Building Executive Consensus for Enterprise Digital Transformation Success
Project Overview
Following a 2013 acquisition by a major independent oil and gas exploration corporation, our energy sector client continued semi-autonomous operations through 2022. With the corporate mandate to migrate to the global ERP platform SAP S/4HANA, leadership recognized an opportunity to leverage this implementation as the foundation for comprehensive enterprise digital transformation and organizational alignment. However, they understood the complexity required a trusted transformation partner to navigate this critical journey.
Afiniti was brought on board to architect the transformation strategy and develop a comprehensive roadmap during the discovery phase. Yet the organizational vision and commitment level for transformation remained ambiguous. Recognizing this challenge, Afiniti recommended a preliminary pre-discovery engagement designed to help the client evaluate and define the scope and magnitude of discovery work, including determining whether full-scale transformation discovery was the right path forward. Our methodology enabled the organization to reach consensus and make informed decisions about whether enterprise-wide business transformation [future state design] was necessary across all operations, powered and enabled by ERP, or whether the enterprise digital transformation should focus on effectively governing, implementing and driving ERP adoption.
Our Solution
- Our pre-discovery methodology was stakeholder-centric, hands-on and highly collaborative, structured around a comprehensive question framework and tied to specific deliverables and outcomes.
- We positioned our approach at the C-suite level, with operational validation and established clear guidelines to support pre-discovery activities.
- We defined success criteria and exit parameters for pre-discovery in partnership with the Executive Leadership team.
- We developed a preliminary project plan from the outset, tied directly to the pre-discovery exit criteria and designed to coordinate and schedule critical stakeholder engagements across the organization to minimize business disruption. The project plan evolved continuously throughout the pre-discovery phase.
- We maintained adaptability and responsiveness in our stakeholder interactions, actively listening, collecting insights and working to understand the business through the lens of every individual we engaged.
- We invested time to confirm the purpose and methodology of pre-discovery through initial one-on-one objective-driven discussion sessions with each executive leader. This approach helped establish the framework for our upcoming work, served as a springboard for exploring their vision, challenges and priorities, and provided opportunities for us to engage deeply, listen actively and comprehend the business from their unique vantage point.
The Impact We Delivered
“Afiniti are different from the run of the mill consultancies who just peddle change, Afiniti were the best choice and did a great job of adapting their approach and being flexible”
Sr. Manager, Business Services, UK Client Transformation Lead
- Through pre-discovery, the Executive Leadership team reached alignment on the transformation approach required and rationale, timeline for implementation, and unified agreement on the scope and results they expected from discovery.
- Following 20 different engagement touchpoints over 6 weeks (via one-on-one meetings or focused group sessions), the Executive Leadership team and Afiniti as their selected partner established a well-defined scope, clear purpose and proven methodology for discovery.
- Additionally, the primary risks to successful enterprise digital transformation were surfaced and documented – several of which required mitigation as early as discovery initiation. This critical intelligence enabled a more informed and targeted approach for scoping the discovery phase.
This pre-discovery engagement delivered immediate organizational alignment and risk visibility, positioning the client to maximize their ERP investment through informed transformation decisions and unified executive commitment to the change journey ahead.
