without an inside look at the leading candidates to assume the CEO role, it is difficult for shareholders to tell whether the board has made the correct choice. In this Closer Look, we examine CEO succession events among the largest 100 companies over a ten-year period to determine what happens to the executives who were not selected (i.e., the “succession losers”) and how they perform relative to those who were selected (the “succession winners”).
We ask:
• Are the executives selected for the CEO role really better than those passed over?
• What are the implications for understanding the labor market for executive talent?
• Are differences in performance due to operating conditions or quality of available talent?
• Are boards better at identifying CEO talent than other research generally suggests?
The group insurance market shows real promise but, as of yet, most carriers are still trying to determine the best path forward. Moving from being in a quiet sector to the front lines of new ways of doing business has shaken the industry and confronted it with challenges –and opportunities – many could not have foreseen even a decade ago.
For many organisations there is an ever-increasing need to reduce cost.
Still, it’s as important as ever not to overreact. Failure to understand the impact of choices made now will squander an opportunity to add real value. It will also risk inflicting lasting damage that will make recovery needlessly difficult, and all amid a crisis of unknown duration.
This e-book from Hudson&Hayes provides a pragmatic approach to optimising operational costs in times of radical change and uncertainty. Amid the unusual conditions created by COVID-19, this approach is especially valuable.
For further information, please visit https://www.hudsonandhayes.co.uk/pragmaticcostreduction
As the economy begins to show signs of recovery, many organizations are now returning their focus to growth which relies on support from the supply base. Innovation is essential to satisfy growth in a sustainable way, to remain competitive and, importantly, maintain cost control
This ISG white paper, co-authored by a senior IT leader at Boeing, discusses how an effective sourcing strategy requires a comprehensive and regimented process to address business needs, ensuring that decisions to renegotiate, renew or rebid contracts in a multi-sourced environment are made for the right reasons.
The proposed wave approach makes use of a simple supplier profiling method that forms the basis of the entire supplier engagement strategy. Its effectiveness stems from the fact that it avoids the use of complicated data that is difficult to obtain and is often unreliable.
We think the traditional vendor engagement model is flawed. For certain IT organizations, an iterative engagement works to improve vendor performance. This whitepaper explores the pros and cons of taking a more innovative approach to IT consulting engagements.
Why value propositions matter? How to create a true value proposition for B2B businesses? Implementation ready toolkit to design a superior value propositions
About
Indigenized remote control interface card suitable for MAFI system CCR equipment. Compatible for IDM8000 CCR. Backplane mounted serial and TCP/Ethernet communication module for CCR remote access. IDM 8000 CCR remote control on serial and TCP protocol.
• Remote control: Parallel or serial interface.
• Compatible with MAFI CCR system.
• Compatible with IDM8000 CCR.
• Compatible with Backplane mount serial communication.
• Compatible with commercial and Defence aviation CCR system.
• Remote control system for accessing CCR and allied system over serial or TCP.
• Indigenized local Support/presence in India.
• Easy in configuration using DIP switches.
Technical Specifications
Indigenized remote control interface card suitable for MAFI system CCR equipment. Compatible for IDM8000 CCR. Backplane mounted serial and TCP/Ethernet communication module for CCR remote access. IDM 8000 CCR remote control on serial and TCP protocol.
Key Features
Indigenized remote control interface card suitable for MAFI system CCR equipment. Compatible for IDM8000 CCR. Backplane mounted serial and TCP/Ethernet communication module for CCR remote access. IDM 8000 CCR remote control on serial and TCP protocol.
• Remote control: Parallel or serial interface
• Compatible with MAFI CCR system
• Copatiable with IDM8000 CCR
• Compatible with Backplane mount serial communication.
• Compatible with commercial and Defence aviation CCR system.
• Remote control system for accessing CCR and allied system over serial or TCP.
• Indigenized local Support/presence in India.
Application
• Remote control: Parallel or serial interface.
• Compatible with MAFI CCR system.
• Compatible with IDM8000 CCR.
• Compatible with Backplane mount serial communication.
• Compatible with commercial and Defence aviation CCR system.
• Remote control system for accessing CCR and allied system over serial or TCP.
• Indigenized local Support/presence in India.
• Easy in configuration using DIP switches.
Final project report on grocery store management system..pdfKamal Acharya
In today’s fast-changing business environment, it’s extremely important to be able to respond to client needs in the most effective and timely manner. If your customers wish to see your business online and have instant access to your products or services.
Online Grocery Store is an e-commerce website, which retails various grocery products. This project allows viewing various products available enables registered users to purchase desired products instantly using Paytm, UPI payment processor (Instant Pay) and also can place order by using Cash on Delivery (Pay Later) option. This project provides an easy access to Administrators and Managers to view orders placed using Pay Later and Instant Pay options.
In order to develop an e-commerce website, a number of Technologies must be studied and understood. These include multi-tiered architecture, server and client-side scripting techniques, implementation technologies, programming language (such as PHP, HTML, CSS, JavaScript) and MySQL relational databases. This is a project with the objective to develop a basic website where a consumer is provided with a shopping cart website and also to know about the technologies used to develop such a website.
This document will discuss each of the underlying technologies to create and implement an e- commerce website.
NO1 Uk best vashikaran specialist in delhi vashikaran baba near me online vas...Amil Baba Dawood bangali
Contact with Dawood Bhai Just call on +92322-6382012 and we'll help you. We'll solve all your problems within 12 to 24 hours and with 101% guarantee and with astrology systematic. If you want to take any personal or professional advice then also you can call us on +92322-6382012 , ONLINE LOVE PROBLEM & Other all types of Daily Life Problem's.Then CALL or WHATSAPP us on +92322-6382012 and Get all these problems solutions here by Amil Baba DAWOOD BANGALI
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Sachpazis:Terzaghi Bearing Capacity Estimation in simple terms with Calculati...Dr.Costas Sachpazis
Terzaghi's soil bearing capacity theory, developed by Karl Terzaghi, is a fundamental principle in geotechnical engineering used to determine the bearing capacity of shallow foundations. This theory provides a method to calculate the ultimate bearing capacity of soil, which is the maximum load per unit area that the soil can support without undergoing shear failure. The Calculation HTML Code included.
Hybrid optimization of pumped hydro system and solar- Engr. Abdul-Azeez.pdffxintegritypublishin
Advancements in technology unveil a myriad of electrical and electronic breakthroughs geared towards efficiently harnessing limited resources to meet human energy demands. The optimization of hybrid solar PV panels and pumped hydro energy supply systems plays a pivotal role in utilizing natural resources effectively. This initiative not only benefits humanity but also fosters environmental sustainability. The study investigated the design optimization of these hybrid systems, focusing on understanding solar radiation patterns, identifying geographical influences on solar radiation, formulating a mathematical model for system optimization, and determining the optimal configuration of PV panels and pumped hydro storage. Through a comparative analysis approach and eight weeks of data collection, the study addressed key research questions related to solar radiation patterns and optimal system design. The findings highlighted regions with heightened solar radiation levels, showcasing substantial potential for power generation and emphasizing the system's efficiency. Optimizing system design significantly boosted power generation, promoted renewable energy utilization, and enhanced energy storage capacity. The study underscored the benefits of optimizing hybrid solar PV panels and pumped hydro energy supply systems for sustainable energy usage. Optimizing the design of solar PV panels and pumped hydro energy supply systems as examined across diverse climatic conditions in a developing country, not only enhances power generation but also improves the integration of renewable energy sources and boosts energy storage capacities, particularly beneficial for less economically prosperous regions. Additionally, the study provides valuable insights for advancing energy research in economically viable areas. Recommendations included conducting site-specific assessments, utilizing advanced modeling tools, implementing regular maintenance protocols, and enhancing communication among system components.
Supplying innovation: Unlocking innovative behaviours in the supply chain
1. Supplying Innovation
Unlocking innovative behaviours in the
supply chain
Large incumbent companies in various industries
have, historically, been known for an inability to act
with agility in bringing in innovative products,
techniques, and solutions.
Internal innovation programmes can bring benefits.
Often company employees are very experienced in
the industry, and when incentivised to do so,
produce exceptionally innovative ideas. However, it
is arguable that companies who restrict innovation
sourcing to their own employees are missing a huge
range of ideas from different industries, from
suppliers, and from customers.
An alternative to internal innovation programmes is
to source ideas through the existing supply chain.
This can be achieved through re-focusing suppliers,
allowing them the space to innovate by measuring
them not against outputs, but on outcomes.
Encouraging suppliers to innovate requires more
than a traditional approach – it needs a
collaborative environment, ideally with multiple,
co-operating partner companies, incentivised on a
risk- and reward-sharing basis to deliver better
outcomes for customers.
2.
Most large companies recognise the need to
innovate; to bring to market new products,
services, processes, and solutions that
positively impact their business, employees,
and customers. However, innovation
programmes often fail to provide the value
expected of them. This could be due to a lack
of strategy, a reluctance to collaborate, or an
inclination to filter out the most
transformative ideas as too difficult1
.
With so many pitfalls, it is
unsurprising that companies are
increasingly turning to suppliers
to bring in innovative products
and services to decrease costs
and improve customer
satisfaction. However, there are
barriers to innovation inherent in
the contractual approaches
traditionally used, which can be overcome
with the novel direction adopted here.
In traditional, output-based contracts, suppliers
provide service components based on service
level agreements (SLAs), or deliver projects to
achieve output objectives. Often, the methods
by which these are achieved are not subject to
contractual agreement between the supplier
and client. Therefore, commonly, a solution can
be chosen which meets an SLA despite failing
to improve a client performance measure.
These can even have negative impacts.
Suppliers in output-based agreements rarely
focus on end-customer issues caused by
solutions, as they do not see value from this.
By moving to outcome-based contracts,
suppliers get rewarded when the experience
for end customers and other stakeholders is
improved. Stakeholders could include
regulators, consumer councils, and quangos
such as the Environment Agency. Suppliers are
incentivised to change the scope of their
considerations to include end customers as key
stakeholders. In many cases, suppliers will take
on responsibilities and related risks that were
originally carried by clients. This balances the
inclusion of reward sharing in contracts.
A further adaptation of these
contract arrangements is to
include multiple suppliers,
forming an alliance of
companies. This is set to be
increasingly common, given the
large, complex nature of
contracts needing a wide range of
expertise and depth of capability.
An alliance should be relatively
independent of its partner companies, which
include the client – a signal that the clear
distinctions between the client and suppliers
are fading away. Every partner is required to
work together to deliver solutions and services
that achieve the desired outcomes. An engaged
supply chain is indispensable for the success of
an alliance; it is expected that many will want
to work with the alliance to develop and deliver
new and innovative services.
Many of the themes in this article were
pioneered in the water industry in the UK3
. The
Office for Water Regulation (Ofwat) is directing
the industry to become outcome- rather than
output-focused4
. A number of UK water
companies have responded to this by forming
alliances to deliver capital, operational, and
other functions.
Outcomes-based contracting to drive
external innovation
$71.7bn
spent on R&D
programmes in 2015
by the top 10 global
innovators2
3. The
steps
to
achieving
success
in
outcome-‐based
contracts
using
an
alliance
approach
In single-supplier contracts, the relationship
between the supplier and the client is
much easier to build. Concerns focus
on whether the scope of the
projects is within control,
whether mutual expectations
can be managed, whether the
supplier has the capability to
deliver projects, and whether the
client has the capability to absorb
the business changes. However, if
an alliance is formed to deliver
outcome-based contracts, the situation
can be much more complex. The three
fundamental themes for the alliance are the
decision on commercial solutions (e.g.: the risk
and reward mechanism), the embedding of
collaborative working, and the design of the
operational practices.
No single theme is more important than any
others; they are mutually reinforcing, and each
essential to success. Each of the points of
action detailed below will contribute to the
motivation for the partners to deliver
innovative projects, and their ability to
collaborate in doing so.
Collaboration
We have identified four crucial points of action
that enable and encourage collaboration. An
alliance needs to define the strategic
objectives based on the outcomes to be
achieved, and to clarify how they affect
employees across the alliance hierarchy5
.
Responsibilities across the alliance should be
clarified in how they impact customer
experience and the alliance outcomes.
To create a positive
organisational culture, the
alliance needs to draw the best in
culture from each of the partners
to create an organisation greater
than the sum of its parts.
Employees should feel first and
foremost part of the alliance,
comfortable to share information
and express ideas in a collaborative
atmosphere.
For an alliance with multiple partners,
suppressing competitive behaviour is crucial to
engendering trust. To behave with integrity
and to trust others are important in an alliance.
It means each partner should be willing to
provide information and assistance, trust other
partners’ decisions based on their expertise,
and pay attention to their own performance.
In order to achieve the shift in mind-set needed
to achieve outcomes versus outputs, strong,
consistent, educational communications are
required. Physical and electronic
communication methods should be used to
reinforce operational practices, and to raise
awareness of business changes – and the
89%
of CxOs expect a
high level of collabo-
ration with partners
within 3-5 years8
The obstacles to making the shift
The shift to outcome-based contracts can bring huge benefits in improved customer experiences and efficiency, but
comes with an inherent set of obstacles. This shift needs to happen across the alliance partners, the extended
supply chain, and in the industry environment. As such there will be many practices within these diverse
organisations that need to be adapted. There should be a focus on these obstacles when adopting this approach.
Collaboration obstacles
• Among partners: It is challenging to achieve collaboration among partners within an alliance, especially if the
partners are competitors outside an alliance, or if partners’ previous relationships were not smooth before
the formation of the alliance.
• With extended suppliers: If the industry environment is not collaborative in nature, it is challenging to build
collaborative and trusting relationships with extended suppliers.
Outcome model obstacles
• Among partners: Partners have different business models and conflicts can arise when they are brought in
to a single outcome-focused model. The outcome-focused model with an alliance approach is often very new
and complex, and currently has few case studies to learn from.
• With extended suppliers: When the industry is still at an output-focused stage, extended suppliers don’t have
either the capability or the confidence to be contracted on outcomes.
4. resulting successes – in the wider workforce.
Commercial
Solution
To deliver solutions that lead to the best
possible customer experience, the boundaries
between capital and operational expendi-
ture should be eliminated focusing instead
on total expenditure (‘Totex’)6
. ‘No-build’
operational solutions should be considered
alongside capital interventions on the grounds
of risk and cost to decide which is most
appropriate. The alliance should not be
incentivised to deliver one over the other.
Whether an alliance can exist depends on
whether a risk- and reward-sharing
mechanism that is mutually acceptable can
be designed. The key points here are how
benefits are shared, based on contributions;
how risks are shared, depending on
accountability; and how outcome KPIs are
transferred from the client to the alliance. This
final point will define the extent to which the
alliance is measured against end customer
outcomes.
A robust benefit realisation mechanism
should be developed in order to mitigate the
inherent conflicts between short-term
commercial objectives and long-term customer
outcomes. These can arise when solutions that
have a high return on investment have a
detrimental impact on customer outcomes.
There can also be clashes between customer
outcome improvements and the timescales by
which the alliance, the partner companies, and
the industry measure such improvements.
Where possible, the supply chain should be
incentivised on the same outcome-focused
model as the alliance partner companies.
Evaluating relationships with suppliers,
clarifying outcome objectives and
measurements, and definition of mutual
commitments should be finalised before
procurement decisions are made. Risk should
not necessarily be passed down to suppliers; it
may be best managed at an aggregate level.
Operational
Design
Continuing education in an alliance is crucial
to instilling the right culture. Training sessions
on customer focus and outcomes thinking, and
the impact of employee actions on these, are
necessary in order to achieve desired goals. For
core managers, leadership sessions are
valuable, while training to improve well being
CollaborationCommercial
Solution
Operational
Design
Organisational
culture
Engender trust
Educational
comms
Totex focus
Risk- and
reward-
sharing
mechanism
Benefits
realisation
Incentivise
suppliers
Continuing
education
Information
platforms
Process design
Metrics and
measurements
Strategic
objectives
Each of the twelve points of action, identified against the three key themes for successful alliance delivery.
5. for alliance members will help to improve
engagement and morale7
.
Information platforms should be designed for
the sharing of data, knowledge, and
capabilities among partners in an alliance. An
effective platform facilitates the flow of data in
an efficient, frustration-free way while
maintaining partners’ data security.
Good process design is essential to the
development of an alliance, as this is how
concepts become embedded in to real practice.
Six aspects of process design to be considered
by an alliance include staff reward
mechanisms, customer interaction processes,
culture change, decision-making processes,
collaboration, and risk management process
design.
Metrics and measurements should be
developed to measure contributions of each
partner to alliance objectives and outcomes,
indicators to measure the financial status of
the alliance, indicators to control and track the
achievement of outcomes, and metrics to
measure individuals’ behaviours.
Conclusion
The need for companies to innovate to remain
competitive has never been higher. The often
narrow focus of internal innovation
programmes means that companies will have
to cast a much wider net in order to source
transferable innovation from suppliers and
other sectors. However, to develop ground
breaking, original ideas, it is crucial to provide
an incentive for companies to deliver the best
solution possible, not merely the most
profitable.
The freedoms regarding the range of possible
solutions available to contractors when
employing an alliance approach will encourage
innovation in the supply chain; the contractors
are incentivised to deliver more efficient
solutions that provide exceptional customer
outcomes. A collaborative environment should
lead to genuine industry leading, cross-
company innovation, combining talents from
multiple partners. It is expected that the
innovative approaches will help companies to
more easily meet regulators’ expectations.
There are real challenges. Ambiguity of
partners’ accountability, barriers to
collaboration, and lack of experience with
these novel methods can present significant
risks to companies choosing to partner in an
alliance. This is not a silver bullet, and should
not be used for all projects; decisions should
be made carefully whether to contract based
on this model.
Yet the benefits of doing so can be immense.
The three fundamental themes for success in
this model – a robust commercial arrangement,
unhindered collaboration between partners,
and effective operational design – when
carefully designed and implemented, will
engender confidence in partners, client, and
industry. Confidence in the outcomes-focused
model will encourage innovation in the
solutions implemented; will lead to improved
customer experience; and will deliver increased
financial benefits for both clients and
contractors.
“Confidence in the outcomes-focused model will encourage
innovation in the solutions implemented; will lead to
improved customer experience; and will deliver increased
financial benefits for both clients and contractors.”