In 2017, TCI supported one of Germany's largest IT service providers with the transformation of its internal IT. In IT transformation at Bechtle: IT as a driver for a business-, service- and project-oriented organization Wolfgang Schnober, who was responsible for supporting the project on the TCI side, has already described the framework conditions that made the IT transformation necessary and the objectives associated with it. Part 2 now deals with the actual implementation: What methods did Bechtle AG and TCI GmbH use to achieve the desired results?

Transformation only works with communication

As in every transformation project, the IT transformation of Bechtle AG was also Communication between management and employees is a key success factor. The maxim of involving all employees in the project was implemented at a very early stage - after all, the IT transformation also affected all areas of the company.

The first workshops on IT transformation took place in the closest management circle of internal IT. This is also crucial, because transformation projects are initially management projects - even if the employees help to shape them and their feedback is invaluable. Only if top management is fully behind the project and acts as a role model in the implementation of new processes and structures can it succeed.

Once the overarching objective had been defined as part of these workshops, the next management level was involved in the concrete design. Team and department meetings, workshops and general staff meetings were held regularly in the following period to bring the "big picture" to life throughout the company.

Methods used

In order to make Bechtle AG's IT department the driver of a business, service and project-oriented organization and to strengthen its innovative power, the team decided to use a combination of three methods in collaboration with TCI:

• Sineks "Golden Circle" is concerned with answering fundamental questions such as "What value does IT contribute to the company as a whole? Why does the IT department exist?"
• The Enterprise Transformation Cycle (ETC) helps to keep an eye on the overall picture of framework conditions and their dimensions. It includes all stages and dimensions of a transformation and can be run through again and again in iterations.
• With the Business Canvas Model the ETC is supplemented in order to drive forward strategy development in a meaningful way.

"Start with Why" - how the IT department sees itself

In his book "Start with why - how great leaders inspire everyone to take action" actually starts with the founding of companies, which every founder should always begin with the question of "why". However, Sinek's "Golden Circle" can easily be applied to departments or projects.

As part of the IT transformation at Bechtle, the question of "why" related primarily to the self-image of the IT department. This was a crucial point, because a department that sees itself primarily as an order fulfillment and support unit cannot become the innovative driver of a new business model. Something had to change fundamentally here.

Today, IT at Bechtle is the driving force behind an innovative company. The department can quickly pick up on changes and innovations and implement them in an agile manner. This also has a positive effect on organizational methods, employee qualifications and IT performance.

The ETC: transformation process at a glance

A transformation process like the one Bechtle IT is undergoing is not a process with a beginning and an end. Rather, it is a kind of cycle that can start all over again as soon as it has been completed. Especially when it comes to strengthening innovative strength, the process can never be complete by definition. After all, innovation is not a state, but a process. In the case of the Bechtle IT department, it was also about establishing agile process management and thus contributing to a more customer- and service-oriented organization within the company.

The ETC is ideally suited to achieving this goal, as it is itself an agile tool that structures and manages the transformation process in iterations (read more about the ETC and its possible applications in the recently published anthology "The Enterprise Transformation Cycle: theory, application, practice"). It also maps all company-relevant dimensions. Based on the analysis of positioning, business model and service portfolio, Bechtle AG started the IT transformation with the ETC. The fundamental questions were:

• Where is our customers' business heading?
• Are there disruptive changes that are permanently changing the markets and placing new demands on companies?
• Which processes need to be further developed, stabilized or fundamentally redefined?

With the introduction of three categories "Renew, Change, Adapt", all projects could be classified in predefined checklists. This also defined their effectiveness and importance for business development.

Concrete implementation with the Business Model Canvas

While the ETC predefines the overall process and, together with the "Golden Circle", defines the concept for the repositioning, the Business Model Canvas forms the basis for the implementation of the Chance project. At Bechtle, the focus was on repositioning the IT organization in terms of employees, customers, partners and processes. The central questions were:

• How does the IT department become driving force for design, innovation and change inside and outside the company?
• How does the IT department manage to not only position itself internally, but also externally and customer-oriented to align?
• How can the IT department Optimize quality of service and project results?

New business models & strategy development

To answer these questions, Bechtle AG set up a new sales process for IT services. Internal and external customer support was optimized with the help of TCI GmbH, as we were able to bring expertise into the company, especially with regard to business requirements, and thus provide sustainable support for strategy development.

Optimization of processes & services

In order to optimize processes and services, we jointly developed a standardized support model based on consistent ITIL processes. This enabled us to create a comprehensive service catalog with service descriptions for all products and services, covering both standard products and individual projects.

Roles, functions & qualifications

In this context, Bechtle AG also had to take a structured approach to project management. To this end, all processes were documented and a handbook with all roles and responsibilities was created.

In order to optimize the organizational structure at Bechtle, we introduced a second and third management level under the CIO. This makes it possible to structure and distribute responsibilities more clearly. The new role of "Professional Experts" is a special feature at Bechtle. In this role, employees can pursue a specialist career without having to take on management tasks. This enables employees to take career steps in line with their own strengths and to make better use of their potential within the company. After all, excellent specialists are not necessarily good at personnel management. Nevertheless, they should also have the opportunity for advancement and be able to develop their potential within the company.

Within this framework, Bechtle AG established suitable development programs to optimally promote talents and specialists within the company and to further develop their skills. This in turn formed the prerequisite for the successful implementation of the Enterprise Transformation Cycle.

Results achieved by the IT transformation at Bechtle

The transformation of Bechtle AG's IT department has an impact on all areas of the company. Even if no fundamental corporate transformation was aimed for, the company is currently always changing due to the disruptive changes in the market and the strong growth. In addition, all departments of Bechtle AG are affected by the IT transformation in a positive sense. They benefit from the department's stronger business and service orientation. The future IT organization is also strongly characterized by agile services. These are

• Flexible provision of private and hybrid cloud solutions,
• Modern workplace equipment that takes account of mobile and flexible working methods,
• Development of hyperconverged infrastructures that provide every service and every user stack as required,
• fully automated "IT-as-a-Service" offering overall.

The internal IT department of Bechtle AG thus became the driving force for innovations that could then also have an impact on the end customer business. This was the central objective of the transformation process. The introduction of special KPIs, the use of tools and consistent governance make it possible to control the measures taken and demonstrate the measurable success of the IT transformation.

With the new agile orientation, IT at Bechtle is now equipped for future challenges. After all, innovative strength must be constantly rethought and established within the company and its subdivisions. Bechtle AG has laid the foundation for this in cooperation with TCI.

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