In a constantly changing world, where client expectations change at a breakneck pace and emerging technologies reshape competition, companies face an unavoidable need: to reinvent their operating model. We can achieve all of this with the TOM (Target Operating Model) method.

The current challenge

Organizations struggle to maintain efficiency, agility and relevance in an environment marked by disruption. It is identified that 20% of companies generate more than 90% of the total economic profit, reflecting a growing polarization between winners and laggards. The key to moving up this power curve is a systemic transformation of the operating model to bring it to high-performance levels.

What is a high-performance operating model?

It is a radically different way of operating, combining digital technologies, process redesign and new forms of organization. Its objective is to achieve exponential improvements in efficiency, customer experience and value generation. It is based on two major strategic shifts:

1. From isolated initiatives to integrated, journey-centric programs: companies must leave functional silos behind and organize themselves around customer journeys, both internal and especially external clients, focusing on delivering value for them.

   
   

2. From the fragmented application of technologies to their orchestrated and sequential combination: digital, analytical, automation and lean tools must be applied together, in the correct order, to multiply their impact.

The five levers of change

There are 5 key elements that drive the design and implementation of a high-performance TOM:

1. Lean redesign: establish a comprehensive approach to your processes and all interactions in the customer journey, seeking the elimination of superfluous activities and providing maximum value to the client.

   
   

2. Outsourcing: reconsider which activities should form part of the core of the organization and which can be delegated to third parties (BPO – Business Process Outsourcing strategy), and which can be reinforced with external expertise (KPO – Knowledge Process Outsourcing strategy).

   
   

3. Digitalisation: harness the potential of new digital technologies to eliminate manual tasks and enable features that improve the customer experience (self-service, valuable data, real-time features, etc.).

   
   

4. Advanced analytics: implement predictive models and algorithms that harness the full potential of collected data to make predictions and recommendations in decision-making (personalized decisions, next best action, etc.).

   
   

5. Intelligent automation: finally, take advantage of the combination of all redesign elements and technological solutions to replace predictable tasks with RPA solutions and AI agents.

Foundations for scaling the model

For the transformation to be sustainable, organizations must develop four fundamental pillars:

· Modular and flexible technology: Component-based technology architecture prepared to adapt and scale.

· Talent and value-centric culture: Conditions to attract, train and retain key talent.

· Governance models: Ways of working suitable for reinvention, with clear goals and agile communication mechanisms.

· Autonomous ecosystems and partnerships: Internal and external networks facilitating growth at scale.

Without a cultural shift, the high-performance operating model remains nothing more than an aspiration. It requires committed leadership, a customer-centric mindset, tolerance for risk and organizational structures that reward agility.

Possible paths for transformation

There are multiple routes for an organization to begin the path towards operational excellence. Depending on each company's context, its level of maturity, starting point and strategic challenges, one route or another will be more suitable. We highlight below four common types of routes in the transformation of Operating Models:

→ Innovation outpost: separate unit of disruption.

→ Digital Innovation Hub: internal team with a high degree of autonomy, housing teams with specialized capabilities.

→ Business unit accelerator: local transformation with direct control over specific capabilities and investments.

→ Large-scale evolution: complete reorganization around major customer journeys, normally that of the company's main market or in significant transformations of its value proposition.

Conclusion

Reinventing the operating model is not simply digitalizing what already exists, but redesigning from scratch how value is created and delivered. Companies that embrace this transformation with vision, discipline and strategic courage will be better positioned to lead in the digital economy.

This transformation process can be approached from two different angles: inside-out or outside-in. The first approach involves conducting a comprehensive review of all the organization's internal processes, with the aim of identifying opportunities for improvement and digitalisation. In contrast, the second approach places the customer at the heart of the strategy: it starts with a deep understanding of their needs, expectations and experiences, and on that basis, processes are re-evaluated and redesigned to align them with that perceived value.

Opting solely for an inside-out transformation, without considering the customer's perspective, can lead us to digitalize processes that do not deliver real value, representing an inefficient use of available resources. For this reason, it is essential to adopt a customer-centric view, which allows for proper prioritization and directs efforts towards what genuinely creates impact.