Edcon / South African retail
Business services.
Built around the business.
A global operating-model design connecting retail priorities, shared delivery and intelligent capability.
The challenge
Less administration.
Better business support.
Edcon's support functions faced manual processes, fragmented reporting and limited integration. Finance, HR and property teams needed a common service model that could release capacity for analysis and decisions.
My contribution covered operating-model advisory and the financial business case for offshore global business services. The design connected local business judgement with specialist capability and shared operational delivery.
- Client
- Edcon, South Africa
- Context
- 2018 retail business-services design
- My contribution
- Operating-model advisory and financial business case
- Design scope
- Finance, HR, property and facilities, with procurement connections
01 / The operating model
Three layers with clear responsibilities
Work follows the capability it needs. Business leaders keep decisions close to retail operations, specialists provide insight, and shared services handle repeatable delivery.
Direction & decisions
Retained teams own strategy, policy, business priorities and decisions requiring Edcon knowledge.
Expertise & insight
Specialists connect process ownership, reporting and analytics with complex service needs.
Consistent delivery
Shared teams handle standard transactions, administration and routine reporting against agreed service levels.
02 / Service interactions
A clear route from request to resolution
The model connects onshore business partners with offshore finance and HR delivery. A common request route and escalation path keep ownership visible.
One front door
Capture the requirement through a shared service channel.
Standard work
Route routine activity to the appropriate shared-service team.
Exceptions
Use specialist expertise when a case needs analysis or investigation.
Approval
Return policy exceptions and material decisions to retained owners.
03 / AI in the target design
Intelligent capability with a place to live
The target design included planned AI, robotic automation and analytics within the productivity and insight hubs. These capabilities supported the shift from processing transactions towards business decision support.
Trusted inputs
Common data ownership, quality controls and integrated reporting support reliable analysis.
AI & automation
A defined home for AI, robotics and process improvement alongside the people who own the work.
Business value
Financial, workforce and property insights connect service activity to business priorities.
04 / Governance and transition
Service quality through every stage
The roadmap sequenced existing accounts-payable capability first, then additional finance and HR services, followed by property, receivables and record-to-report. Training, readiness and stabilisation sat alongside the transition.
Strategic
Leadership sets direction and reviews scope, investment and overall performance.
Tactical
Service owners review targets, controls and improvement priorities.
Operational
Delivery teams resolve issues, manage escalations and track service quality.
The corporate strategy underneath
A model that serves retail priorities
Business Design
Define what stays with the business and what shared services should deliver.
Market Model
Connect support functions to the needs of retail business units and their stakeholders.
Competitive Model
Prioritise service efficiency and insight that help the business respond and allocate resources.
How this work connects to my eight steps
- 01 / EducateEstablish the case for a service model.
- 02 / EnableAlign leaders and process owners.
- 03 / Big rocksIdentify fragmented and manual work.
- 04 / Business caseTest costs, benefits and investment.
- 05 / Scope & proveDefine service boundaries and ownership.
- 06 / BuildSequence readiness and transition.
- 07 / ExpandExtend the model across functions.
- 08 / ScaleGovern service and continuous improvement.
Portfolio summary of my contribution to collaborative 2018 design work. The AI and automation shown are planned capabilities of the target model.
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