New research from Accenture finds that to grow and lead in today’s volatile environment, a small group of companies are adopting a deliberate, continuous strategy of Total Enterprise Reinvention for every part of their business with new technologies and new ways of working.
Total Enterprise Reinvention is powered by advancements in technologies such as AI and cloud computing. Today just 8% of companies surveyed are ‘Reinventors,’ setting a new performance frontier for themselves and, in most cases, their industries. Their transformation is centered around a strong digital core and new ways of working that help optimize operations and drive growth.
“Post-pandemic, these leaders are systematically changing the game and their industries,” said Julie Sweet, chair and CEO of Accenture. “Over time, they are transforming every part of their company to achieve improved financials, breakthrough innovation and increased resilience, and more actively create value for all stakeholders.”
As part of the research, Accenture surveyed more than 1,500 C-suite executives, 75% of whom agreed that a range of external forces—but particularly the pace of technology innovation, shifting consumer preferences and climate change—will further accelerate their investment in digital transformation.
Most companies (86%) focus on transforming parts of their business and treat transformation as a finite program rather than a continuous process. Accenture calls these ‘Transformers.’ The remaining six percent of companies are ‘Optimizers.’ They focus on functional transformations limited in scope and ambition—technology is not a significant enabler of their transformations.
The financial benefits are clear as Reinventors report generating 10% higher incremental revenue growth, 13% higher cost-reduction improvements, and 17% higher balance-sheet improvements than Transformers. They also deliver 1.3 times more financial value in the first six months than Transformers—a reflection of the speed at which Reinventors operate. Also, two-thirds of Reinventors say the delivery of their reinvention strategy is happening significantly faster relative to past transformations, compared to less than one-third of Transformers
“Our Global Disruption Index, a composite measure that covers economic, social, geopolitical, climate, consumer and technology disruption, shows a 200% increase over the past five years,” said Jack Azagury, group chief executive of Accenture Strategy & Consulting. “The time is now for companies to adopt a Total Enterprise Reinvention strategy and embrace the art of the possible that is available today through technology and new ways of working.”